Comments on: Ensuring Peaceful Nights with Your Baby

By: Karen

Karen — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 21:35:09 +0000

Sara- Your experience sounds a lot like mine. You didn’t mention how old your baby is. My son just turned 1 year and has only in the past few weeks decreased his night nursings from 10-12 times down to 4-5 times a night. I am alos unable to sleep through nursing. All I can say is it does eventually get better. It has seemed to me that sleep wise my baby was just very immature and needed time, and my patience, to develop the ability to stay asleep longer. Still not sleeping through the night but one day we’ll get there! it’s exhausting, but have hope and know you are not alone!

By: Sara

Sara — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 19:10:29 +0000

I’m not sure how I’m supposed to get sleep though, when my daughter and I go to sleep at 10:30, and she gets up as much as every hour. I NEVER sleep away from her, and she never sleeps alone. Not during naps, never. Yet she still nurses up to 12 times a night! She cannot need reassurance that I’m still there, since she has never had to cry for a meal, ever. We nurse side-lying, but I cannot sleep through it as I have very large breasts and have to hold them out of her face.

By: Missy

Missy — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 02:34:40 +0000

I just want to offer a suggestion: I have slept with my baby boy since he was a newborn (he had natural birth at a birth center). We sleep on a futon mattress on the floor. This is the safest way to do it because it is very firm so there are no soft mattress folds to worry about suffocation and you also don’t have to worry about them falling off the bed. I don’t like beds anyways, I have always liked sleeping on the floor.

Anyways, I get GREAT sleep and I have since he was one week old and I learned how to breastfeed him laying down. He is now 6 months old and he wakes me briefly about 3-4 times throughout the night and I immediately roll to one side and breastfeed him and he goes right back to sleep. Change sides each time by leaving my shirt strap down, I can remember which side. It’s perfect and so easy!

I have no idea what “putting to sleep” is either. He sleeps when he’s tired, whenever that may be. LOL. These have been my instincts. It never made sense to me why a frightened helpless baby new to this world should be apart from his/her mom by being put in a crib, much less a whole other room! What the heck is that all about? Who’s dumb idea was that?

Oh and my instincts have led me to other important life decisions as well. As the person designated to protect him I have decided:

No circumcision
No vaccines
Breastfeeding for at least 2 years
Raw vegan diet
Extended family

By: Ivana

Ivana — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 20:27:48 +0000

I am a mother of a 7 month old baby and a 4,5 year old girl. Thank you so much for this wonderful text, ful of warm and wise tips. I completely agree with you and with this you reassured me that I am a good mother. I will keep listening to my baby and my own hart!

By: Nati

Nati — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 13:26:27 +0000

Thank you for this article, it is very encouraging to me.

My son is 2 months and people often ask when I put him to sleep and I never know what to say because I never put him to sleep, he just goes to sleep when he feels like it while being held or carried and then we go to bed together.

Recently I started thinking about putting him to bed earlier so that he can sleep better without interruptions (he usually wakes up when I lay him down at night) and my husband and I can have some time for ourselves.

I don’t feel really comfortable with these thoughts however as they are probably related to the pressure from the society and not to my instincts. Now I think I’ll just keep doing what I have been doing!

By: Jen

Jen — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:35:32 +0000

My 3 yr old daughter’s bed is in my room (co sleep) and my 8 month old son sleeps with me in my bed (bed sharing). Our bedroom is exactly that. We all sleep in there. My husband and I just have to be creating when it comes to sex, the stairs are fun, lol. I receive a lot of criticism for this choice and even my husband is not convinced as he believes in the cry it out crap… but when my 3 yr old has a bad dream, I am right there to comfort her, it’s easy and natural. When she was first born I tried to follow the “Baby wise” approach with scheduled feedings and sleep training, cry it out etc. She is a firey personality and this only fueled tantrums at a very very early age. It broke my heart once I realized. We are slowly undoing that damage and though I am not one to live with regrets, this is something I wish I didnt do because it was at the expense of my child’s emotional welfare. With my son we are trying everything attachment and the difference is night and day. I believe the trick is to do what is natural for you and your family. Now we parent this way for both and I find parenting so satifying and I dont have guilt now. Do what your instincts tell you, this is attachment parenting. Good Luck!

By: JOhana

JOhana — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 19:14:02 +0000

I know cosleeping is great but it doesn’t work for all. Although my baby is in a crib besides my bed, I was never able to sleep with him in the same bed, I usually never feel comfortable enough to get into deep sleep. You have to be a happy mama and enjoying it in order to work. I will recruit someone to help you for a week, perhaps a friend or someone from the family that is close to your child and work on trying to help him to wean for the night. I like the book of DR. Sears about sleeping or Elizabeth Pantley book also. They have them in many libraries. Good Luck!

By: Tara

Tara — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 01:36:20 +0000

I have been co-sleeping with my son since birth. He is now 2 1/2 and has never slept as long as children his age are “supposed” to. He rarely wants to take a nap or go to bed. He still wants to nurse all night. When he was a baby I could go back to sleep while he was nursing. I can’t anymore and it takes me a long time to go back to sleep once I can slither away. I am exhausted!
I have been working on “Mama’s milk needs to sleep and you can have mama’s milk when the sun comes up”. I also offer him water or milk in a cup. But he cries and cries and thinks of anything he can to “wake up” mama’s milk (these days asking to use the potty a few times a night).
I need help on what I can do, if anything. He needs more sleep. I need more sleep. I know we would be a lot happier and healthier if we got it.
BTW – I am a single mother.