Q&A: It takes forever for my baby to fall asleep

One morning not too long ago I was standing in the check-out line at the market when a woman in front of me began bragging about how sweet and angelic her 5 month old was and how her dearest daughter slept straight through the night.

“Not a single peep out of her!” she boasted. The check-out girl nodded and applaud`ed her on being such a good mother, getting her daughter to sleep as she did.

At the time I had a 14 month old who had slept through the night TWICE in his entire life. That’s right, I kept track – TWICE. So he wakes up every 2-4 hours - did this mean I was a bad mother? No, though I was beginning to question my parenting skills. Even getting him to go to sleep was a long, arduous task that consumed most of my night (which I didn’t mind so much, since I taped my favorite prime-time programs on my PVR).

This woman’s tale of victory inspired me to go on and discover how I could get my son to go to bed in a timely manner. Here is what I discovered worked for him:

KEEP THEM ON A ROUTINE

Children thrive on routine. As soon as I carried on a certain task with him for a few days, he anticipated when it was coming on the days following. He realized what was expected of him, and he tried to live up to that expectation.

KEEP THEM WARM

Ever wonder why so many parenting books and magazines recommend bathing your child at night? As soon as I switched to bathing my son at night rather than in the morning, I found he was going down for sleeps well before his typical 11pm night time. Within an hour after his bath, once I put on his warm sleeper and cuddled with him, he was out.

You want to be sure that his bed is also warm. I found that when I laid him on cold sheets after his warm bath and cuddle session he would often wake up – thus rendering the whole process useless. Even if you have to throw his blankie in the dryer for a few minutes each night, your sanity is well worth it.

KEEP THEM FULL

Be sure that your baby has a full belly when you are putting him to bed. Try to make dinner time an hour or two before when you would “like” for them to rest, and continue to offer drinks. Many moms and dads swear by warm milk, whether it is from a bottle or your breast.

Remember: Every child is different

What I and many mothers must continue to remind themselves of is that every single baby is different. That 5 month old may be sleeping through the night and my son isn’t, but that is just the kind of little guy he is. Continue to try different routines and methods if one doesn’t seem to be working after a week or two, and just remember: soon they’ll be teenagers and you will but once again be losing sleep!