Comments on: The Sleep Challenge Morning Four http://morediapers.com/2005/05/09/the-sleep-challenge-morning-four/ Eric Sagalyn's quest for modern fatherhood. Thu, 04 Dec 2008 04:10:32 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=1.5 by: Scott http://morediapers.com/2005/05/09/the-sleep-challenge-morning-four/#comment-947 Mon, 09 May 2005 08:46:20 -0500 http://morediapers.com/2005/05/09/the-sleep-challenge-morning-four/#comment-947 We had a colicky baby and we have the Amby bed. It's not a miracle cure (like: "Put him down in it and he MAGICALLY drifts off to a sound and lengthy sleep!"), but it does give you something very important: control. You can bounce (up and down) him to sleep pretty easily (though you may have to bounce HARD), and though he may wake up during the night, a bit of bouncing will likely get him back to sleep. The Amby bed and the sling were our only two effective tools to control (though not cure...) the colic. Our son is now 17 months old and still sleeps in his Amby bed. Now that he can talk some he even requests to be put in it when he's sleepy/fussy. All in all, I'd say you're making a wise purchase. We had a colicky baby and we have the Amby bed. It’s not a miracle cure (like: “Put him down in it and he MAGICALLY drifts off to a sound and lengthy sleep!”), but it does give you something very important: control. You can bounce (up and down) him to sleep pretty easily (though you may have to bounce HARD), and though he may wake up during the night, a bit of bouncing will likely get him back to sleep. The Amby bed and the sling were our only two effective tools to control (though not cure…) the colic. Our son is now 17 months old and still sleeps in his Amby bed. Now that he can talk some he even requests to be put in it when he’s sleepy/fussy. All in all, I’d say you’re making a wise purchase.

]]> by: AJ http://morediapers.com/2005/05/09/the-sleep-challenge-morning-four/#comment-948 Mon, 09 May 2005 10:29:25 -0500 http://morediapers.com/2005/05/09/the-sleep-challenge-morning-four/#comment-948 Dude, don't take my e-mail address personally. How do I know you're not infected with worms? It's all about safe sex, er, e-mail. At first sign of spam/worms I'll ditch my temporary blog comment address and start anew. (The address begins with junk1@, which I guess could be insulting, but it *is* a functioning address). As for the motion bed... The first day/night may be rough getting H used to the bed. The trick is to figure out which way he likes to be rocked. We started with forward/backward, then forward/backward with light bouncing, and finally settled on the magic straight light up/down bouncing. I would just lie on the floor and lightly tap the bed. On rough nights, I would keep my hand on the baby's chest until sleep hit. The hardest part is figuring out how to put a sleepy baby into the bed without stirring her. In near darkness I sometimes positioned her too far forward or backward. Repositioning always woke her up. I settled on using a 7-watt bulb in the room so dad didn't screw up. Dude, don’t take my e-mail address personally. How do I know you’re not infected with worms? It’s all about safe sex, er, e-mail. At first sign of spam/worms I’ll ditch my temporary blog comment address and start anew. (The address begins with junk1@, which I guess could be insulting, but it *is* a functioning address).

As for the motion bed… The first day/night may be rough getting H used to the bed. The trick is to figure out which way he likes to be rocked. We started with forward/backward, then forward/backward with light bouncing, and finally settled on the magic straight light up/down bouncing. I would just lie on the floor and lightly tap the bed. On rough nights, I would keep my hand on the baby’s chest until sleep hit.

The hardest part is figuring out how to put a sleepy baby into the bed without stirring her. In near darkness I sometimes positioned her too far forward or backward. Repositioning always woke her up. I settled on using a 7-watt bulb in the room so dad didn’t screw up.

