Friday 27 September 2013

Bedtime struggles are getting worse and worse.

                                                                                                                                  Η ελληνική έκδοση βρίσκεται πιο κάτω
Bedtime struggles are getting worse and worse..every night we have a couple of crying concerts, so sleeping deprivation forced me to seek among my friends, the magic recipe for ensuring that babies stay asleep in their cribs... and i got some interesting advices...
The most popular tips were the sleeping schedule, basically a regime for their sleeping hours, putting them to sleep in the right moment, or introducing a comforting bedtime ritual...well, i must admit that lately we became very inconsistent with the sleeping schedule. Before the holidays the girls used to have a strict sleeping routine and indeed were sleeping through the night, at least for 8-10 hours without waking up.. some friends just told me that it s a phase and will pass away, but my impatient character can't accept this excuse...so i started searching in the web for experts advice..i was surprised of how many sites and blogs are exclusively dedicated to this issue...too many moms are suffering?!


my sleeping beauties, on our bed!

i am not fond of Ferber's / cry it out method (let the baby cry until she falls asleep), so after an extended survey, i started reading the TRacy Hogg's book Baby-Whisperer-Solves-ProAblems which i found till now very interesting...tonight i am going to partially implement her theory, adjusted of course on our wills and needs. Let's see if it works...even though putting the twins to sleep is more complicated since one may start crying and the sleeping baby may wake up...I would love advice and thoughts from those who have done it!


In a nutshell, some of the most interesting points of the book: 
- apply a strictly structured routine (E.A.S.Y."E" Eating, "A" Activity and then "S" sleep which leaves time to yourself for "Y" You.) 
- talk to the baby before leaving the room, to ensure the routine and so as they know that to expect. Try something like"now you are going to have your nap. I will see you when you will wake up". My variation is that i don't leave the room, I stay there until they fall asleep.
- if the baby cries, comfort her. If she remains fussy, pick her up- put her down until she calms down. Pat her on the back and whisper shh-shh,, Don't let the baby cry desperately.
- babies under 3 months cannot hold 3 thoughts in their mind, so if you pat them and at the same time whisper to them, they will not be able to continue crying! (i didn't know that! i wish i knew when Maya had the colics..)
accidental parenting like nursing or bottle feeding (if the baby is not hungry), walking or rocking can make a child 
dependent on the "prop" that she associates with sleep.


Since it s a baby post here are some of the baby topics i liked this week:

* Wonderful advices for creating the perfect playroom from my good friend Sruthi. Take a look sruthinaidu.squarespace.com/blog/
and more ideas at nurseryroomideas.co.uk

*Next directory released new models! (they have the cutest sleep-suits ever in the best price and without shipping costs!) i already placed my order!




Οι μεταμεσονύχτιες μάχες για ύπνο όλο και χειροτερεύουν...κάθε βράδυ η ίδια ιστορία, οπότε η έλλειψη ύπνου με αναγκασε να ψάξω να βρω μεταξύ φίλων, την μαγική συνταγή που θα με βοηθήσει να μάθω ξανά από την αρχή στις μικρές μου, πώς να κοιμούνται στο κρεβάτι τους για όλη την διάρκεια της νύχτας. Οι πλειοψηφία μου μίλησε για πρόγραμμα, όντως το τελευταίο διάστημα από τις διακοπές και μετά δεν το τηρούμε με ακρίβεια..ίσως είναι η αλλαγή περιβάλλοντος, ίσως η ηλικία...άλλοι μου είπαν ότι δεν μπορώ να κάνω τίποτα παρά υπομονή και ότι θα περάσει...όμως η ανυπόμονη πτυχή του χαρακτήρα μου δεν μπορεί να δεκτεί αυτή την δικαιολογία..έτσι ξεκίνησα να ψάχνω στο διαδύκτιο για συμβουλές ειδικών, και πρέπει να ομολογήσω ότι ξαφνιάστηκα από τον αριθμό των site και blog αφιερωμένα σε αυτό το θέμα. Μάλλον είναι πολλές οι μητέρες που υποφέρουν!? Μετά από ψάξιμο, άρχισα να διαβάζω το βιβλίο της  TRacy Hogg's Baby-Whisperer-Solves-ProAblems το οποίο βρήκα πολύ ενδιαφέρον και θα αρχίσω σήμερα να εφαρμόζω τις τακτικές που προτείνει, προσαρμοσμένο φυσικά στις ανάγκες και τις επιθυμίες μας. Να δούμε αν θα πετύχει! Με τα δίδυμα όλα είναι πιο περίπλοκα, διότι αυτή που ξυπνάει και κλαίει ξυπνάει την άλλη που κοιμάται...
Τα βασικά σημεία του βιβλίου που αποφάσισα να υιοθετήσω είναι τα εξής (φυσικά με τις δικές μου παραλλαγές)
- ιυοθέτηση ενός αυστηρού προγράμματος ρουτίνας (φαγητό, παιχνίδι, ύπνος).. μμμ δεν θα κρατήσω το αυστηρό, αλλά συμφωνό ως προς την ρουτίνα και τις συνήθειες
- καθησυχαση του μωρού πριν την έξοδο από το δωμάτιο..(προσωπικά παραμένω στο δωμάτιο μέχρι να αποκοιμηθούν..εξάλλου αυτή η στιγμή είναι η πιο χαλαρωτική της ημέρας)
- η τακτική pat & whisper ..και η pick up/pick down...εμένα έπιασε η πρώτη, για την δεύτερη δεν έχω τόσο ισχυρή προσωπικότητα, και στο τέλος οι μικρές καταλήγουν στο κρεβατι! 
- η μη ιυοθέτηση συνηθειών όπως το γάλα αν το μωρό δεν πεινάει ουσιαστικά, ή το περπάτημα - κούνημα κλπ για να αποκοιμηθεί. 
Ένα άλλο βιβλίο είναι το The-No-Cry-Sleep-Solution-Forewordαν δεν πετύχει αυτή η μέθοδος.

