I would have to say that I am lucky to have an angel of a baby during night time parenting. Sleeping through the night as an average definition from most books is when a baby is able to sleep for 5 consecutive hours without waking. And at 3 months Kulay was already sleeping through the night. He would only wake for a feeding; for a nappy change; or for when he feels that it’s time I transfer him from his crib to beside me on the bed. I can count with my fingers the number of nights Kulay woke up at night and seemingly wanting to play. These are (as I have read) moments when he was learning a new skill and practicing happens at night: when he learned to tumble from side to side to rolling on his belly to his back and vice versa; when he was learning to sit; and when he started pulling up.
And then there were the occasional teething pains, before I discovered teething gel, I was constantly being woken up by Kulay’s incessant cries. And of course there are also those terrible sick nights when he couldn’t stay asleep because of nasal congestion or persistent coughing.
Putting him to sleep is altogether a different issue… which took a lot of trials before finally settling with a routine that worked. I remember when he was about a month old (and this lasted for about a month or two) he resisted sleep and would wail loudly right about the time Ted Failon is delivering the news (as if in protest of whatever he is reporting). I sang to him but that didn’t really work (oh well, I wouldn’t also want my own singing voice singing me to sleep). On the other hand humming and making shushing sounds worked for a while.
The putting to sleep magic for Kulay was a night time routine: bath at around 5.30 pm; a bit of quality time (lots of giggling and cuddling) with mommy and daddy; Milk beside us as we watch the news; and then as soon as I catch a yawn: I say my night time script “ Night night Daddy, night night TV, night night electric fan, night night toys (etc. depending on his state of wakefulness);” then as I put him down in his crib: “Night night Kulay, night night Mr. Sun, Hello Mr. Moon, join me in my slumber.” The length of time from bath to the night night script varies from time to time: the older Kulay gets the longer this spans; and the more tired he is the shorter the difference. And then of course there are the occasional rebellious nights when you both know he’s already really sleepy and you’ve done the night night script like 10 times over but he just wouldn’t quit the world and retire for the night.
(Like my scattered thoughts tonight that just wouldn’t retire and shut down for the night.)
Some of the best advice I read on different books about night time parenting are:
1) The baby has no idea about night and day when he was still in the womb, it is then up to you, the parent, to teach him about it.
2) Turning the lights on at night in the bedroom and playing with him when he is awake at night is not a good idea. Reserve play time during day time.
3) Have a night time hushed voice.
4) Keep a flexible but predictable routine. Babies thrive on predictability.
5) Don’t let him cry it out. In the first few months crying is the only way he can communicate, so maybe he needs something you, and only you, can give. And the more that he knows he can trust that you’d be there for him when he needs something the easier he will be able to let go of the world around him and sleep soundly.
Naptime deserves another entry.
