Here’s some advice on babies and sleep from the book “How to Survive Your Baby’s First Year” (Hundreds of Heads Books, www.hundredsofheads.com, $12.95), straight from people who’ve done it.
“For the first couple months of my daughter’s life, my wife and I followed a two nights on/two nights off parenting rotation, which was a lifesaver! One of us assumed complete responsibility for the baby’s middle-of-the-night needs (changing, feeding, etc.), while the other slept in the guest room with a pillow over his/her head, and concentrated exclusively on getting a good night’s sleep. It prevented burnout—48 hours is plenty of time to rejuvenate, and just enough to exhaust the other person.”
— Jordan Graham, Parker, Colo.; father of two daughters, 8 and 1
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“With our twins, each of us would take one child for a whole day. We would each feed, change, bathe, and wake up in the middle of the night for the child under our supervision for a full 24 hours. Then we would switch. This way, we could bond with each child and also keep track of diaper changes and feedings. And after our daughter started sleeping through the night at three months, we were each guaranteed a good night’s rest every other night.”
— M.A., Connecticut; parents of 3-year-old twins
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“Take turns doing the midnight feedings so that each parent gets at least a night or two per week of nearly-full sleep. I worked outside the house, so my wife let me sleep during the week. In exchange I always took Friday and Saturday night. Not only did it help the wife and kids, I think it helped our marriage!”
— M.S., New York; parent of an 18-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son
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“I think a baby should be in a bedtime routine where at a certain hour every night we put her to sleep. Even if the baby cries when you do it, you have to just put the baby down and go to sleep yourselves at some point.”
— Joe Aguilar, Mandelein, Ill.; father of a 13-month-old daughter
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“When it comes to getting a baby to sleep, what works for one won’t necessarily work for another. You have to adapt.”
— Christine McCarthy, Port-Zelienople, Pa.; mother of three sons (6, 4 and 3) and a daughter (1.5 years old)
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“Our baby slept through the night after only three weeks! We made sure to only swaddle her at night and not have her take naps in her nighttime sleep area (crib) so that she knew the difference between night and day. She napped in the living room during the day.”
— Anonymous, Alameda, Calif.; parent of a 7-month-old daughter
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© 2007, Hundreds of Heads Books, Inc.