]]> by: Eric Sagalyn http://morediapers.com/2005/05/09/the-sleep-challenge-morning-four/#comment-949 Mon, 09 May 2005 10:38:52 -0500 http://morediapers.com/2005/05/09/the-sleep-challenge-morning-four/#comment-949 Thanks for the info! This will be interesting. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, he only sleeps now in his swing going back and forth. We'll see how it translates into Amby land. BTW, no worms from a Mac (or spam, but that's me)... ;-) Thanks for the info! This will be interesting. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, he only sleeps now in his swing going back and forth. We’ll see how it translates into Amby land. BTW, no worms from a Mac (or spam, but that’s me)… ;-)

]]> by: AJ http://morediapers.com/2005/05/09/the-sleep-challenge-morning-four/#comment-950 Mon, 09 May 2005 11:53:23 -0500 http://morediapers.com/2005/05/09/the-sleep-challenge-morning-four/#comment-950 P.S. An important issue is bed wetting. The bed shipped (in 2004) with a foam mattress, one cloth mattress cover, and two absorbing pads (one is a spare) that attach with elasic bands. When our kid wet, it went straight through both barriers. I can't imagine what the mattress would smell like after a few months. When the cover got wet, we improvised that night with a pillow case. The long-term solution was to place a diaper changing pad under the absorber. It'll save you from removing the very-tightly-fitting matress cover, washing, *air drying*, and forcing that sucker back on the mattress. P.S. An important issue is bed wetting. The bed shipped (in 2004) with a foam mattress, one cloth mattress cover, and two absorbing pads (one is a spare) that attach with elasic bands.

When our kid wet, it went straight through both barriers. I can’t imagine what the mattress would smell like after a few months.

When the cover got wet, we improvised that night with a pillow case. The long-term solution was to place a diaper changing pad under the absorber. It’ll save you from removing the very-tightly-fitting matress cover, washing, *air drying*, and forcing that sucker back on the mattress.

]]> by: Scott http://morediapers.com/2005/05/09/the-sleep-challenge-morning-four/#comment-951 Mon, 09 May 2005 13:01:51 -0500 http://morediapers.com/2005/05/09/the-sleep-challenge-morning-four/#comment-951 AJ: the trick to getting the foam mattress back into the freshly washed cover is to rip off pieces of the faom as you stuff. AJ: the trick to getting the foam mattress back into the freshly washed cover is to rip off pieces of the faom as you stuff.

]]> by: Not-For-Profit Dad http://morediapers.com/2005/05/09/the-sleep-challenge-morning-four/#comment-952 Mon, 09 May 2005 19:35:32 -0500 http://morediapers.com/2005/05/09/the-sleep-challenge-morning-four/#comment-952 If the Prilosec doesn't work, ask your doctor to prescribe Prevacid. It has worked really well for our twins. The trick is finding a pharmacy that will mix it for you, otherwise they just give you packets you need to mix yourself which is a royal pain in the ass -- plus the pharmacy can add in the flavoring so the little runts don't spit out the $40/two-week supply of liquid gold. If the Prilosec doesn’t work, ask your doctor to prescribe Prevacid. It has worked really well for our twins. The trick is finding a pharmacy that will mix it for you, otherwise they just give you packets you need to mix yourself which is a royal pain in the ass — plus the pharmacy can add in the flavoring so the little runts don’t spit out the $40/two-week supply of liquid gold.

]]> by: Lisa Williams http://morediapers.com/2005/05/09/the-sleep-challenge-morning-four/#comment-953 Mon, 09 May 2005 21:06:20 -0500 http://morediapers.com/2005/05/09/the-sleep-challenge-morning-four/#comment-953 Most of the comments here are about how to get HBomb to sleep, and I think they're all great...but I'm worried more about you guys. Sleep deprivation is really serious business, and can take a serious toll on your mental and physical health. My husband and I have two kids, and our first kid just never slept, no matter what we tried. Here's what I suggest until you find a solution, or until HBomb gets a little older (which always works): 1. Alternate nights on/nights off. It's more important to get a full night's sleep than to have "fairness" on a single-day basis. You'll both end up better-rested than you would be if you're both getting up more than twice per night. 2. Try to have your days be as low-impact as possible for awhile. Don't stand when you can sit, and don't sit when you can lie down. As soon as you put your kid down for a nap, LIE DOWN. Resist the temptation to "get stuff done." It's fine to read or take your computer, but it's important to actually lie down. 3. If you can afford it, hire a babysitter for five or six hours on a weekend afternoon. Go to an IHOP and eat a meal without HBomb, and then go home and take a nap until it's time for the babysitter to go home. 4. If you had the night on, let the other parent take care of the baby in the morning so that you can take a long shower in the morning, brew a pot of coffee, and get completely dressed including shoes. If you're sleep deprived, sometimes even getting all your clothes together can be weirdly confusing. 5. If you have trouble remembering things or doing math in your head, it's the sleep deprivation. It's not permanent, and it will go away after you get back into a normal sleep pattern for a week or two. Most of the comments here are about how to get HBomb to sleep, and I think they’re all great…but I’m worried more about you guys. Sleep deprivation is really serious business, and can take a serious toll on your mental and physical health.

