Everyone, especially parents, seem to love and coo over sleeping babies including those of others. I always thought sleeping babies were adorable, yet I never understood the extra reason for the adoration of others sleeping babies by parents. Now I do, getting a baby to sleep, even if he hasn’t slept a lot that day, can be a surprisingly difficult task.
I’ve been very happy and gratified to see William fall asleep after a nursing session. A newborn who drifts off to sleep after completing a meal is as far as I know, one who is deeply satisfied with the amount of milk he drank. This happens here and there to me, most often after an early morning feeding, and sometimes after a feeding around midnight. Other times he’s as wide awake, if not more after feeding on both sides, and crying for more milk, one of many reasons why I am working with a Lactation Consultant to boost more milk production and intake.
Almost everyone, from nurses to authors of books I’ve read to parents we know in real life have told us that swaddling is the key to getting a baby to sleep. One thing few people have mentioned is that some babies, like ours, love to break out of the swaddles. William has broken his arms out of just about every swaddle I’ve made him, many Matt, a much better swaddler than me, has made, and even out of a few the nurses in the hospital made.
A combination of things can work as well. Here is William on his Boppy nursing pillow, wrapped up in an organic cotton swaddle from Pastor Jane (with message 1 Samuel 1:27 – God has you in the palm of His hand) in it, asleep after a feeding.
My reading and conversations with others has suggested as he gets older he will sleep better overall. We do hope this is the case, and will keep trying other things to help him in the meantime.
~ Danielle
Over 40 First Time Mom 