650 Sleep consultants for babies' parents

More outsourcing. Now there are social workers, PhDs and counselors who hire out as "sleep consultants" for parents of babies who have erratic sleep patterns (saw the story in the Wall Street Journal). Anything from $100-$300 an hour. Probably a lot has to do with the personality and energy level of the baby, but could any two children be more different in temperment and personality than our two babies were (12 months difference in age)? And they always slept through the night with no problem. One bounded, marched, ran and screamed throughout toddlerhood and the other sat and watched, or browsed books and didn't give up naps until kindergarten.

For this you don't need to pay me. Norma's sleep advice for parents of babies and toddlers.

#1. Keep the activity level very low and quiet after supper. If bath time is a battle, do it earlier. Warn babysitters not to play chasing, hiding games with them (the only time we ever had a problem was with sitters who had learned the "wear them out" method).
#2. Make bedtime routines brief and boring. A back pat or two, a short story and a prayer. No rocking. No back rubs. No explanations of how the world came into being or what is under the bed or in the closet. You're not raising a dummy. The more you succumb to their tricks, the trickier they'll become in ways to keep you in their room.
#3. Don't run in to check at every whimper or snuffle.
#4. Don't sleep with your child--her bed or yours. I know it's done in some cultures, but those mommies probably don't have to do a 45 minute commute.
#5. Early to bed. Sure it's difficult if you are working all day--you want that time with them. Ours didn't know life went on after 7 p.m. until they were about 8 years old. Keeps them away from playing outdoors (stimulating) and watching inappropriate TV.

The tough part is that when they are bathed, smell really good, are wearing those cute jammies gramma sent, and are sweet talking you, it is tempting to sit on or near the bed and chat. Keep your goal in mind. Seven or eight hours of sleep (ours usually slept 10, but mileage will vary).

Here's a parent who read all the experts and incorporated the best of all of the advice into one big sleep package. But keep reading, they do continue to struggle--but by December little Ben seems to be managing to sleep in his own room. Also, the blog owner/writer focuses on interesting technology stuff and tries to make it comprehensible for people like me, so also click to Main page.