My husband and I have two kids, and our first kid just never slept, no matter what we tried. Here’s what I suggest until you find a solution, or until HBomb gets a little older (which always works):

1. Alternate nights on/nights off. It’s more important to get a full night’s sleep than to have “fairness” on a single-day basis. You’ll both end up better-rested than you would be if you’re both getting up more than twice per night.
2. Try to have your days be as low-impact as possible for awhile. Don’t stand when you can sit, and don’t sit when you can lie down. As soon as you put your kid down for a nap, LIE DOWN. Resist the temptation to “get stuff done.” It’s fine to read or take your computer, but it’s important to actually lie down.
3. If you can afford it, hire a babysitter for five or six hours on a weekend afternoon. Go to an IHOP and eat a meal without HBomb, and then go home and take a nap until it’s time for the babysitter to go home.
4. If you had the night on, let the other parent take care of the baby in the morning so that you can take a long shower in the morning, brew a pot of coffee, and get completely dressed including shoes. If you’re sleep deprived, sometimes even getting all your clothes together can be weirdly confusing.
5. If you have trouble remembering things or doing math in your head, it’s the sleep deprivation. It’s not permanent, and it will go away after you get back into a normal sleep pattern for a week or two.

]]> by: Not-For-Profit-Dad http://morediapers.com/2005/05/09/the-sleep-challenge-morning-four/#comment-954 Mon, 09 May 2005 21:40:23 -0500 http://morediapers.com/2005/05/09/the-sleep-challenge-morning-four/#comment-954 Reading through some of your posts on the sleep challenge I also thought I'd recommend a book that really helped us get our kids on track with the sleep issue... Elizabeth Pantley's "The No Cry Sleep Solution." I also heartily endorse everything Lisa suggested -- especially if your wife isn't breastfeeding or if HBomb can take a bottle. Knowing on your off-night that you've got several hours of solid sleep coming your way can charge you up big-time. Reading through some of your posts on the sleep challenge I also thought I’d recommend a book that really helped us get our kids on track with the sleep issue… Elizabeth Pantley’s “The No Cry Sleep Solution.” I also heartily endorse everything Lisa suggested — especially if your wife isn’t breastfeeding or if HBomb can take a bottle. Knowing on your off-night that you’ve got several hours of solid sleep coming your way can charge you up big-time.

]]> by: Madeleine http://morediapers.com/2005/05/09/the-sleep-challenge-morning-four/#comment-955 Mon, 09 May 2005 22:20:02 -0500 http://morediapers.com/2005/05/09/the-sleep-challenge-morning-four/#comment-955 I second Lisa's suggestion of every-other-night rather than half of every night. And some magical month in the distant future, when not every night is a bummer, you can switch to every-other-incident! I do know other couples who split every night when their kid was small, though. So if it truly works for you, ignore me. -M P.S. thanks for finding a better solution than the "type what you see" box, which I invariably missed, and lost my comments, and didn't have the sleep-deprived will to retype. I second Lisa’s suggestion of every-other-night rather than half of every night. And some magical month in the distant future, when not every night is a bummer, you can switch to every-other-incident! I do know other couples who split every night when their kid was small, though. So if it truly works for you, ignore me.

-M

P.S. thanks for finding a better solution than the “type what you see” box, which I invariably missed, and lost my comments, and didn’t have the sleep-deprived will to retype.

]]> by: Bed Wetting http://morediapers.com/2005/05/09/the-sleep-challenge-morning-four/#comment-60186 Sat, 02 Feb 2008 18:58:50 -0600 http://morediapers.com/2005/05/09/the-sleep-challenge-morning-four/#comment-60186 <strong>Bed Wetting Do’s and Don’ts for Parents</strong> There are many do's and don'ts that parents should be aware of in regards to their children who suffer from bed wetting. Let's take a look at the do's and don'ts of this common childhood problem. Bed Wetting Do’s and Don’ts for Parents

There are many do’s and don’ts that parents should be aware of in regards to their children who suffer from bed wetting. Let’s take a look at the do’s and don’ts of this common childhood problem.

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