QuoteReplyTopic: Article you might find helpful Posted: 13 February 2010 at 9:01pm
A friend gave me this article and it really made sense so i thought i would share it and it might help someone else out..........a bit of understanding
Voice of a baby, if only he could talk
When i was in mummys tummy, i could sleep any time i wanted to. It was always dark and warm and safe and cosy. Mummys heartbeat was so soothing and her movement lulled me to sleep. In fact, when she la down really still at night, then that would often wake me up.
But now that ive arrived, its so frustrating. I try so hard to tell mummy when im tired and need to go to bed. I screw up my face, I whine and grizzle, I clench my fists and make jerky movements. Thats all Im able to do so far. And what does she do? She tries to feed me another drink, or worse, shows me an interesting toy. Yeah I know both are kind of good for a little while, but by then im really tired.
Finally after Ive been waiting for ages, crying and getting annoyed, Mummy works out that i must be tired. Phew, Ive been trying to tell her for over an hour now - its like she cant hear me. But now im so over tired and over stimulated, its hard for me to relax.
So once in bed i like to cry for a while, its soothing for me, because i can shut everything out and it makes my body produce relaxing hormones so i can calm down. But heck, mummy wont even let me do that on my own. Shes in and out, and in and out of my bedroom, rocking me, patting me, - OH JUST GIVE ME SOME PEACE PLEASE. But not too quiet thanks, some vacumming or the radio or just some other humdrum sound is great. Back ground noise lets me zone out
Another thing that bothers me is that id really like to be wrapped up for my sleeps, nice and tight, so i can feel cosy like i used to be inside mummys tummy. but my mummy doesnt do that, so i ned up sprawled out on my back with my arms high, its awful - and i dont know how to make my arms come back down. and doesnt she know that i still cant congrol my startle-reflex yet, so my arms or legs end up accidentally waking me up, or worse my fingernails scratch my face. Its so annoying i hate it when that happens, it makes me cry - then she comes in and gets me up but once again i havent even finished sleeping. I feel so tired nearly all the time, and that makes me cranky. Its just so frustrating. All i can do is cry
Quite often i wake up after ive been sleeing for not even an hour. I cant help it, it just happens; my brain is still learning how to stay asleep for longer. But then mummy things Ive finished my rest and I havent. I need to go back to sleep, thats why im crying, so i can go back to sleep again. but oh no.....here she comes. Shes going to get me out of bed again!! OH heck! OH no, not more food again!!!
Ah....from "Ohbaby, birth, motherhood and beyond" (or something like that). I remember that passage...pretty good.
I have an email somewhere...wonder if I can find it. It is a more take the piss approach and is about "sleep training" for parents...ie how a baby can train its parents to survive on very little sleep
I cant find it...it must have been pre this computer. It was really funny. It was in the vein of those "diary of a dog/cat" emails
good ol google....
Baby's perspective on sleep training
Here is the baby conspiracy I was talking about.
A Baby's Perspective on Sleep Training...
OK, here's my situation. My Mommy has had me for almost 7 months. The first few months were great--I cried, she picked me up and fed me, anytime, day or night. Then something happened.
Over the last few weeks, she has been trying to STTN (sleep thru the night).
At first, I thought it was just a phase, but it is only getting worse. I've talked to other babies, and it seems like it's pretty common after Mommies have had us for around 6 months.
Here's the thing: these Mommies don't really need to sleep. It's just a habit. Many of them have had some 30 years to sleep--they just don't need it anymore. So I am implementing a plan. I call it the Crybaby Shuffle.
It goes like this:
Night 1--cry every 3 hours until you get fed. I know, it's hard. It's hard to see your Mommy upset over your crying. Just keep reminding yourself, it's for her own good.
Night 2--cry every 2 hours until you get fed.
Night 3--every hour.
Most Mommies will start to respond more quickly after about 3 nights.
Some Mommies are more alert, and may resist the change longer. These Mommies may stand in your doorway for hours, shhhh-ing. Don't give in. I cannot stress this enough: CONSISTENCY IS KEY!!
If you let her STTN (sleep through the night), just once, she will expect it every night. I KNOW IT'S HARD! But she really does not need the sleep, she is just resisting the change.
If you have an especially alert Mommy, you can stop crying for about 10 minutes, just long enough for her to go back to bed and start to fall asleep. Then cry again. It WILL eventually work. My Mommy once stayed awake for 10 hours straight, so I know she can do it. Last night, I cried every hour. You just have to decide to stick to it and just go for it.
BE CONSISTENT! I cried for any reason I could come up with.
My sleep sack tickled my foot.
I felt a wrinkle under the sheet.
My mobile made a shadow on the wall.
I burped, and it tasted like pears (I hadn't eaten pears since lunch - what's up with that?)
The dog said "woof" (I should know. My Mommy reminds me of this about 20 times a day. LOL.)
Once I cried just because I liked how it sounded when it echoed on the monitor in the other room.
Too hot, too cold, just right--doesn't matter! Keep crying!!
It took awhile, but it worked. She fed me at 4am. Tomorrow night, my goal is 3:30am.
You need to slowly shorten the interval between feedings in order to reset your Mommies' internal clocks.
P.S. Don't let those rubber things fool you, no matter how long you suck on them, NO milk will come out! Trust me.
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