Babies Can Learn to Sleep in Noise
Babies Can Learn to Sleep in Light
Babies Can Learn to Sleep Not-in-Their-Bed
Babies can learn to sleep though a normal amount of ambient
noise. Initially, they can (and will) sleep pretty much
anywhere. This is because for the first few weeks, sleeping
is what they spend most of their time doing. If you
DON'T go out of your way to keep things quiet while
the baby sleeps, the baby will learn to sleep with a normal
amount of ambient noise. This is very, very nice if you ever
want to have friends over during baby's naptime or after
baby's bedtime. This is also very nice if you ever want to
go anywhere with the baby.
The same thing applies to light/dark and location. The baby
starts off being able to sleep pretty much anywhere whether
it is dark or not. You can ruin this!
By coddling the baby, you can teach it to only sleep when it is
dark and in only one location. This makes life much less pleasant
for everyone.
So don't do it.
Let the baby sleep when there is noise and light, and let the baby take naps
in random locations. This keeps the baby from learning to only take
naps at home, in the dark, when it is quiet. You don't need to create
noise and light, but don't go out of your way to avoid it, either.
Prepare a "To Go" Pack
Leaving the house with the baby
CAN be made into
a huge production taking lots of time and requiring a full car
of stuff. Or you can get a very light collapsable umbrella stroller
for the car and prepare a "to go" kit for you. Your "to go" kit will
want to include:
- a thin plastic container of baby wipes,
- two spare diapers, and
- three plastic zip lock bags to put the used diapers and wipes in.
If you are bottle feeding, you also want enough formula
to last a few hours.
Your "to go" kit can easily weigh only a few pounds and fit into a large
fanny pack or spare binoculars case!
The key benefit here is that you DON'T have to then spend 15 minutes "getting
ready" every time you want to leave home with the baby. Your life is much
more pleasant this way!
You Don't Need to Change Baby at Home
Just like baby can learn to sleep anywhere or can be trained to only sleep in
one location, baby can also be trained to have the diaper changed only at home
on the changing table. DON'T DO THIS! The reason is exactly the same as
the one for letting the baby learn to sleep anywhere: Your life will be much
more pleasant if baby thinks that the diaper can be changed anywhere.
Don't Cue Them When They Fall
As baby learns to walk, baby will fall down a lot. This is normal.
Also normal is for baby to look around after falling. Baby is unsure
if the fall hurt. Baby is looking for you to cue him or her.
If you act like baby hurt himself, baby will start crying. If you
do not act like baby hurt himself, baby will usually get back up and
continue whatever it was that baby was doing.
If baby has
really hurt himself, he or she will cry without waiting for
you to signal.
If you want to spend a lot of time comforting baby, encourage him to
cry every time he falls down. If you want baby to be able to play and
fall down without needing to be comforted, wait to comfort until baby
lets you know that he or she has been hurt.
It is hard to do this, but both your life and baby's life will be easier if you
don't train baby to cry at every minor boo-boo.
You Can Drop Them
Babies are not fragile eggs. You don't want to be casual about handling baby (especially
the neck in the first few weeks), but you don't want to freak out, either.
The Crib is Optional
YOU want to get baby a crib. Baby has no idea what a crib is and will happily sleep on the
floor (on a blanket, if it makes you happier). The floor is actually a quite safe place to
sleep as it is difficult to fall out of the floor.
Sign Language Lets you Threaten Them Earlier
Babies can learn language faster than their vocal apparatus develops. If you teach baby very
simple sign language signs (I'm hungry, I'm dirty ... so change me, "more"), baby will be able
to tell you a bit about what baby wants earlier than baby can speak.
Never Give Hostages
If you give in to whining or tantrums the baby will learn that whining
or tantrums are effective ways to get what the baby wants. Even occasionally
giving in can be disastrous, as you will have established that
sometimes whining/tantrums
are effective. This will encourage the
baby to try many more times, hoping for success.
A good rule of thumb is to
NEVER give in to whining or tantrums.
Even if you
were going to allow the baby to do/get something, once
whining/tantrum occurs, the something should be off the table.
Your life is much more pleasant when the baby learns that "no" means "no."
They Overheat, Too
You will be warned about keeping the baby warm. This is reasonable. But be aware that
babies can overheat, too! Don't let the baby get too cold, but don't let the baby get
overly warm either. As with most things, baby is a lot tougher than you think :-)