Get your baby to sleep through the night, and get prepared! Always set your intention to begin with, bearing in mind, this is a journey that requires determination and, some level of perseverance. A stiff spine and nerves of steel are also very helpful! To get you even more psyched up, just imagine that you are about to bring an end to your sleep deprivation…. Yes, please! To mentally and emotionally prepare to get your baby sleeping through the night, first ask yourself this critical question: “How badly do I want it?” Let’s call this preparation the beginning of an adventure!
- Choose a day of the week to start this plan that makes sense. Consider your lifestyle, household, and work schedules, etc. Try to choose a day to begin that will most lend itself to at least 4 days of consistent conditions and circumstances such as, a Monday through Friday.
- Identify which is currently the first, shockingly early feeding of the day. Then, identify which is the feeding that you would like to eventually become the more merciful first feeding of the day; for example, pushing it from 7am to 9am.
- Have ready some way to track the feeding times. Keep this handy to the feeding location. It will allow you to log, calculate, and track the daily and evolving feeding schedule. For example, something as simple as a notepad, or as sophisticated as an app on your phone. I used a white board!
- Be prepared to provide a variety of distractions for you and the baby. Hot tip: you must stay away from the typical feeding area(s) and out of view of food/food-related stimuli.
My personally favorite top 6 sanity-saving, methods to buy time toward a longer feeding interval.
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- Take a walk around an outdoor area. Rock those slide-on, hands-free sneakers!
- Dance together, along with baby’s favorite – or try a new – style of recorded music, or get in front of some YouTube music videos. Time to boogie down or, tap your inner-ballroom dancer!
- Narrate a tour for baby throughout your home or outdoors. Sell it like a pro-realtor!
- Sing to your baby. Feel free to use props. Do you have a Karaoke machine? Hit it, Beyonce!
- Employ favorite toys and snugglies in a dramatic performance. Action, baby-Shakespeare!
- Drive. If you’re already on the road and, you need to buy more time before you can drop everything and get down to business….KEEP DRIVING!! Unfortunately, your goal for continuous movement may be thwarted by an unsympathetic red-light. Tap those breaks, Lowrider lift-kit style! …There’s no shame here folks, so just roll down the window – eyes forward – and hold up your “Baby on Board” sign, before promptly resuming your disregard for public humiliation.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of Get Your Baby to Sleep Through the Night: The MAGIC MATH that Makes it Happen!. In the meantime, more sleep for all of you is on the way, so get prepared; you can get your baby to sleep through the night, sooner rather than later!
