7 Secrets of the Newborn by Robert C. Hamilton M.D

Author:Robert C. Hamilton M.D.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

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Rev Up the White Noise

White noise machines, which produce soft, predictable, and comforting sounds like a mommy’s swishing heartbeat, rainfall, or ocean waves, are useful to block unwelcome noises like dripping faucets or noises from a television in the next apartment. Parents find white noise, played at low volume, is beneficial in calming their babies at bedtime and throughout the night.

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4. The key to success is this: don’t let your child fall asleep in your arms. Hold and comfort baby in your arms until she is drowsy and nodding off but not fully asleep. Since going to sleep is a learned phenomenon, you want her to learn how to go to sleep on her own. Parents who make the mistake of holding their children in their arms until they are dead weight and fully asleep inadvertently weave themselves into the tapestry of their children’s sleep cycle. You and your body become part of the equation for your baby to get to sleep, and thus, when it’s bedtime, your baby will always need you to be there. As one mother put it, “I have become my child’s human pacifier.”

5. Babies need to go down in their own cribs. When your baby reaches the point that she is drowsy and near the point of falling asleep in your arms, this is the moment to put her in her crib. In other words, your little girl must be fully cognizant that she is being put in her own crib, not your bed. Cognizant is the operative word here. Your baby must understand what’s happening when she’s being put to bed.

6. Anticipate that they will cry. Early on, when you’re first getting into the sleep-training groove, children will undoubtedly cry when they are placed alone in their cribs. This is the usual and expected pattern, so don’t be surprised. And don’t be surprised either with the intensity of their crying. They will be loud and adamant. Children can’t talk at five months of age, but the meaning of this cry is unmistakable: “Pick me up now!”

7. Don’t be bullied by the holler. The intensity of her cry will be downright intimidating, but hold tight. Allow her to cry for three to five minutes. Count off the time together on the clock with your spouse. Her sobbing will not hurt her, her psyche, her lungs, or her vocal cords. It only hurts your heart.

8. You can pick up your baby. After three to five minutes of this cacophonous harangue, if your baby is still crying—and she probably will be—go back into the room, pick her up, and comfort her. This is where I disagree with many other sleep experts. After these kinds of intense crying events, I believe it’s natural (and reasonable) for a mother to want to comfort her child. I see no harm in this, and I believe it imparts to your child an understanding that she is loved and that she has not been abandoned.

9. It’s important to calm your baby down again.

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