Welcoming a brand new baby into your life is, of course, a joyful occasion.
But there’s one thing all new parents know about bringing baby home for the first time: it’s time to say farewell to a good night’s sleep.
For decades – centuries, even – parents have banded together to help each other make it through those (sometimes painful) first few months, sharing their tips and tricks to helping baby sleep through the night.
According to a baby sleep expert, we may have it all wrong.
Top Comments
Maybe this advice works for "normal" kids, but I can tell you, only car trips would put my ADHD son to sleep at night. We tried everything else.
I'd like to see the evidence to support the advice that more sleep in the daytime makes for better sleep at night for infants. The evidence I have read shows the exact opposite is true. I refer to the work of Dr Pamela Douglas of The Possums Clinic in Brisbane whose help for parents normalises baby sleep patterns and also addresses maternal mental health concerns with evidence based strategies developed by a clinical psychologist. The information in this article unfortunately is very outdated.
Thanks, Lois, for that little tidbit of info. I had read a sleeping book that encouraged the view that more sleep during naps = better night time sleeps. Anecdotally, my 8 month old slept worse if she napped the recommended 1.5-4hours through the day, but would sleep through the night on less sleep. Sooooo much contradictory views make parenting soooo difficult!!! Aaarrrggghhh.
I will have to read up on Dr Pamela's work. Thank you!!
I really think each baby is different and you have to learn the rhythm of your own baby. My daughter definitely slept better at night if she slept well during the day.
I found the best thing to do was read/listen to advice and try different things until you find what works best for your baby. I don't believe that there is a blanket 'best approach' to get a baby to do anything lol.
I think there just isn't a one size fits all answer - I have twins who as babies were completely different sleepers (and still are).