Womb to Bloom - Maternity & Beyond

I don’t know who came up with the phrase “sleeping like a baby,” but it was obviously someone who had never been around babies much.  Anyone who has cared for an infant knows that getting them to sleep when they’re supposed to can be a maddening experience.  The sound of a crying baby at 3:00 a.m., after you just fed him at 2:00 a.m., is enough to make any parent break down and cry right along with the baby.

Are you planning for your baby to sleep in his own crib? In his own room? If so, you’re in the minority…around the world, that is. In most cultures, parents share a bed with their babies from the time they’re born, whether due to tradition or space limitations. There’s no discussion about should-we-or-shouldn’t-we; it’s simply a fact of life. But for those of us in the western world, where independence is encouraged from an early age and where we can generally afford to give our children their own beds, it’s not an easy decision.

There are several factors to consider when deciding whether to share a bed with your baby, including what’s optimal for everyone in the family and whether you can provide a safe sleep-sharing environment.

Everyone has their own theory and method to get a baby to sleep through the night. The subject is the hotly debated topic of countless books and magazine articles. Many people are very passionate about their thoughts on getting babies to sleep all night. I’m not an expert or an author. I’m not an activist for my method. I just have four kids who have always been great sleepers. Some of it, I’m sure, is luck. But I’m gonna go ahead and take a little credit too.

At about four months, babies are physically ready to sleep through the night without being fed. Their little stomachs can hold enough to hold them for the night. This is about the time that each of my children started sleeping for six and seven hours at a time. God bless them. I’m not sure that I could have survived without sleep for much longer.

How about two tranquilizers and a shot of vodka? I never understood why people couldn’t just put their children to sleep and allow them to cry it out. I was one of THOSE people pre-baby that admonished those whose children did any of the following: slept in their beds, took a pacifier, or would only fall asleep if held.

That all changed the first week of my baby’s life when she seemed inconsolable. I broke all the rules then; she slept on my husband and in our bed with a pacifier in her mouth. I became of the mind: Whatever works for you.

Fast forward six months and we’ve succeeded at teaching her to fall asleep on her own and maintained our sanity. But it wasn’t without its tortures. Hearing your baby cry at ear piercing decibels can just unravel a soul and make you feel meaner than a torturer.