The No-cry Sleep Solution (20 page)

Once you understand how much sleep your child needs, the most important strategy for improving his or her sleep is to set a daily routine and stick to it. Between the ages of five months and five years,

52

The No-Cry Sleep Solution

the social cues imposed by parents become the primary factor in children’s sleep patterns.

According to Dr. Dement, setting a routine and developing healthy bedtime cues and nighttime associations will allow your baby to drift off to sleep.
The No-Cry Sleep Solution
will help you create such a routine, customized for your baby and your family.

Now that you have learned some important basic sleep facts, you will use this knowledge as a foundation for developing your sleep plan. The first step, as outlined in the next chapter, will be to create sleep logs that will give you a clear picture of how your baby is sleeping now. Once you identify the issues that are preventing your baby from sleeping, we will move along to the solutions for helping your baby sleep—peacefully and happily—

without your constant nighttime attention. And
without
“crying it out.”

3

Create Your Sleep Logs

Here’s where we get to work! The first step to improved sleep is to get an accurate picture of your baby’s current sleep pattern. You’ll need to pick a day and night to log what is really happening. There are blank forms for your use at the end of this chapter.

This is a very important step and one that you should not skip in your haste to get started on the sleep solutions. Once you determine exactly how your baby is sleeping now, you’ll be able to decide which ideas best apply to your situation, and you’ll be able to track your success and make adjustments based on the information you’ll glean from your logs.

This is really very simple to do.

Let’s Get Started!

Begin by choosing a day to do your sleep logs. The first step will be to jot down information about your baby’s naps in the nap log.

Knowing exactly how long it takes your baby to fall asleep, where and how he falls asleep, and when and how long he naps will all be important information. Since naptime sleep has a great impact on nighttime sleep, this nap data will be very helpful as you determine what changes you’ll need to make in your baby’s sleep routines. Here was my nap log for Coleton:

53

Copyright 2002 by Better Beginnings, Inc. Click Here for Terms of Use.

54

The No-Cry Sleep Solution

Coleton’s Nap Log

12 months old

Time baby

How baby

Where baby Where baby How

fell asleep

fell asleep

fell asleep

slept

long?

1:20

Nursed for

In bed with

In bed alone 48 minutes

40 minutes

me

You will find a form for your own nap log on page 59.

On the same day that you complete your nap log you will also do your prebedtime routine log. This information will help you see whether your actions in the evening are helpful in settling your baby for bed or whether they are hindering your baby’s ability to settle down for a good night’s sleep. Beginning about an hour or two before bedtime, write down everything you do in the prebedtime routine log on page 60.

At each step you will note the time, what activities your baby is engaged in, and the levels of three things:

1. Activity: active, moderate, or calm

2. Noise: loud, moderate, or quiet

3. Light: bright, dim, or dark

Your log will help you take a fresh look at your nighttime routine (or lack thereof!). On the following page you’ll see my first prebedtime routine log for Coleton. You may find, like I did, that your evenings are not what you would call a calm, quiet, settling routine for your baby! Later in this book we’ll work together to create a calming presleep routine for your baby, but for now, just take a look at what’s happening in your house.

Here was mine:

Create Your Sleep Logs

55

Coleton’s Prebedtime Routine Log

12 months old

Time

What we did

Activity level

Noise level Light level

6:40

Home from

Active

Loud

Bright

shopping;

unload car

7:00

Change into

Calm

Quiet

Dim

pajamas; nurse

7:45

Play in Angela’s

Moderate

Loud

Bright

room; listen to

her new CD;

sort her nail

polish collection

8:00

Play airplane and

Exceptionally

Very loud

Bright

tickle with Daddy

active!

8:30

Watch David’s and Active

Exuberantly Bright

Vanessa’s play:

loud

Ninja Man and

the FBI in the

Rooftop Battle

8:45

Lie in bed and

Calm

Quiet

Dark

nurse

9:00

Up again to read

Calm

Moderate

Dim

with David and

Vanessa

9:20

Back in bed,

Calm

Quiet

Dark

lie down, nurse

to sleep

9:40

Asleep

56

The No-Cry Sleep Solution

Anjali, nine months old

After you have written down your prebedtime hour, log your baby’s awakenings for the night. The easiest way is to put a pile of scrap paper and a pencil next to your bed (not a pen, since in the dark a pencil is more reliable). Place these where you can easily reach them when you wake up during the night. Make sure you can see a clock from where you awaken. Each time your baby wakes up, write down the time. Note how he woke you up (snort, cry, movement). Make a quick note of what you do then—for instance, if you change the baby, write that down. If you are co-sleeping and get out of bed, write that down. If you nurse or give a bottle or pacifier, write that down, too. Make a note of how long your baby is awake, or what time he falls back to sleep. Don’t worry about good penmanship or details.

In the morning, immediately transfer your notes to your night-waking log on page 61 (or create one on paper or in your computer) so that they make sense. Do this as soon as possible after waking so that everything is fresh in your mind.

Create Your Sleep Logs

57

Here was my first log:

Coleton’s Night-Waking Log

12 months old

How long

How long Time

How

of a sleep

awake; baby baby

stretch

How baby

what we

fell back fell back since fell

Time

woke me up

did

to sleep to sleep asleep*

9:40

Fell asleep

nursing

11:00

Sniff and

10 minutes; 11:10

Nursing

9:40–11:00

snort

nursed

11⁄2 hours

12:46

Whimper 5

minutes; 12:51

Nursing

11:10–12:46

nursed

11⁄2 hours

1:55

Sniff and

10 minutes; 2:05

Nursing

12:51–1:55

snort

nursed

1 hour

3:38

Whimper 25

minutes; 4:03

Nursing

2:05–3:38

(wet diaper)

changed

11⁄2 hours

diaper;

nursed

4:50

Sniff and

10 minutes; 5:00

Nursing

4:03–4:50

snort

nursed

3⁄4 hour

5:27

Movement 15

minutes; 5:42

Nursing

5:00–5:27

nursed

1⁄2 hour

6:31

Movement 15

minutes; 6:46

Nursing

5:42–6:31

nursed

3⁄4 hour

7:02

Movement, 20

minutes; 7:22

Nursing

6:46–7:02

noise making

nursed

1⁄4 hour

7:48

Movement,

Up for the

7:22–7:48

noise making

day