Thank goodness my Girls Sleep!

Before I had children, I was lucky enough to be introduced to the Baby Whisperer (not personally...her book or should I say books).  A very close friend who happened to live a few doors down had three children and they all slept amazingly well.  Before I met her I just assumed that children came with a built in clock, that they slept all night when they got to a certain age.  I did not realise that you have to teach babies to sleep or that the more rested they are, the better they sleep.

Anyway, when I was pregnant, I rushed out to buy the very same book!  My Husband and I read it cover to cover and did what it said.  We were very quick to get our first little girl into a routine.  By the age of four months she was sleeping 7pm to 7am and then having two naps a day.  One at 9.30-11.30am and other 1.30 to 3.30pm.  It was amazing.  Apart from the obvious disturbance when teething or poorly she continued to sleep like this until the age of one when she changed to one long nap.  Even now at two and a half she still has a one hour nap.  She goes up to bed at 6.30pm has a long story, cuddle and wee, plays and looks at books in her bed until she falls asleep at about 7.30pm  and then does not get up until 7.30am (unless she needs another wee and then she goes straight back to bed!).

As it worked so well for us, I passed the book over to my Sister who then did it with her little boy.  Again, similar routine and an amazing sleeper!!  So when my second little girl came along, I was quick to use the same methods.  Her routine is very slightly different, she goes to bed at 6.30pm, gets up at 7.30am and then has 2 naps.  One 9.30 to 11am and then another 1pm to 3pm.  Both girls are able to play by themselves happily until I go and get them out of their cot or bed.

Some might say it is luck...but I don't think so.  I had to use various techniques including swaddling, using blackout blinds, putting them down the same time each day, watching them for the early signs of tiredness and to increase napping time a technique the baby whisperer calls "pick up/ put down".

As a Mummy I have heard so many others saying they have not slept since their child was born and she is now four etc or that their children do not sleep so end up in their bed, or even that they sometimes nap and sometimes don't depending on their mood...this one shocks me the most... they are babies you have to teach them to sleep and you have to be consistent!  Honestly without sleep I cannot function, I hope I do not come across as smug, I just want to share my experiences to help others.

I do take the girls to various groups etc and we do go out, but as long as they have this routine most days it does not matter too much if you slightly vary from it when they have been in it for a while.  The baby whisperer says it takes three days to change most behaviours and I have noticed that this is true.  So I would not go out three mornings in a row preventing my little one from having a proper sleep, this would be asking for trouble and  I would have to work at getting her back into it again...usually another three days!.

So if you are pregnant or a Mummy who wants some sleep then check out this book!  For me it has been invaluable.



Karen x