dry diaper for a new one. I eventually learned that I was more “tuned in” to the diaper issue than she was!
I suggest that you put your baby in a good-quality nighttime diaper, and when she wakes, do a quick check. Change her only
80
The No-Cry Sleep Solution
if you have to, and do it as quickly and quietly as you can in the dark. Use a tiny night-light when you change the baby, and avoid any bright lights that can signal daytime. Have your changing supplies organized and close to Baby’s bed, and make sure you use a warm cloth to wipe that sleepy bottom. (Check into the many available types of baby-wipe warmers, and keep one near your nighttime changing station.)
Nighttime Cues
You will want to create special cues that signal bedtime sleep. A consistent, exact bedtime routine that begins at least thirty minutes before sleep time is very helpful in getting baby to organize his day/night sleep pattern. (You can read more about bedtime routines on pages 100–103.)
Don’t Let Baby Nap Too Long
Try not to let your newborn take too long of a nap. If your little one is sleeping a lot during the day, including a three- to five-hour stretch, and then getting up frequently at night, she may have her days and nights mixed up. (Of course, there are those few babies who take long naps and then sleep well at night, but if your baby were like this you wouldn’t be reading this book now, would you?)
Not allowing too long of a nap is sometimes a hard rule to keep. When you are sleep deprived, and you have gotten behind on your own chores and responsibilities, it’s easy to “take advantage” of your baby’s long nap to catch up. While this may be helpful in the short run, it can interfere with nighttime sleep, which makes it harder for you to function during the day. It also delays the time when your baby organizes her sleep into short, daytime naps and long, nighttime sleeps.
Review and Choose Sleep Solutions
81
This is one of the times when we can break that rule of never waking a sleeping baby. If your baby has napped more than two or three hours, wake her gently, and encourage her to stay awake for a while and play.
Some babies, like my second child, Vanessa, are such sleepy newborns that an earthquake can’t wake them! We have a family portrait with a sleeping four-week-old Vanessa in her Daddy’s arms because absolutely nothing would wake her for the picture.
Here are a few tips for waking such a sleepy baby when it’s time to get up and eat:
• Try to wake your baby during a lighter stage of sleep. Watch for movement in arms, legs, and face. If your baby’s limbs are dangling limply, she’ll be especially hard to waken.
• Give Baby a diaper change or wipe his face with a damp washcloth.
• Unwrap your baby and undress her down to her diaper and T-shirt (in a warm room).
• Burp him in a sitting position.
• Give Baby a back rub.
• Take off her socks and rub Baby’s feet or wiggle her toes.
Play “this little piggy.”
• Move Baby’s arms and legs in a gentle exercise pattern.
• Prop Baby in an infant seat in the middle of the family’s activity.
• Hold your baby upright and sing to her.
You might also be able to shorten these excessive naps by putting him down for his nap in a room with daylight and some noise, and keeping nighttime sleep very dark and quiet.
Newborn babies do sleep a lot during the day. But this will change very soon. It can be a challenge to learn how to go about your usual daily routines with a baby along, but it’s important that
82
The No-Cry Sleep Solution
you begin to see your baby as a little person who keeps you company throughout the day. Don’t feel that you must save every task for the times when your baby is sleeping. Begin now to include your awake baby in your everyday chores. After all, babies love to watch and learn, and you are your baby’s most important teacher. She will enjoy becoming a part of your daily life, and you will enjoy
I suggest that you put your baby in a good-quality nighttime diaper, and when she wakes, do a quick check. Change her only
80
The No-Cry Sleep Solution
if you have to, and do it as quickly and quietly as you can in the dark. Use a tiny night-light when you change the baby, and avoid any bright lights that can signal daytime. Have your changing supplies organized and close to Baby’s bed, and make sure you use a warm cloth to wipe that sleepy bottom. (Check into the many available types of baby-wipe warmers, and keep one near your nighttime changing station.)
Nighttime Cues
You will want to create special cues that signal bedtime sleep. A consistent, exact bedtime routine that begins at least thirty minutes before sleep time is very helpful in getting baby to organize his day/night sleep pattern. (You can read more about bedtime routines on pages 100–103.)
Don’t Let Baby Nap Too Long
Try not to let your newborn take too long of a nap. If your little one is sleeping a lot during the day, including a three- to five-hour stretch, and then getting up frequently at night, she may have her days and nights mixed up. (Of course, there are those few babies who take long naps and then sleep well at night, but if your baby were like this you wouldn’t be reading this book now, would you?)
Not allowing too long of a nap is sometimes a hard rule to keep. When you are sleep deprived, and you have gotten behind on your own chores and responsibilities, it’s easy to “take advantage” of your baby’s long nap to catch up. While this may be helpful in the short run, it can interfere with nighttime sleep, which makes it harder for you to function during the day. It also delays the time when your baby organizes her sleep into short, daytime naps and long, nighttime sleeps.
Review and Choose Sleep Solutions
81
This is one of the times when we can break that rule of never waking a sleeping baby. If your baby has napped more than two or three hours, wake her gently, and encourage her to stay awake for a while and play.
Some babies, like my second child, Vanessa, are such sleepy newborns that an earthquake can’t wake them! We have a family portrait with a sleeping four-week-old Vanessa in her Daddy’s arms because absolutely nothing would wake her for the picture.
Here are a few tips for waking such a sleepy baby when it’s time to get up and eat:
• Try to wake your baby during a lighter stage of sleep. Watch for movement in arms, legs, and face. If your baby’s limbs are dangling limply, she’ll be especially hard to waken.
• Give Baby a diaper change or wipe his face with a damp washcloth.
• Unwrap your baby and undress her down to her diaper and T-shirt (in a warm room).
• Burp him in a sitting position.
• Give Baby a back rub.
• Take off her socks and rub Baby’s feet or wiggle her toes.
Play “this little piggy.”
• Move Baby’s arms and legs in a gentle exercise pattern.
• Prop Baby in an infant seat in the middle of the family’s activity.
• Hold your baby upright and sing to her.
You might also be able to shorten these excessive naps by putting him down for his nap in a room with daylight and some noise, and keeping nighttime sleep very dark and quiet.
Newborn babies do sleep a lot during the day. But this will change very soon. It can be a challenge to learn how to go about your usual daily routines with a baby along, but it’s important that
82
The No-Cry Sleep Solution
you begin to see your baby as a little person who keeps you company throughout the day. Don’t feel that you must save every task for the times when your baby is sleeping. Begin now to include your awake baby in your everyday chores. After all, babies love to watch and learn, and you are your baby’s most important teacher. She will enjoy becoming a part of your daily life, and you will enjoy
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