Wow! Time has flown by since my last blog. But that has just given me plenty of time to sit back (not really) and ponder on what I can write about the next week.
People have often asked how I got my babies to sleep all night. So, I am going to start off by informing you of what the professionals say.
There are two doctors that are well known for there methods of getting your newborn to sleep all night and the first one is Dr. Richard Ferber. He has the "Ferberizer" method. This is the method that most of our parents used, and that most Americans have used for generations, and still use.
It involves simply putting your infant child in his or her crib in a room down the hall at a designated time every evening, closing the door – and then leaving him or her in there – pretty much no matter what – so that they will learn to “self soothe,” at first by crying themselves to sleep.
Next, Dr William Sears. He is most famous for the philosophy behind “Attachment Parenting.” This method is big on breast feeding and is pretty much the antithesis of “Ferberization.” They are also responsible for the promotion of the “Family Bed.”
The “Family Bed” being that hippie-ish, giant, futon-like mass covered with pillows where everyone: Mom, Dad, infants, toddlers, older siblings, the family dog and cat, and possibly Mom or Dad’s out of work younger brother or the nanny goes to not get a good night’s sleep.
So, with that being said, this is what I have done to get my munchkins to sleep all night and here is where some people (especially) newer Drs. will disagree with me but call me old school.......DO NOT WAKE A SLEEPING BABY. Now there are circumstances that I have had, like one of my children being jaundice so I had to wake them up to eat but if there is no reason to wake them don't do it. This is just my opinion.
From the beginning, I will try and get them on a frequent 2-3 hr schedule during the day then at night I will try and only start with 1-2 bottles at night then over time I take away the night time bottles. I'm not saying this is easy because I have had a lot of nights of screaming. But this is where I give in as some mothers do. I will bring my baby in bed with me and they usually go back to sleep. Once they get used to the fact they aren't going to get that bottle in the middle of the night they start sleeping through the night.
Some people have said "well now you are depriving your baby of food" No, no. no!! They all make up for almost every ounce they missed during the night. Instead of eating around 30-35 ounces in 24 hrs they get it in 12 hrs and sleep all night. So you get a happy baby and one extremely happy momma.
Not for sure who is really the winner other than me but thank you Dr. Ferber and Dr. Sears for your methods as I have combined to the two methods for a very successful night of sleeping.
