Sleep! How new parents long for it . . . that blessed restoration of a complete, uninterrupted, sound night’s sleep.  It is THE most consistent challenge of caring for a baby: most babies require feedings at frequent intervals throughout the night as well as the day. I assure Moms and Dads that their exhaustion, irritability, forgetfulness, and difficulty focusing is frequently directly related to this reality: they have experienced many disruptions to their normal cycles of sleep, often not just for weeks, but for months. I remind them that repeatedly interrupting sleep has been used with prisoners as a torture method!

While there are many books and solutions available, I have found that each family is unique and work with each family to develop the routines and methods which work for both the parents and their babies. These include good sleep hygiene for both parents and babies, developing a schedule so each parent gets some respite, and several “Go to Sleep” techniques I have found to be useful over the years. I would love to hear about your sleep challenges and solutions.

Sleep tight . . .