How to Get Your Child To Sleep Through The Night
I have now been a father for roughly six months, five days and seventeen hours. In this time I have learned a few things, some by following advice given by friends and relatives, and some through trial and error. Something I have just learned is that the only thing sweeter than the sound of your child laughing for the first time, is the sound of your child sleeping through the night.
I remember a few weeks after Addyson was born, I was at a remote broadcast and was bragging about how my child was alreadying sleeping in six hour strips. A lady, I can't remember her name, asked me how I did it and I jokingly said, "The trick is to give your kid Redbull first thing in the morning so that as the day goes on, they wear themselves out. If by the end of the day the child is still going strong, then just give them a children's dose of Nyquil. A children's dose is like an adult dose, just smaller...".
From the way she was earnestly looking at me, I quickly realized she didn't know the golden rule of Believe Nothing That Comes Out Of Rowdy's Mouth, so I had to tell her, "DO NOT GIVE YOUR CHILD NYQUIL OR REDBULL."
In the best interest of everyone, here is a little friendly advice on how to get your child to sleep.
Everyone is going to tell you their special tricks that helped them get their own children to sleep through the night, but at the end of the day the only thing you can truly learn is that every child is different. What works for one child, will most likely not work for another. The Beast is quick to go down as long as her belly is full of Momma’s Special milk and she is swaddled tight and wasn't allowed to take a long nap after seven in the afternoon. You will learn that swings are your friends, and it is much better to get one that plugs into the wall than one that runs on batteries, because as much cheaper as the ones that run on batteries are, you will pay more in the long run buying batteries weekly…
Also, as mentioned before, swaddling is your friend. It simulates the feeling of being held tight inside the mother’s womb and helps the child feel calm and relaxed. Once again, this does not work for all children, but it works on the Beast.
Last but not least, we have learned that it sure is nice having something that makes a soothing noise to help the child sleep so that every little noise that inevitably happens throughout the night doesn’t scare your baby awake. There are all types of noise machines that simulate everything from the sound of the ocean to playing continuous lullabies throughout the night. What we use is a machine that plays the noise of rain. It soothes the Beast and also is a calming sound for me as well. If you can find something that the kid likes that doesn’t bother you, you are doing great. In the beginning the thing that soothed her best was radio static, and for a guy in radio… that was KILLER!
Here are a few credible stories that have advice that they say works for everyone, but remember what I said before: Every child is different.
Good Luck and Good Sleeping!
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