The Bedtime Battle

Parents can commiserate about the constant battle to get kids to go to sleep. When we bring our newborn home from the hospital, sleep is a concept no longer regarded in the normal sense. Feedings, diaper changes, and crying for inexplicable reasons for hours in length are one of the most challenging parts of caring for a new baby.

I was always skeptical to hear from the moms who would brag that their baby was sleeping through the night at two or three months old. When Kaila was a newborn, she was one of the colicky ones. We ended up sleeping with her on our stomachs at one point just so we could get a precious hour or two of rest.

The sleep struggle continued well into the later months. It would take upwards of two hours for us to get her to fall asleep in the most valuable and irreplaceable piece of baby equipment we had: the bouncy seat. Once she fell asleep, we would attempt to ever so gently transfer her to her crib, sneak out of the room on tiptoe and listen at the door in hopes that she would stay a snooze. Many times the moment we set her down in her crib she would wake up crying and the process would start all over again.

Then there were the times when she would cry inconsolably, and the only thing that would calm her down was the infamous 2 a.m. car ride. Half asleep, we would cruise around our neighborhood, hoping she would doze off. Then when we returned, the delicate procedure of removing her from the car without waking her up would take careful skill.

She slept in her crib for only about three months. We finally were able to get Kaila to sleep in her own bed through the night after a couple years—yes, years—of sleeping in our bed with us. Things are better now that she’s older, but we still have to lie down in bed with her most of the time until she falls asleep.

I have written previously how establishing routine is an important tool for parenting. This is especially true at bedtime. With Kaila, I tried to keep a consistent bedtime routine of brushing teeth, reading three books and then turning out the lights. With our new little one, I’ve started a bedtime routine with her as well. This includes turning off the lights where she is sleeping and creating a dark and quiet sleep environment. It also helps her distinguish between night and day which babies often confuse.

My husband and I managed to survive the exhausting lack of sleep when our firstborn was waking every two hours to feed at night. Now that we have baby girl number two, this time around we know full well that sleep will be at a premium. Maybe I’ll be one of the lucky ones who will have a laid-back baby who sleeps easily? Nah.