The No-cry Sleep Solution (36 page)

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The No-Cry Sleep Solution

Mother-Speak

“I am not big on ‘routines,’ but with the twins I have had to dis-cipline myself to have somewhat of a routine. I try not to be an avid clock-watcher; instead, I pay attention to the babies’

cues. For example, I try to put the babies down for a nap around 9:30. This morning Rebecca was obviously tired at 9:30.

Thomas, on the other hand, was in great form, laughing, playing, and enjoying life—not in the least tired. So I put Rebecca down for a nap and kept Thomas up for another thirty minutes. If I had tried to put him down when he wasn’t tired, I would have eventually gotten him to sleep, but it would have been a struggle. By waiting thirty minutes, until he showed signs of tiredness, I got him to sleep easily. In other words, I have a vague structure to my day, with some flexibility depending on my babies.”

Alice, mother of six-month-old twins Rebecca and Thomas A daily routine for a two-year-old might look like this: (This is just a rough sample; yours may be very different.) 7:00—Up for the day

Get dressed

Have breakfast

Playtime

11:30–12:00—Lunch

12:00–12:30—Down for a nap

After nap, midday snack

Playtime

5:00—Dinner

6:30–7:00—Bath and start bedtime routine

8:00—Bedtime

Review and Choose Sleep Solutions

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When you have a daily eat, sleep, and play routine, you will find that your baby is more willing to nap, eat, and sleep when the regular time comes, because his internal clock ticks along with your predictable schedule. Of course, if your baby is strictly breast- or formula-fed he should be “demand fed” (or a softer description that I prefer: “cue fed”) whenever he is hungry. However, you can build a predictable routine flow around the other parts of your day.

Have Your Baby Take Regular Naps

This idea may help everyone.

According to sleep research, and motherly experience, the length and quality of naps affect nighttime sleep. (And conversely, nighttime sleep affects naps.) A nap less than one hour in length does not really count. These catnaps can take the edge off, but because the sleep cycle is not complete, they may just make your baby fussier in the long run. A few babies seem to rewrite this rule and function beautifully on a forty-five-minute nap, but don’t assume this to be the case for your baby unless both his nap and nighttime sleep are consistent and he seems well rested.