Wednesday, July 13, 2011

How to get your baby to sleep through the night

How to get your baby to sleep through the night? Just grit yourself and say "this too shall pass" and read Adam Mansbach's Go the F**k to Sleep to prepare yourself for the sleepless years to come and have a good laugh. (P.S. It is not a guide book on how to get baby to sleep, it is a humourous look at parents who have tried for years to get their children to sleep during the early childhood years.)

One of the ways I used to get baby to sleep was through music. Music soothes not only baby but me too! I remember I used to go to one of those online songs for children sites. Whenever my firstborn could not sleep, I would pick her up and hold her over my shoulder, then I would play those free midis and sing or hum along as I did my work  blogged. It worked perfectly. Music calmed her down and me down as well.

Otherwise I would have been so worked up. The only problem I did not manage to resolve was how to let baby stay asleep. Quite often after she drifted off to sleep with my bad singing, I would put her gently down in the cot and there would be peace and silence for ..... 5 minutes. Then she would be up again. Thank goodness for the relaxing music even though it is just children's music.

Like I said, my only advice is to grit your teeth and tell yourself "this too shall pass" because they grow up so quickly. Now my kids are 7 and 9, I think if I try to sing, they'd say "Mummy, please, I'm trying to read." They have this habit to read every night and the first thing when they wake up and during mealtimes and waiting times and just about any time of the day.

You can visit my Squidoo lens for more Children's Songs to sing with your child. I have made a very nice list with previews and recommendations of online sites offering kids songs with lyrics, free midis, sheet music etc. Do check it out: Children Songs Lyrics and Music. You can sing with your child while they are awake and not only to get them to sleep.

Back to the subject on sleep, when all fails and you are ready to tear your hair out and it is the middle of the night and you can't get back to sleep, perhaps you'd like to have a good laugh and read Go the F**k to Sleep by Adam Mansbach. Please don't read it to your kid. It is an adult book with adult humour and swear words. It will probably make a great Father's Day gift. :)

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4 comments:

  1. My first born sleeps through the night when she was less than 2 months old. I thought how blessed am I to have a such a baby.

    Today, my second baby was the complete opposite! I am constantly struggling to function and I ALWAYS look tired.

    I have reminded myself countless times that this will soon past and he will grow out of it. And when he does, perhaps I will miss him being a baby :)

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  2. Mommy-yeoh, I do miss the times when my kids were babies especially their baby feet and hands and smooth skin. :)

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  3. I think you can tell whether your baby is sleeping through the night when you are pregnant. I was having many insomnia in my first pregnancy, so my first born woke up during mid of the night very frequence. I slept much better in my second pregnancy, so my second had no problem sleeping through the night too. Hehehe! Just coincident or it is actually a training for mummy to get ready for the new born.

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  4. Yan,
    Haha, that is a cute theory. I think both babies game me sleepless nights when I was pregnant and that is why they continued to give me sleepless nights when newborn!

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