Let Your Sleeping Baby Sleep!

We’ve all suffered from it – hyper-mommy mode. No, I don’t mean “overly excitable”, what I mean is how we mommies work overtime and perhaps “over mother” our children.

Before you take offense, think about it: how many of us brought home our newborn and insisted that they sleep in our bedroom (if not in our bed) because we feared they would some how stop breathing through the night? How many of us stress ourselves out because our child didn’t eat any cereal for breakfast before you dropped her off for daycare? We especially tend to go into hyper-mommy mode when our child is sleeping. If they are sleeping in their crib, we’ll go in to check and be sure they’re okay. If they make a peep we tend to go rushing into their room with open arms, scoop them up and ‘rescue them’ from – what, exactly?

Believe it or not, but a lot of the time when we hear our little ones coo, sigh, grunt and even sob in their sleep, that’s exactly what they’re doing – they’re doing these things in their sleep. They are not even the slightest bit conscious and yet we pick them up and console them (much to their delighted confusion).

How to Let Them Sleep

This is going to be hard to hear, especially for those mothers like myself who are opposed to the whole “LET THEM CRY IT OUT” method of “teaching” our children. But before you nab your child from their crib or give them your breast or a warm bottle to “soothe” them, wait a few minutes. Listen. If they are crying, is it persistent? Is it sharp and piercing or is it like a hushed moan? Sharp cries that tend to persist after several minutes means that your little one is wide awake and needing a cuddle. Otherwise, allow them to continue to “dream weep”. Crying during sleep does not necessarily mean that he or she is having a nightmare!

As for any grunts, coos and giggles that are being made, these are probably while your baby is asleep and he or she is completely unaware of making such noises. But even if they are awake making these noises, they clearly are content and happy right where they are. So fluff your pillow, lay back, and relax moms and dads! Take that precious time to give each other a cuddle instead.

photo by Adrian