Archive for the 'sleeping' Category
Monday, September 25th, 2006
Once upon a time (an embarassingly short time ago), I had to nurse Finn to sleep, and then she’d wake up three or four times during the night wanting to be nursed again. She wouldn’t nap unless we wheeled her around the house in her stroller. I slept minimally, and David might have gotten a little bit more sleep if the cat wasn’t also waking in the night demanding to be fed.
The other sleep methods
We tried the No-Cry-But-Doesn’t-Work sleep method with the expected doesn’t-work results. I was almost ready to try the Ferber method, which is basically “let your child cry hysterically if you can tolerate it.” I started to look up “ferberize” on the internet, mostly so that parents who I didn’t know, in far away places like New York and California, would tell me that the Ferber method was ok, and that even good parents let their children cry hysterically sometimes.
The Sleep Lady
On a whim, I typed in some random keywords into Google. Things like “not Ferber” and “sleep without hysterical crying” and “sleep method for babies that actually works.” Which is how I found Kim West, the Sleep Lady, a woman who I’ve never met, but who has changed my life (and Finn’s) drastically. Look at her picture on her website… doesn’t she look nice, like someone you could meet for coffee? This smiling woman is not only nice… she’s a saint!! Her website says she was on Dr. Phil; HOW DID I MISS THAT EPISODE?!!!
Anyway, before I discovered that the Sleep Lady is a miracle worker, I bought her book, Good Night Sleep Tight; I paid full price, something I never do with books, even though my husband is an author, and the author makes so much more money when people don’t buy dogeared copies for 6 cents plus $5.95 shipping.
The shuffle
We did the Sleep Lady “shuffle” (I might have called it the “scoot” but shuffle implies a sort of fun dance) exactly as proscribed, and now Finn can get herself to sleep at night and for naps. We just plunk her in her crib, surrounded by ducks, and she sucks her thumb, and falls asleep. And then we go downstairs, and do the dishes, and go back up and check on Finn, and watch tv. Then several hours later we fall asleep too, until the cat wakes us up to be fed.
So… go out and buy the Sleep Lady book, and pay the full cover price because this woman deserves to be a millionaire. And then pray for a book called “Good Night, Sleep Kitty.”
Posted in general, sleeping | 1 Comment »
Sunday, August 27th, 2006
Don’t try this at home
The first time I had to change the sheets in Finn’s regular size crib, I let down the side (2 seconds), removed the bumper (30 seconds) and then spent half an hour trying to remove the stupid mattress. It’s a good mattress, nice and thick, supportive, fits tightly to the sides of the crib because you don’t want any part of your child getting wedged into any potential cracks. It’s almost as long as I am, twice as heavy. I wrestled with it, freeing one end (hooray!), watched the dust ruffle bunch up, then lost my grip and watched it drop back into the crib. Meanwhile, Finn lay on her purple shag rug staring up at me with wonder (if I tried that now, she’d be laughing hysterically, like she does when I swat at flies).
I’m sure there are smarter, stronger, taller mothers who can get the mattress out to change the sheets, or may even have figured out how to change the sheets without removing the mattress. But I’m not patient enough to figure it out. I got online and ordered the Quick Zip crib sheet set, and let Finn sleep on dirty sheets until it arrived.
Try this instead
It’s a brilliant system. For about $33, you get one base (you do have to get that mattress out once to get the base on – David and I wrestled it together) and one top sheet (just zips right on to the base – you don’t have to remove the mattress, the bumper or anything!) More top sheets for about $17. And they even come in flannel! (We don’t have a flannel one yet – maybe this winter). And sage green! (We have white – I’m too practical).
It takes about 20 seconds to change the sheet - I wash Finn’s sheets a lot (if my mother is reading this, she’s really happy).
Note to Michelle, who is pregnant right now, and who is the reason I’m blogging on this particular subject rather than sunscreen or childproofing (less imminent for her): don’t even try the regular sheets! Put these on your register list now!
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Sunday, May 7th, 2006
Rocking is not only for antique collectors
My mother insisted that a rocking chair was a crucial item of baby equipment, but all I could imagine was the rocking chair she had when I was little, with turned spindles and a quilted seatpad, that looked like something you’d find in the Walton’s farmhouse.
So I didn’t buy a rocking chair. Then, when Finn was 7 months old, I was over at a Janie’s house for a neighborhood meeting. Finn became tired and fussy; there were 60 people all talking about how we need a trail along the river and she’s naturally curious, and social, and she couldn’t fall asleep. So I went into Janie’s daughter’s room, sat in her rocker, and in about ten seconds, Finn was asleep.
(more…)
Posted in decorating, general, sleeping | 2 Comments »
Monday, February 20th, 2006
Our daughter was born 5 weeks premature at four pounds. She gained one whole ounce during her week-long stay in the hospital. Her full-size crib was seemed enormous, and she even looked lost in the portable crib. So we bought a bassinet.
Not just for tiny babies
And what a great thing it was! We could move her from our room to the living room and back up again. She was near us for her long, long naps. The problem with bassinets is that they are almost universally way too frilly. (more…)
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Sunday, February 19th, 2006
A Portable Crib?
You may not even need a full-sized crib right away. We have a full sized crib in Finn’s room, but she sleeps in our room in a very simple (and inexpensive) Cosco Portable Crib . It’s less than $80.
Someone commented that it looked like an orphanage crib circa 1950; my own feeling is that while it’s not high design, it’s pretty inoffensive.
My only other comment is the mattress that comes with the crib is a bit thin, and you might want to buy a better mattress. Plus you’ll need portable crib sheets, a mattress pad (we ran ours through the dryer – oops – had to cut off all the plastic bits that melted) and a bumper pad.
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Sunday, February 19th, 2006
Actually, most furniture is overdesigned
When we lived in Dublin, Ireland, there was a furniture story on Mary Street where they changed the window display on a regular basis; week after week it was more horrifying, with more complex furniture. One week there was a living room suite with whitewashed Louis XIV details and pearlized beige upholstery. This was not inexpensive furniture. (more…)
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