https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 29 Apr 2026 10:36:11 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-wish-you-did-earlier-regarding-your-babys-sleep#post-2045988 Thu, 29 Jan 2015 16:59:11 +0000 gingerbebe 2045988@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I wish I paid more attention to DS' personality over the "right" way. DS hated the RNP, swaddling, being held close all the time, etc. He likes space, likes his crib, and only really snuggles when totally upset and sick. He's just not a cuddly baby and we tried all these methods of wearing him and all that because he was colicky but in the end he THRIVED on a schedule, bottle feeding, sleeping in his crib, and while we still roomshare he is a noisy sleeper that moves all night long so he really should have his own room. Once we figured out what works for him he became such a better and happier sleeper. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-wish-you-did-earlier-regarding-your-babys-sleep#post-2045961 Thu, 29 Jan 2015 16:46:29 +0000 SeptMomma12 2045961@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Espion: Hahaha. In reality he just values his sleep more than anything and knows he's a beast when he doesn't get it! But trust me, I wish he would take the same initiative with potty training. Or laundry :silly: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-wish-you-did-earlier-regarding-your-babys-sleep#post-2045843 Thu, 29 Jan 2015 15:46:11 +0000 Mamasig 2045843@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Nothing! In my experience, a lot of it is just natural based on the kids personality. I did the same thing with both and have two totally different sleepers. Plus I did and still do what I'm comfortable with. I rock to sleep, cosleep with DS1, made a routine because I needed it as a WAHM. I found I was happier once I stressed less. All kids eventually sleep. Some just take longer. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-wish-you-did-earlier-regarding-your-babys-sleep#post-2045817 Thu, 29 Jan 2015 15:36:19 +0000 farawayyama 2045817@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MenagerieMama: I was going to say somthign similar.</p> <p>I kept stressing myself to do things the 'right' way. DD is an average sleeper. In the end I just relaxed - DH and I do a lot of child-led parenting because of our personalities (setting strong routines are far to stressful for us). She's now 4.5 months (with a short regression) and only has one night wake up, after 7-8 hours. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-wish-you-did-earlier-regarding-your-babys-sleep#post-2045794 Thu, 29 Jan 2015 15:25:24 +0000 Mama Bird 2045794@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Wish I had listened to my gut and not other people, and started nursing him to sleep sooner. I feel like a mean mommy for trying to rock a hungry baby to sleep for an entire month. Didn't hurt his sleep habits in the long run, so I should have just done it! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-wish-you-did-earlier-regarding-your-babys-sleep#post-2045723 Thu, 29 Jan 2015 14:33:22 +0000 lawbee11 2045723@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Just accepted that it was bad and it wouldn't always be that way. I was sleep-deprived and had several MOTN freak-outs when we were in the thick of it. I thought I'd never get sleep again, I'd never be productive at work, etc.</p> <p>ETA: Things we did right that I think have helped tremendously were starting a routine early (like 6 weeks) and keeping her at an early bedtime. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-wish-you-did-earlier-regarding-your-babys-sleep#post-2045722 Thu, 29 Jan 2015 14:32:34 +0000 LuLu Mom 2045722@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I was blessed with a good sleeper, but one thing I'm glad we did was she went down drowsy from 4+ months on. And she was a rock star sleeper, it's so hard to not snuggle and let them fall asleep on you but it was the best thing we did. We would lay her down about 30 minuets after her bottle (reflux baby had to be sitting up following feedings, the key was to not over-stimulate her) and she would fuss maybe a minutes or two once we laid her down and then she was out.</p> <p>I will say the most challenging part for us was getting the grandparents to do this! the moms wanted to rock her to sleep, and didn't understand why it took so long, it was because they were stimulating her/or upsetting her stomach with the movement, once they listened they believed me! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-wish-you-did-earlier-regarding-your-babys-sleep#post-2045704 Thu, 29 Jan 2015 14:22:39 +0000 prettylizy 2045704@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I wish I would have chilled out about it all sooner. The more I tried to execute methods and theories the crazier I became and it didn't make a lick of a difference. We always do a loose bedtime routine, and a set bedtime around 6ish months when the girls were showing readiness for an early bedtime. Both are pretty great sleepers now, but it took time and there was no magic 'thing' for either of them.