Locate naps in the middle of family life
By Elizabeth Pantley, author of The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Newborns ~~~
If your baby is having excessively long naps, then shorting herself on night sleep, start having your baby take her daytime naps in a room where she can hear the noises of the day, perhaps in a bassinet or cradle located in the main area of your home.
Don’t tiptoe around the house during naps! Keep up with your normal sounds of the day. Your baby is used to listening to these sounds while she was in the womb.
Don’t shush people from normal conversation and household noises, though it’s wise to prevent loud, harsh alerting sounds which can wake any baby unless your baby is accustomed to these sounds and unbothered by them. My daughter has two large dogs with loud, rumbling barks. I was surprised to see that even from day one my grandson did not even flinch in his sleep when they barked – it was a very familiar sound to him.
Most newborns can sleep through moderate household noise but there are a few babies who wake up if you so much as drop a marshmallow! If your baby is one of those who wakes up too easily using this plan, yet sleeps excessively long in a quiet room you can allow a couple hours of quiet nap, and then gradually introduce some normal daytime household noises.
Elizabeth Pantley is a mother of four, grandmother, and author of the bestselling book, The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Newborns plus 8 other books in the No-Cry Solution Series, which helps Moms and Dads through all key stages of parenting. Visit her at nocrysolution.com.
