Shortly after I thought I recovered from having a prem baby, it was with some disappointment that I soon tossed some of my most strongly-held initial intentions out the window. Surprisingly for us, or perhaps not so surprisingly considering the somewhat dual-track of infancy we are on, it kicked in slightly later than probably normal. Either way, my belief that a baby should not sleep in bed with parents soon made way for the only way our prem would sleep at night, tucked safely in the kangaroo-style position on one of our chests; similarly my strong dislike for a binky/dummy/pacifier quickly flew out the window when Luka nearly blessed us with blisters on our knuckles for want of non-nutritive sucking.*
So it is that for the past month or so, Luka has been sleeping with us in bed at night, often calmed or soothed by one of us (yes, with a dummy) for his lack of ability to do so himself. That is, until last night. I guess something just kicked in, I don't know, call it instinct call it reading a new book, but last night I decided to try Luka in his cot. First of all, seems that the key to a good nights' sleep for the baby is good sleeping during the day (to avoid over-tiredness) - yes, yes, all the books tell you this, but it is much better to learn it yourself ;) So last night Luka and I set to working on this cot sleeping business, we fed, burped and then I laid him down in his cot while drowsy (per said book), and firmly touched him when he niggled, and voila! He slept all night in his own cot, waking every three hours for a feed, and going right back to sleep. One point for mommy.
Fast-forward to today, napping during the day in our own cot - not a chance. And so it goes. Just another day with a newborn.
Then again, who needs a cot when I can nap like this anyway?...
* The desire of a premature infant to suck has a lot to do with a very basic survival instinct that requires the infant to be coordinated enough to breath, suck and swallow at the same time. The issue is that if a premature infant is fed through a tube, they do not get to practice sucking, hence the importance of introducing a dummy to stimulate this necessary skill.
So it is that for the past month or so, Luka has been sleeping with us in bed at night, often calmed or soothed by one of us (yes, with a dummy) for his lack of ability to do so himself. That is, until last night. I guess something just kicked in, I don't know, call it instinct call it reading a new book, but last night I decided to try Luka in his cot. First of all, seems that the key to a good nights' sleep for the baby is good sleeping during the day (to avoid over-tiredness) - yes, yes, all the books tell you this, but it is much better to learn it yourself ;) So last night Luka and I set to working on this cot sleeping business, we fed, burped and then I laid him down in his cot while drowsy (per said book), and firmly touched him when he niggled, and voila! He slept all night in his own cot, waking every three hours for a feed, and going right back to sleep. One point for mommy.
Fast-forward to today, napping during the day in our own cot - not a chance. And so it goes. Just another day with a newborn.
Then again, who needs a cot when I can nap like this anyway?...
 |
| Advanced napping skills, as performed at local dining establishment Camel Rock on Father's Day, 19 June 2011 |
* The desire of a premature infant to suck has a lot to do with a very basic survival instinct that requires the infant to be coordinated enough to breath, suck and swallow at the same time. The issue is that if a premature infant is fed through a tube, they do not get to practice sucking, hence the importance of introducing a dummy to stimulate this necessary skill.
No comments:
Post a Comment