This might be our biggest misstep with our baby to date… but it took a full FOUR nap-free days for our ten month old son for us to realize that this sleep mistake is, well, a mistake.
I phrase it like that because prior to these past few (long) nap-free days, we didn’t realize that what we were doing was a problem.
And, truly, although it *might* not be the cause for the lack of naps, the refusal to nap is what made us realize something had to change (and seek guidance).
Now might be the time to remind you… there are no “sick days” when you are a parent. Sure, you still get sick… but you don’t get to request time off. Here are a few of my tips and tricks for Parenting When You Can’t Call in Sick… because it sure is tempting to try when baby won’t nap for days on end!!
Our Sleep Mistake
Please bear in mind that we are learning as we go, much like most new parents… so when baby started his earlier months falling asleep while eating, it seemed natural to put him to bed (no bottle) fast asleep.
There was minimal fussing with this method, and the only other option that I was aware of was the “cry it out” method, which seemed (and still seems) cruel and rather barbaric.
It took four full days of baby refusing to take a nap for me to research some more, and find a different way of handing things.
I’m sharing with you, so you can avoid our sleep mistake.
Our (Hopeful) Solution
As soon as our sleep mistake was been brought to our attention, we sought a solution (that didn’t involve endless crying).
A sort of in-between solution seems to be to put your baby to bed sleepy, but not wait for them to fall asleep. We plan on trying this immediately with our new baby when he is born, simply for the reason that it allows the baby to learn self-soothing.
Although we have tried this in the past, baby wailed and we picked him up and held him until he fell asleep… which is what our mistake was. I won’t describe all of the method… rather, I will give credit to the source (Pediaclinic) and direct you to the article there.
I do want to clarify, however, that despite the fact that we plan on laying our new baby (due in just a few short months) down sleepy (not asleep) so he can learn to self-soothe, we will NOT be using the remainder of this method until our new baby is at least six months old. We understand that new babies NEED to eat during the night, and do not plan to withhold from meeting needs.
How do you put your baby to sleep? Did you make our mistake, use the cry-it-out method, or something in-between? Let me know in the comments below!
Christian, wife, “hybrid” mama, I run the site All Behind A Smile to help others like me.
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