tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3898391600279544244.post81450886122555310..comments2023-04-01T08:18:30.524-03:00Comments on The Tam Fam: Reporting on 6 monthsTheTamFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02218298599179687258noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3898391600279544244.post-81463238421348890752010-05-07T18:40:15.899-03:002010-05-07T18:40:15.899-03:00probably should have made that sleep topic a post ...probably should have made that sleep topic a post by itself. ;)<br /><br />Little is a big boy still!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3898391600279544244.post-3799602549588330802010-05-07T09:30:23.005-03:002010-05-07T09:30:23.005-03:00p.s. it gets easier and they become more flexible ...p.s. it gets easier and they become more flexible as they get caught up on sleep debt, so I was mainly obsessive about getting him down for naps in the beginning, and now I can push our schedule a bit. <br /><br />A general guideline is that within an hour or two of awakening, most kids around our baby's ages could be ready to start winding down for a nap. Crazy, but true once you start noticing the signs and observing.TheTamFamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02218298599179687258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3898391600279544244.post-60867487443480545082010-05-07T09:27:41.680-03:002010-05-07T09:27:41.680-03:00It's different for every baby & family, so...It's different for every baby & family, so I think that's what makes sleep so challenging. But you asked what I did, not what the secret formula answer is for the whole world, so I guess I could attempt your question. <br /><br />I read a million books on sleep. Most helpful: Dement's Promise of Sleep and Wiesbluth's or whatever his name is who wrote Healthy Sleep Happy Child and Pantley's. Oh, and I guess I took some from Sears as well. =)<br /><br />Then I became the Nap Nazi. I made sleep the #1 priority. For example, one time we were in Sam's Club and knew Lo was already nearing sleep time (we keep a rough schedule). When a lady stopped to coo over our baby, Jerry yelled at her. "We've got no time to chat!" and I yelled over my shoulder as we whizzed away, "Sorry! Bedtime approaching!" Also I have been the ridicule of playgroups for rushing out of them when I realized Lo was getting faintly sleepy. i.e. yawning or staring into space with glazed look. <br /><br />The reason early warning signs matter so much to me is that I HATE to have my baby cry. And I have had to let him cry himself to sleep 3 times in the past few months, primarily because I had let him get so overtired he was going berserk and nothing I did to comfort him would work. So I had to just swaddle him, turn out the lights, and leave in order to reduce all stimulation. Those times he fell asleep after about 10-15 minutes of crying and I felt like a monster. And I still feel like it was my fault for letting him get that far gone--so I have resolved NEVER AGAIN. I will never let him get sleep deprived again. It isn't flexible. But it is PREDICTABLE. So we can work with it. <br /><br />Sometimes he has a tendency to wake at the 45 min. mark of his nap, because that is a natural sleep cycle "rise" toward awakeness. So around that time I hover near the bedroom door, and if I hear him stirring then I go stroke his face or nurse him back to sleep before he gets totally alert. Then he'll continue sleeping for the extra hour or so that he needs. <br /><br />Good luck to you. Sleep matters. It does make all the difference in the world for my little guy anyway.TheTamFamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02218298599179687258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3898391600279544244.post-65852476972756710142010-05-07T06:09:49.976-03:002010-05-07T06:09:49.976-03:00How do you get him to sleep so much during the day...How do you get him to sleep so much during the day? I'm lucky if I can get Calvin to take two half hour naps, even though I can tell he needs more.Shanna Selinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12002550847031565576noreply@blogger.com