Baby Whisperer sleep question

[skippingturtle]

Hi there,
Have been given a copy of the Baby Whisperer book and am a bit confused by some of the advice regarding sleep. There's every chance I've misunderstood so feel free to set me right!

She seems strongly of the opinion that babies should only nap or sleep in their moses basket/cot (i.e. the place where they spend the night). I'm taking this to mean that in her opinion babies shouldn't be napping in their pram/bouncy chair etc during the day.

I thought the Baby Whisperer was supposed to be one of the more flexible ways of establishing a routine (and therefore SLEEP ), but surely if the baby can't sleep anywhere other than in its own bed then it's impossible to leave the house for more than a very short amount of time?

Advice gratefully received!

[alexw]

She does say that.I use her method but do use pram for daytime sleep so can get out! I think it's also important to distinguish day and nighttime sleep. Has worked well for my 2 (so far - dd2 only 5 weeks). HTH

[Igglybuff]

How old is your little one? I found as DS gets older he needs more peace for naps but when younger he could nap anywhere.

I've got that book and found the EASY ok but didn't lay any attention to where DS slept - I think it's more important they get the chance to nap in the day not where they nap. Also he changes so much so sometimes he's fine napping in his cot, other times he naps in the sling or puschair.

If you make sure your baby is used to the cot at night and put them in the cot in the day so they're used to it, I'm sure they'll nap in the cot ocassionally. Just dontget hung up on it!

[skippingturtle]

Hi there,
Thanks for your replies. Glad to know you're having some success with it, I did think lots of what she says makes sense. Baby hasn't arrived yet (1 day overdue) so thought I'd do some last minute swotting up!

[Igglybuff]

Can I make a suggestion? Ignore the books for the firs few weeks. Believe me, I made the mistake of trying to follow various routines but as DS slept most of the day (and not the night ) I was just about surviving and the books stressed me out.

However they were helpful after the first 8-10 weeks when he settled down.

Enjoy your last few days (or maybe it'll be hours ) of freedom!

[flimflammum]

I found some advice in the BW books very helpful, but ignored other bits. But re your question, I seem to remember the author suggesting that at least one of your baby's naps should be in the cot (i.e. not necessarily all). I think the most important thing is that the baby learns to get to sleep in their cot, not always needing motion or bf or whatever to get to sleep. But they don't need to learn it straight away. In fact newborns will usually sleep anywhere.

[skippingturtle]

Thank you, Iggly and Flimflam, sounds like good common sense to adopt which bits of a regime work and not to worry too much about stuff that doesn't work for you personally. Tricky to know which bits to keep and which to ditch until you've tried stuff out I suppose!

Good tip about trying to just go with the flow at the start, I'm sure I'm doing that new mum thing of 'trying to start as I mean to go on'!

[Igglybuff]

Just enjoy the first few weeks of cuddling your new baby, make the most of visitors (they must bring cake) and just enjoy your baby! They do find their own routine if you let them sleep/eat when they want to.

I was the same - first timer here! Looking back, things like self settling to sleep, sleeping in the cot etc all came around 5 months. Before that there were so many spurts etc that the only thing that mattered was making sure DS got naps and was put to bed early (I only know this with hindsight!)

as well as the books don't forget to go with your instinct. Remember these authors don't always have kids so can't bring that side of parenting into their advice. It's easy to say make sure your baby learns to self soothe by 2 days old (I exaggerate) but if rocking is quicker, then do it!

[AngelDog]

I agree - you need to be flexible as different books' approaches don't work for different babies (despite what the authors claim). The BW approach to sleep didn't work for DS, but I (foolishly) persevered with it. He ended up being overtired to the point where he would only sleep in a sling during the day. It's worth giving different approaches a try, but don't be afraid to ditch them if they don't suit your baby.

Some books recommend having naps in the same place as night so it's associated with sleep, others in a different place from night so they can tell night from day. Be aware that the FSID guidelines are that your baby should always sleep in the same room as you (naps and nighttime) for the first 6 months to reduce the likelihood of cot death. It's up to you how closely you follow it, but from what I recall, the Baby Whisperer doesn't seem to address that issue in saying they should always sleep in their cot.

Do make time to enjoy the first few months as much as you can without worrying about doing things the 'right' way. With sleep, I always say that it's better to get into 'bad' habits with how/where you get your baby to sleep than it is to get into the bad habit of your baby not sleeping. As Iggly says, they'll find their own routine if you let them.