Time Flies

TM on the WEB Visit for more bedtime suggestions ‘hood

by Jaclyn Small

Babies don’t keep! I swear as a parent, you blink and they’re going off to kindergarten. When you have a newborn at home, the days are a blur. Every day is a combination between chaos and stress and new magical milestones that you don’t want to miss! But for as fast as the days go, sometimes the nights can feel like an eternity.

Baby Breslyn is our third little girl, and we are blessed that she is a happy and healthy baby; however, she’s also our third bad sleeper. The first two days after she was born she slept almost non-stop. Not really that unusual for a brand-new baby, but unusual for OUR babies! We thought, surely this means the third time is a charm and this will be the kid that sleeps! With our first daughter we tried all the tips and tricks that doctors, friends, and Google could provide. We were just waiting for one magical sound machine or special swaddle or sleep sack that would provide some relief. With our second daughter, we naively tried all these things again...and more than likely, the third time around will look pretty similar. The nights can be brutal! As a parent up at all hours feeding your baby, you can feel lonely...like you are the only one in the world doing this. But I promise, you are not! If you are a first time parent going through a similar situation, I don’t have a magical solution on how to get your baby to sleep (if I did, I wouldn’t be writing this at 2 a.m. while up with mine), but I can assure you one thing...it is temporary! It’s exhausting, and it may feel like it will never end, but it does and oddly when it does you will come to realize that you miss those midnight snuggles. So, while we will try many of the same tips and tricks we did with the previous two, the one thing we are doing differently with Breslyn is to take a deep breath and enjoy the moment! So whatever method you are using to try to get some sleep, don’t forget the most important step- to enjoy! l Here are some of our favorite night time routines to make our evenings a little smoother: • Warm baths • Lotion and baby massages • Cozy and soft pajamas • Soft music • Bed time stories • Night time feeding • Rocking