I still remember wandering around the streets of Salonica feeling lost and bleak, checking in on her every 5-10 minutes or so (quite contrary to what Ngala or Green would advise) hoping that she had fallen asleep. Each time I returned, she was baffled, terrified, angry, anything but asleep. After an hour and a quarter she was hysterical and sweaty, I, not much better. I shrieked at her to GO TO SLEEP, then calmed down, took her out of the cot and at last held her to me. She fell asleep on my chest, still heaving in her sleep with the aftermath of such a violent crying jag. For the next week, she would only sleep on top of me, waking if I tried to move and escape.
Cry It Out iPhone Application
May 3 By 2 Comments
Christchurch based iPhone developer Iane Brown has released an iPhone application that allows parents to teach the controlled crying method to their children with ease. “Controlled crying is something that really polarizes people, and I can see why. It’s a tough thing to leave your baby to cry, and goes against all paternal instincts.” [...]
The Wonders Of The Lullabye
April 21 By Leave a Comment
Lullabies are almost an instinctive mothering technique. Every culture in the world has it’s own version of creating a soothing song that is designed to calm a baby to sleep. Isn’t it interesting as parents that when we relax and do hum or sing to our children, our made up songs are all soothing, and [...]
The Dangers Of Sleeping Alone
February 17 By Leave a Comment
Too often I hear the dangers of Co-Sleeping…. touted as a reason for infant death. Co-Sleeping is a safe, normal, healthy, and eons old practise that has been left behind in western industrialized society. For some reason, we think it is normal and healthy for an infant to sleep through, alone, in a crib. What we [...]
Toilet Training
January 21 By 1 Comment
So Your Child Doesn't Sleep Through The Night
January 4 By Leave a Comment
“By six weeks of age, most babies ought to be sleeping through 8 hours minimum” was the pertinent advice I was given with my first child. My Early Childhood Nurse had our mother’s group keeping sleep diaries, and was recommending a program including formula feeds, and “Controlled Comforting” (What this meant was our babies were [...]
How To Deal With Sleep Deprivation
November 24 By Leave a Comment
4 Wind Down Activities For Bedtime
November 10 By Leave a Comment
A few parenting books advocate a rigid routine to ensure your children are asleep by a certain time every night. Personally, I think that this is disrespectful to a child as an individual, it allows for no freedom, and often results in tears and the new term “sleep training” . A child is a person too, they’re not [...]
Another Night In The Big Bed: 5 Reasons I Love Co-Sleeping
October 24 By Leave a Comment
I have vague memories as a child, of when I felt scared or frightened, jumping into my parents bed for reassurance. Mom and Dad could protect me from all the scary monsters, shadows, bad dreams and even the occasional wet bed. I never routinely co-slept with my parents but I remember the comfort and reassurance. Co-sleeping [...]
