s/o Sleep Methods

missbeezers

Thanks to those who responded and offered help.  I used the term "Ferber" b/c it was the closest thing I could find on the intarwebz to what our pedi was describing, though she didn't use it by name. 

I know that she's only one week old, so we're not trying some crazy sleep regimen yet (which when I looked up Ferber more extensively, yikes...), but I'm trying to figure out how to best keep her happy and make sure she gets some sleep at night.  We had some really rough patches where it felt like nothing worked and I felt so awful that she was so tired.  I'm sure a lot of you remember the first weeks and it's definitely rough stuff.  My biggest concern is that she won't get enough sleep and will be miserable, so I'm just trying to find any resources that can help her.

 As for HBOTB, thanks for those that suggested it!  When I went to look it up on Amazon, I found that we've already been using the swaddling/shushing technique (we watched part of the HBOTB dvd in our newborn care class), but I'll definitely be picking up a copy tomorrow.  We're not really too down with CIO and are trying to find good tools to help her sleep well without ignoring her, so this book sounds like a good one.

 

Anyways, thanks again to those that were compassionate and offered support!  I appreciate it.

Joes_love

okay, good for you for getting HBOTB.  it works well most of the time.

 

as for helping her sleep, right now she just needs to know you're still there.  she went from being held 24/7 in your womb to being out in this great big scary world, and she still needs to be held the majority of the time.

invest in a white noise machine- it saves my breath from shushing (i once shushed so hard and long i almost passed out!). 

we also found that a gentle massage and a song before bed everynight helped 'cue' ds that it was bedtime.  once he got older we added to that simple routine and he's continued to go to sleep nicely.  we don't have a set time, we just start the routine as soon as he exhibits signs of tiredness.

 

most of all, remember they're only that little once.  i already miss getting up with DS in the night and having that one-on-one time, it goes way too quickly...so try to enjoy it as much as you can, worry about sleep routines once she's older.

inateapot

I also like the Baby Whisperer methods.  She recommends a 'schedule' that's more of a guideline.  We're just now implementing it and it helps ME see DD's cues for tiredness.

and I know they're only little once, but I can guarantee you I will NOT miss getting up in the middle of the night.  ugh.