Do you have a perpetual fog around you as you go through each day? Do you forget what you were about to do/say/ask right after it pops into your head? Is your one consistent thought really a prayer that you will get more than two hours of sleep at any one time? I was right where you are now for the first 9 months of my twin’s lives. I had tried everything, researched for hours, bought books...reflux and teething were initial issues, but even after these abated the sleep challenges continued.

I ended up sleeping on a bed in the nursery with my son (my daughter had few sleep issues). He would not stay asleep for more than 45 minutes at a time and wanted to be nursed back to sleep--I would try to sneak him into the crib and he would immediately wake and be very upset with me.

I found out I had trained him to only fall asleep by my nursing/holding him, and the slightest try for freedom would reset him to his neediest self all through the night. While I fully support co-sleeping, it seemed this arrangement made both of us wake far more often then was healthy for either of us.

I was at my wits end when I tried Suzy Giordano's book, "The Baby Sleep Solution: A Proven Program to Teach Your Baby to Sleep Twelve Hours a Night.' The best part is there's very little crying involved. I learned really helpful tips, such as most babies want to sleep earlier than we schedule them, even if they act charged up until bedtime.

Basically, Giordano’s method is in three steps:

# 1: Feed four times a day, every four hours. Make sure they get 24 oz or more a day, or a full nursing session (keeps them from wanting to snack all night). If they get fussy early, distract with a walk or new activity. Try to stay within 15 minutes of schedule. Do solids at the same time if feeding.

# 2: Do your bathing/pre-bed routine at the same time in the same order every night, feeding last--then place baby in crib awake (full, warm, dry), leave AND CLOSE THE DOOR--no sneaking! If she cries, wait 3 or so minutes, come back in, comfort. Don't pick up, but rub belly, sshhh, etc. Leave as soon as she calms, and repeat until she falls asleep. The first night can take four hours or more, but each night gets easier. By three nights, my son went from wailing to no crying when I left the room. It was a relief to be able to go in to him and not let him get hysterical.

# 3: When the first steps work, start to place baby in crib awake during naps after a shortened pre-nap routine using the same method.

The first week was a nightmare of no naps ( I almost gave up) because I had gotten them into feeding before naps, but I adjusted naps to within 2 hours of feeding, and they got fully used to it by 10 days (AM nap for 1 hour, 2 hour PM nap).

Both babies now regularly sleep from 7:30-6:30! While still nursing, I did one feeding if their little night cries escalated--they usually didn't eat enough during the day on those nights.

Good luck and happy sleeping! 

 

Source: Giordano, Suzy. The Baby Sleep Solution: A Proven Program to Teach Your Baby to Sleep Twelve Hours a Night.

Submitted by Angel from NorthMetroDCMommies.  Originally posted on the NorthMetroDCMommies Blog on June 15, 2011.

As summer vacation begins for the traditional calendar schools, kids are excited about the long days of playing with friends, going to camps and taking family vacations. Summer vacation is time for having fun and relaxing after a long school year. But as parents, we need to remember to keep our kids' brains active to prevent the so-called "summer slide," that loss of lessons learned, the slip backwards in reading and other academic areas that occurs for many children during the long summer break.

Here are 10 Tips to Prevent the Summer Slide:

1. Read every day. Most teachers require kids to read for 10 to 30 minutes every day during the school year. Don't let your kids get out of this reading habit during the summer. Encourage them to continue to read every day. And for those who have required summer reading lists, make sure they find time to read books they WANT to read as well, so reading doesn't become a dreaded chore. Keep them reading and keep them happy!

2. Sign up for a reading challenge. Book stores, libraries and various online resources, including Scholastic.com, host reading challenges during the summer where kids are encouraged to track their reading ~ either the minutes read or the actual books read ~ throughout the summer. Some even provide rewards such as free books to participants, which can give kids the extra motivation they need to read.

3. Read aloud to your kids ~ or at least let them see you reading. Spend time reading aloud to your kids. This can expose them to more complex stories that they aren't yet able to read themselves. It introduces new vocabulary and different types of literature. If your kids aren't interested in listening to you read aloud, make time to sit together and read silently to yourselves so they can see the enjoyment you get from reading.

4. Start a journal or diary. To keep their writing skills going throughout the summer, encourage your kids to write in a journal or diary about their summer activities. If you go to the zoo, suggest they write about it. If your child is more creative, have them make up their own stories, or work with them to create a scrapbook in which they write and choose pictures to include. Find ways to make writing fun.

5. Play games as a family. Board games, card games and yard games all offer kids an opportunity to think, build strategies, and even hone their math or reading skills. Scrabble helps with spelling. Monopoly helps with math. Uno helps with developing strategies, as well as color and number recognition for younger kids. Games offer a great way for the family to come together while discreetly learning too.

6. Take a trip to a museum. Visiting museums is a great activity for the whole family. Many museums are now set up with hands-on activities for kids, and engaging programs that you can attend. Kids can learn about art, animals, science, history and many other topics, depending on which museums you choose. Give your kids the power to choose one that interests them.

7. Track the weather. How many sunny days will you have this summer? How many rainy days? When will humidity be the highest? Make some predictions and then track the weather to see if you're right. Kids can build their observation skills, and learn about weather, graphing, patterns and predictions by tracking the weather throughout the summer.

8. Explore nature. Science lessons don't have to stop just because school is out. Kids can discover all sorts of things about animals, plants and the earth in your own backyard. Get outside and flip a rock to discover what's living underneath. Observe the types of birds that live in your yard. Plant a garden or some flowers and have the kids take care of them. There are many science lessons to learn outside.

9. Stay healthy. Keep the physical education and health lessons going this summer. Get your kids outside every day to ride bikes, go swimming, play sports or just take a walk. Keep them moving and staying active. And spend time this summer learning about healthy foods. Visit the local farmers' market, and try some new fresh vegetables and fruits that are native to your area. Talk to your kids about healthy eating.

10. Plan a vacation. Most families take some sort of summer vacation, whether it's for one night or an entire month. Get the kids involved in planning this year. Show them your vacation budget, and talk about the cost of gas or airline tickets. Have them map the route you'll take, and calculate time and distance. Involve them in planning your itinerary. Let them pack their own things based on the number of days and nights you'll be away. There are many lessons to learn in planning a vacation.

All of these activities keep your kids' brains going, engaging them in thinking, calculating, reading, interpreting and learning. By keeping their bodies and minds strong throughout the summer, they will be better prepared when the new school year begins.

Originally posted by Julie on TriangleMommies.blogspot.com, 6/23/11