Tips for getting babies to sleep from a Mum who has come out the other side.

The other night Immy woke early, around 4.30am, she screamed out so loudly that Popps woke too. At 4.40am our bed was full. Mr H got out and went to the spare room. Popps went back to sleep in 3 minutes and Immy decided to party on.

As I lay there trying to encourage her to sleep I realised it had been weeks if not months since the last time I had been woken through the night, when it was not due to snot, middle ears or barking coughs.

I touched wood all day not to jinx myself as I thought, “I think we have made it”. We have got through the sleepless nights.

They may still take awhile to get to sleep, but once they are, both the Little Huey’s will, 95% of the time, sleep til morning.

I still remember crying as Mr H went off to night shift and I knew I would be up all night. There were days I thought I would never ever sleep all night again.

There were months on end of struggling to get through the day. Weeks of eating takeaway food or straight from the freezer for nights on end, and I don’t mean meals I had made and frozen, I mean pre packaged food straight from a packet.

As Popps was from the scream-all-day-party-all-night variety of baby, there were also countless apparatus purchased that promised to settle babies, to soothe them and prepare them for sleep. We would have been better off putting those thousands of dollars to a nanny that allowed us to sleep.

I am sharing the next image in the interests of showing how bloody tired we were. I look totally awful. This was on a holiday to Freycinet in Tasmania. I should have looked relaxed and happy. It was freezing, we hadn't slept for weeks. We returned home with the decision that we would never have another child. Ever.

I hope this post gives some hope. Sleepless nights will end. 

One day. 

It may take a couple of years to get there.

This is the only way Popps slept for a bloody long time.

If you are walking the floor all night, pushing the pram around the streets in the wee hours of the morning? Eating frozen lasagna again tonight? It’s ok. It won’t last.

Here is a list, from a mum who has certainly been there, been on the phone to the baby sleep centre and had the baby checked out by doctors to confirm she is normal. Here is my list for those that are currently looking for the sleep solution.

•   The CD of the washing machine  and vacuum noises will not work.
•    The $500 highchair that swings and sings – it wont work either (let me know if you want to buy mine though – going cheap!)
•  Playing the one song on repeat for 4 hours – it can work and if you get even one hours sleep you will be happy
•  If you have not given in to the dummy – get on it! Babies like to suck, that is how they self soothe, do not fight it, if you do you only have yourself to blame for no sleep, not the baby.
• Feeding to sleep is a good thing. If possible, lie down yourself (think Miranda) close your eyes and nap.
• Do not listen to other Mums who have babies that sleep, they can’t help you because they don’t know how tired you are and that you have already tried everything they do. They are just lucky, they don’t have secret powers and you are not doing anything wrong.
• Do not read the books. The Contented Little Baby will make you The Crazy Little Mummy.
• Co-sleeping works, especially with toddlers, don’t fight this one either, and don’t stress, you will not find your teenage son still co-sleeping with you in ten years, no matter what the old folk say about rods and backs.
• It is highly unlikely that the Bumbo will assist you. (Also going cheap)
• Baby sitters do not really like the scream all night baby, they will ALL call you to come home, even the grandparents, so planning nights out is not recommended. Try a daytime sitter and get an afternoon nap instead, be quick, some last less than an hour.
•  Again, if you find something that works for you, like feeding, dummies, co-sleeping, singing, patting, rocking in prams, babywearing (my fav for Immy) than go with it. Do not listen to the rods and backs rubbish. 
• Babies will need assistance to get to sleep, some just need lots more than others. 
• We broke every rule in the good parenting books and guess what – all is still ok!

 If you have any other real tips, add them to the comments section.

and Good luck!