Getting 3 babies to sleep--Sleep problems solved

Well, now that I've been doing this for awhile I guess that you could say that I'm a baby sleep expert. I don’t have to tell you that taking care of 3 babies is tough. Shoot, taking care of 1 baby is tough. I have to admit that my first few months were tough. There were many times when I thought "What have I gotten myself into?" I never had a moment to myself because they were all on different schedules. If I got lucky they would be asleep for 5 minutes at the same time. So maybe I’m putting it light by saying it was tough!

So what did I do? Well, being the researcher that I am I started looking up information about the sleeping habits of infants and I found The Baby Sleep Solution. I knew that if those kids didn’t give me a break I was going to lose it. Now that I think about that was probably the cause of some of my depression too. Can you imagine it? Feeding, changing diapers, and entertaining kids all day long without even a 15 minute break. Well I can! I’m sure some other moms out there can too. So I’m providing some information that might help you or someone you know who could use a break….or better yet a good night’s sleep.

Problem #1.
Feeding your baby to sleep

Well Rainee was feeding one of the babies a bottle of milk at naptime at the mom’s request. Research suggests that this isn’t a good habit because you could be creating a problem with the baby’s sleep pattern by doing this. I found that once I eliminated the bottle before naptime she slept soooo much better. I attribute that to the fact that the her stomach wasn’t so full and she didn’t have gas. Also, sometimes if I feed her right before she would go to sleep she would wake up within 20 minutes because she pooped! And she was one who did not like having poop on her bottom for one second.
I think a bottle can be more of a crutch for parents then it is for a baby anyway. Sometimes we just want a quick fix so that we can have a break. But by giving a baby a bottle to fall asleep you create a pattern of falling asleep with a bottle in their mouth, so if the baby wakes up she might not be able to fall back asleep on her own.
So how did I solve the problem? Well, I changed the time that I fed her before her nap. I made sure I fed her at least ½ an hour earlier, giving her plenty of time to digest and poop. This also helped her to disassociate the bottle with naptime and helped her to fall asleep faster and more soundly.

Problem #2
What’s in your milk?

This particular problem was one I was having my own daughter Zion, whom I breastfeed. As a breastfeeding mom, everything that you drink or eat will affect your breast milk. If you do not eat the correct amount of foods and calories daily, your breast milk is greatly affected. Well, I am admittedly a recovering sweets-a-holic and I love spicy foods!

My research led me to a shocker….that I was the cause of my daughter’s horrible sleep issues. She tossed and turned and just never seemed to settle down. She also passed gas a lot. So I made it a point to improve my diet by first taking out gassy foods such as onions, broccoli, nuts, and even cutting back on dairy. Then….tada! She slept like a sleeping beauty. No more tossing and turning or stinky toots.
Just a side note….if you’re breastfeeding you want to be sure to drink lots of fluids so that you have enough milk for your baby. And if you’re suffering from a low milk supply, a bowl of oatmeal a day is an easy fix!

Problem #3
Stuff the solids down = more sleep?

Many people, like myself, believe that this will help--but studies have not associated any differecnes in the amont of sleep in babies who were fed by the breast and/or bottle and those who are fed solids. In fact, this has not been proven to help a baby to sleep at all. Generally, doctors do not recommend adding solid foods prior to six months of age. So of course in my care I had Aneas--a 2 month old cereal eater-- and Rainee--a 5 month old eating a jar of food and bottle at each meal. This was a tough one decision but I had to stop feeding Otis cereal. It gave him horrible gas and I told his mom that it was just too much for me to deal with so she should just give it to him at home. That helped him to sleep so much better when he was at my house too. I also had to be sure that I didn’t feed Rainee a jar of food before naps (to avoid the whole waking up and pooping episode). Instead I fed her a jar for breakfast and after her nap. She was fine and completed satisfied with bottles for the rest of the day.

If your baby is having sleep problems then take a look at The Baby Sleep Solution and download their 35 minute audio program that guarantees to solve your babies sleeping problem.