When you have your first baby, the thing you usually have on your brain is sleep. That is because you are not getting much of it. Many mothers want their babies to sleep through the night at too early of an age. You have to be realistic about what your baby can and can’t do. Those first few days home from the hospital are usually not too bad. The baby is exhausted and so are you. You won’t be sleeping through the night, but you the baby will sleep a lot. Usually a week or two into your baby’s life, they are confused about one thing: When they are supposed to sleep, and when they are supposed to be awake. In the womb, the baby could sleep whenever he wanted. Now, you want him on a schedule.
The reality is that you will hear a lot of conflicting information on this topic. Some people will say that your baby should be sleeping through the night at 6 weeks, others will say it’s impossible. Strangers will put in their two cents worth as they see your newborn. Books contradict each other. You have to decide what feels right for you. That would be my first bit of advice.
For me, I did not believe in letting my baby cry it out. Yes, fussing a little is OK, but full blown crying is not in my opinion. As newborns, babies do not know how to manipulate you. They learn that later. My way of thinking is that if they cry, they need something. As a Mom, it’s my job to figure out what that something is. I know people will disagree with me, and that’s OK. Each parent has to do what is right for them. For me, crying it out was not an option. I read books like Baby Wise that suggested a rigid schedule of sleep, and strict rules of letting your baby cry it out until they realize that they are supposed to fall asleep, and that mommy is not coming. That wasn’t for me. I also read books that were all about attachment parenting, and letting the child dictate his own schedule. That didn’t seem like it was for me either. I needed a little bit of a schedule, but flexibility when necessary.
The book that fit just right, for me, was Secrets of the Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg. This book felt like the answer I was looking for when trying to help my baby learn how to sleep in a healthy, proper way. It felt like a middle ground between the two extremes I was constantly struggling with.
She talks in her book about setting up a schedule for baby, but also teaches a new mother how to read baby’s cues so that you can be flexible also. When I discovered this book, I already had my second child, but I still learned a lot. My first was a good sleeper, and my second was not. So, this book saved my life when I was about to lose my mind.
If you are feeling conflicted about whether to let your baby cry it out, or letting the baby rule the roost, check out this book. You might find exactly what you were looking for.