Well, where do you start? A new baby can bring so much excitment, joy and happiness to all. You wait patiently for nine months, taking care of yourself, craving pickled eggs and gerkhins, dealing with piles, sickness, cramps, heartburn (the list is endless), then you go through umpteen hours of labour, (with the ever so doting father making jokes about gas and air being the best 'high' ever) and to top it off your dignity has been left at the door! (amazing isnt it, how when we used to get changed for gym, we would go to major extremes to cover ourselves up back then!)

Being a parent is hard....its a full time job, though the pay is poor and the hours long, but you can do it! I am not going to lie to you, my 4 month old is a diamond and sleeps right through and naps during the day, however this has taken hardwork and discipline (for me)as i dont sleep during the day this works best for me, however, every child like a grown up is different, but giving it a try might help you. I will tell you how i got through it, it is not however a miricle cure, but give it a try!

I was advised when i was three months into my pregnancy to get the child into a routine from day one. OK, so feed on demand disrupts your routine, all the books say a child will settle into aroutine themselves...they also say to sleep when baby sleeps, which is good advice, but funny isnt it, when they sleep you are suddenly full of energy (second wind maybe?!) and when your tired they cry for no reason! So here are my lil guide to better sleep.....
1) establish a bedtime for your child, and have the same routine before bed every night, ie pjamas on...bottle story bed. My son goes to bed at 6pm....this gives me a couple of hours free to do my housework or relax.
2)Define daytime and evening nap areas.
3)try having a cool down period of 20 mins, where you have no tv or other distraction while you calm your baby ready for sleeptime.
4)make sure the room is warm enough.
5)invest in blackoutr blinds or thick curtains.
6) The chores will get done....do them little by little, youll be amazed how quick they go down (maybe when your on second wind!)
7)Remember, its ok for babies to cry........my son is a right attention seeker, and sometimes now he will just scream until i go into his room, then as soon as he see me he will be all smiles! set limits, 5, then 10 then 15 etc, leaving it longer everytime...i am not gonna lie, it breaks my heart to leave him crying sometimes, but IT DOES WORK.
8) If your baby sleeps during the day, hoover, dont tiptoe around them...get him used to household sounds.
babies thrive on routine so once they go to bed leave them in thier room, get a supply of nappies in there!
well good luck, sleep well!
louise

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