* i was speaking with my friend that she just started with the solid foods, and i recommended to her the  baby safe disposable feeder, manchkin or nuby, which makes it easy and safe for the babies to chomp on the food. It costs nothing and lets babies explore foods (especially those that are hard to chew, like the apple for instance, without me having to worry about them choking).


you can buy them online from amazon or www.homoempatia.eu, an online pharmacy where you can get biological & homeopathic german baby products, like Holle, Hipp, Weleda in very good prices (i know for sure that they are much less expensive than in Italy and Greece). We buy in bulk with friends, so we split the shipping costs!
Το εξάρτημα που βλέπετε στην φωτογραφία είναι πολύ χρήσιμο στις πρώτες εξερευνήσεις του φαγητού. Βάζετε μέσα το φρούτο ή το λαχανικό, και τα μικρούλια τρώνε με ασφαλές τρόπο εφόσον το δίκτυ εμποδίζει να κόβονται μεγάλα κομμάτια. Θα το βρείτε στο amazon ή www.homoempatia.eu, ενα online φαρμακείο όπου μπορείτε να ψωνίσετε διάφορες βιολογικές γερμανικές μάρκες όπως Holle, Hipp, Weleda σε πολύ καλύτερες τιμές από την Ελλάδα. Εγώ παραγγέλνω με φιλές ώστε να μοιραζόμαστε τα έξοδα. 

* For the DIY section... i did some pom poms (it s a piece of cake! - you can see the instructions here) and hanged them in our living room.. the girls loved them! Every time they start crying we bring them in front of the pom poms and they start touching and wiggle them..i don't know if that may work also with your babies, but my girls really calm down. (i will post a photo of my pom poms as soon as i go back to Italy)
if you don't feel like doing them by yourself, you can simply buy them from www.etsy.com


this is a very nice idea from threadingMarigolds2 for the nursery room

βρήκα εδώ οδηγίες και έφτιαξα pom poms και τα κρέμασα στο σαλόνι. κάθε φορά που έπιανε στις μικρές το απελπισμένο κλάμμα, τους πήγαινα μπροστά και τα έπιαναν και τα κουνούσαν και με ένα μαγικό τρόπο σταματούσαν..δεν ξέρω αν θα πετύχει και με τα δικά σας μωρά, νομίζω αξίζει η προσπάθεια!

5 comments:

  1. very nice blog.. Keep going and share with us nice topics!

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  2. Wow! I'll try the "3 things in the mind" method with Melissa! Thanks!

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  3. I was re-reading your posts and just noticed this smart safe baby fooder! Wow, I'll surelly order it shortly, as Melissa loves chewing!

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  4. And instead of pompoms we have three paper baloons (florentine "rificolone") hung on the lamp, and it works just the same: when Meliss cries we approach her to them.
    Wind chime bells also work brilliantelly!

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  5. Awww, well, I know you posted this months ago and I'm sure you've got it down like a pro by now, but yes, having a schedule definitely helps you and them get prepared for bedtime. Babies like a routine because they know what to expect :)
    For us, we would feed Marli, then give her a bath and about 30-45 min before bedtime, we would turn off the tv and put on some music (any kind) on a lower volume and let her play. She is FULL of energy so it's good for her to burn some of it off before bed. Otherwise, she's too excited to sleep. Then, 10 min before her bedtime, I put her pjs on, change her diaper and tell her it's bedtime.
    It's funny because a few days before she turned one, she suddenly didn't want me to rock her to bed anymore! I didn't know whether to cry or jump for joy...Now, she likes to lay down on her own with her bottle and I'll put her bottom until she falls asleep.
    Anyways, with all that being said, having 1 is hard enough so bravo to you for handling 2 :) Just be flexible and patient. With all these growth spurts and teething, their schedules will get inconsistent at times. Stay the course mama! You're doing a great job!!
    (sorry this was SUPER long)
    Linh
    http://abeautifulrawr.com

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