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Book Review!

10/5/2009

4 Comments

 
Yes, I am actually doing a book review! (or as Brian calls it, a book report. I guess I never left 7th grade).

No, this post is dedicated to my friend Liz who's son does not sleep. Like, at all. He will be one on October 13th (birthday twins with Brian!) but according to her, he just never sleeps. Or at least enough to her liking.

It's so funny how obsessed mothers are with sleep. I know I am. You talk to others, you compare sleep schedules, you fret about your child's lack of sleep, you fret about your child sleeping too much, you yell at your husband because he gets to sleep through the night while you suffer (okay, that might not be everyone, just me.) Sleep is so hugely important. I really wish we were all like the Cullen family and could just go forever with no sleep, ever. Bella really had it good --- (spoiler alert for Twilight fans who have not read all the books) --- she got pregnant, had the baby, and then immediately became a vampire. Wow, that's tough (not). She had three bad days of that fire-in-her-blood stuff and then she became one of the Undead. When little Reneesme didn't sleep through the night...no problem. Bella was awake. Forever.

Okay, I'm rambling. Anyways, sleep is hugely important. I used to lecture my clients about the importance of good sleep hygiene. I know the basics, I also know a guy in Japan died after staying awake by playing video games for 36 straight hours. His body never had a chance to repair itself on the cellular level, and he just went caput. Sleep is THAT important. I don't want to go caput anytime soon, nor do I want that for Scotty-bear.

And so, new mothers and mothers-to-be, run, don't walk, to get the following book: "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby," by Mark Weissbluth. This man is a genius. And what he says makes total sense.

A lot of the book is geared for older kids, but he establishes some good, basic rules in the beginning. The two main tenants are 1.) once your baby has reached his birth weight, never wake a sleeping baby, and 2.) babies under four months should never be awake for more than 1-2 hours. MAX.

I read the second tenant and was like, "Huh?" And then the light bulb went off. A lot of Scotty's fussiness wasn't attributed to him, it was due to me. (We like to call this 'user error' in house.) My mistake was to misread his cues. His fussiness was actually overtiredness, and I was missing his sleep window.

I readjusted a few things, and now I am super vigilant of the clock. We play in the morning from 10:30-12:30, but at 12:00, I am already preparing the next warm bottle, I'm moving him to a dark room, I'm wrapping him in a nice blanket...anything that is warm and comforting and promotes sleep. I found that after a day or two, he adjusted to his, and by 12:30, he was out. Cold. And his nap would last until 3:30-4:00pm. A lovely, happy baby greeted me, ready for another round of wakefulness, but by 6pm, he was ready to go down again.

Brian and I have been able to enjoy dinners together without a screaming baby, we can actually talk like adults, and it allows me more time to blog. :-) Seriously, though, this book makes all the sense in the world. I don't know how well it works for birth to 4 weeks (since I didn't find it until 5 weeks), but it is rocking my world right now.

Obviously, all of this can change at a moment's notice. Now that I've put it in print, I'm sure he will be a Crazy Baby tomorrow. But I have learned to respect the nap. And leave a sleeping baby lie. And it's made my life 100% easier.

(and, if that isn't great enough, my friend Sandy's sister actually SEES Dr. Weissbluth as her pediatrician. A celebrity pediatrician! I guess he works at Northwestern in Chicago. I kind of want him to sign my book...)

So, Lizzie, hang in there. I'm sorry that Wes has given you a run for your money, sleep-wise. At least breast feeding worked out! It always seems like there is a trade-off.
4 Comments
Liz
10/6/2009 12:25:04 pm

Ha! The timing of this post is incredible. For the past two nights Wes has been up partying at 4 am. Last night we left him to cry it out. (Not the first time just the first in a while.) It took an hour and 45 minutes. I wished I had ear plugs and a house with a master bedroom on a separate floor!
But yes that book is great. I read it in a sleep deprived state so I had to read it a couple times before it all clicked. It has helped, at nine months he finally slept through the night!
I used to be so bitter when people would tell me, "My son/daughter sleeps from 8 until 5:30 and he/she is only 3 months." I would look at Wes and be like "DO YOU HEAR THIS? WES YOU ARE FOUR MONTHS OLDER, TAKE SOME LESSONS!" Then I made a mental note to never have a sleep conversation with that person again. I only liked talking to people whose babies woke up more than Wes. (Kim if you keep bragging about Scotty's sleeping, I may have to stop reading your blog!)
Well gotta get ready for bed soon, I expect to hear from the little man around 4 am......

Reply
Liz
10/7/2009 05:52:39 am

Update! Wes slept from 8 pm to 6 am the night of my previous post! Hallelujah!

Reply
Kim
10/7/2009 05:54:09 am

So let me get this straight, Liz...Wes is little guy that likes to hang out with other people and stay up late...sounds like someone else I know! The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. :-)

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Air Jordan link
3/4/2011 02:37:44 pm

In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing.

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