<br /> I swear one night I was convinced she didn't sleep well because DH put the wrong sounds on her Fisher Price aquarium (rain instead of waves....) as if that was the magic trick! Ridiculous :silly: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-wish-you-did-earlier-regarding-your-babys-sleep#post-2045698 Thu, 29 Jan 2015 14:21:17 +0000 Espion 2045698@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@SeptMomma12: So, the question is...does your DH do any consulting?</p> <p>With E, around 8-ish weeks, we started putting him down drowsy at night. He'd usually entertain himself with the mobile and fall asleep. By 1 AM or so, he'd be ready to eat again and he'd finish out the rest of the night in our bed. But starting out in the bassinet was a real victory. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-wish-you-did-earlier-regarding-your-babys-sleep#post-2045691 Thu, 29 Jan 2015 14:18:39 +0000 MenagerieMama 2045691@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Honestly? I wish I'd stressed less and savored a bit more of the baby snuggles rather than being frustrated that she'd only sleep while being held and wasn't in a routine. Luckily I think I toned it down soon and just slowly made changes in line with her development and now at 4 mo she falls asleep on her own and sort of has a nap schedule! One thing that was helpful I think was a consistent sleep environment and cues. Having her white noise machine be something super constant with her naps has really helped, particularly with transitioning sleep places. Every once in a while she'll fuss going down to sleep and I'll wonder why and then realize I forgot to turn the sound machine on! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-wish-you-did-earlier-regarding-your-babys-sleep#post-2045673 Thu, 29 Jan 2015 14:12:57 +0000 Anagram 2045673@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>oh gosh, we had a naturally bad sleeper, and I feel like I did everything "right" and nothing ever worked or worked for long, anyway.</p> <p>She's 18 months and still usually wakes up most nights--these days, we generally let her just cry but she still wakes up night after night. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-wish-you-did-earlier-regarding-your-babys-sleep#post-2045667 Thu, 29 Jan 2015 14:07:54 +0000 SeptMomma12 2045667@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'll preface this with saying I do think we just naturally got a "good sleeper." But DH took on sleep from the start as his thing and he worked really hard to institute a routine and "teach" him to fall asleep on his own. Each night he rocked him a little less (but we never did CIO - so if he wasn't ready to sleep, he would keep rocking) and I want to say by 3 months he was falling asleep reliably on his own. Now at 2.5 he never gives us any trouble with it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-wish-you-did-earlier-regarding-your-babys-sleep#post-2045663 Thu, 29 Jan 2015 14:06:59 +0000 blackbird 2045663@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The good things for us were having a routine, setting her down drowsy but awake (she didn't BF so i didn't nurse to sleep--and yeah, sometimes she woke up right away) and trying to set up the habits that i wanted her to have down the road. I was really worried we'd have one serious crutch we'd rely on, and then daycare would be a huge hot mess. So i used a huge variety of tricks and kept trying all sorts of things. "tools in the toolbox" i think was how a parenting book referred to it as. I think she was about that age, maybe a little older when i started implementing "the pause" concept where I'd give her a few minutes to fuss or figure stuff out. Sometimes she fell asleep, sometimes it escalated. But i didn't rush to her at every peep. Easier said than done, though! I think she might've been a little older....a couple of times, she'd start to cry, and I'd make her a bottle, then find her passed out. So i stopped assuming every cry was for food :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-wish-you-did-earlier-regarding-your-babys-sleep#post-2045659 Thu, 29 Jan 2015 14:03:10 +0000 Canoli 2045659@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>For both I wish I would have worked on putting to bed drowsy so then learned how to fall asleep on their own. I never did with my first and it took him years to fall asleep on his own. With my second I'm trying harder to do it but it's so much easier to just rock and put him down already sleeping..... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-wish-you-did-earlier-regarding-your-babys-sleep#post-2045513 Thu, 29 Jan 2015 13:00:39 +0000 meredithNYC 2045513@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Setting a nighttime "routine" - i.e. bath, feeding, dimming the lights and quieting the house around 7 or 8. I feel like it helps them to differentiate between daytime/nighttime. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-wish-you-did-earlier-regarding-your-babys-sleep#post-2045477 Thu, 29 Jan 2015 12:49:49 +0000 snowjewelz 2045477@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DD is 8 weeks and I've been obsessed with sleep, knowing that I want to get her on a loose schedule based on her patterns now, and to start teaching her how to fall asleep drowsy but awake. </p> <p>What are some things you wish you did or tried earlier that improves your baby's sleep? </p>