And so to sleep…...or not.

So, we've heard about the 50s.

                

 How did it go for us when it was our turn to rock the cradle?

Well, at first I was a complete rookie. Luckily my mum was always there at the end of the phone. She was at the end of the phone, but I wasn't. No mobiles of course, in the 1970s, and we didn't even have a landline. So if I didn’t know what to do next, I had to bundle the baby into his pram and wheel him down to the nearest pay phone,

“ Muuum, he won't stop crying! What do I do?”

Sometimes just being pushed in the pram would have quieted him by the time I got to the phone if I was lucky. If not, then Mum’s calm advice would give me the confidence to cope.

 Getting babies and toddlers to sleep at night seemed to be an important part of life in the following years. I had babies who were good sleepers and, thinking I'd cracked it, I got quite smug.

Then along came the non-sleepers, and made me think again.

This is me with one of my non-sleepers. Neither of us has had much sleep by the look of it.

Truth is, I guess, some babies sleep more than others. And if you were to ask me if they all sleep through the night eventually; I should say – not necessarily. I still can't get my last one to sleep all night, and she's nearly 21.

But, on the other hand, there have been some who could sleep on a washing line. A 3-hour nap in the afternoon and still go to bed at 6.30 and sleep right through. I reckon they would still be doing it now if they could get away with it…

Here is a selection of things I was told by other mums to try on sleepless babies and toddlers…

1)      Put the vacuum cleaner on. It will make them shut up and go to sleep.

Hmmm….

2)      Drive them about in the car. They will drop off quickly.

Well, yes, probably. But then you must either keep driving (not ideal if you are half dead with weariness) or you have to wake them up getting them back indoors.

3)      Sing lullabies.

This could work if you can keep it up long enough.

4)      Leave them to cry.

This will work for some. Others will eat their cot before they will give in and go to sleep. More athletic babies may be able to climb right out of the cot unless you tie them down. (This is true, I had one of them).

5)      Put whiskey in their bottle.

NO. Do NOT do this. You will have your child taken into care, and tempting as this thought might seem when you are tired, you WILL regret it one day.

While we're on the subject….

Some toddlers have their own ideas about where they want to sleep. One of mine favoured the bath. And when he was banned from doing that, he put the baby bath onto his bed and slept in it.

 I like a child who knows their own mind.

Another one went to bed for a nap without me knowing. She was scrunched up small under the duvet in the dip in the mattress so we couldn't see she was there. Hours later and with the house searched from top to bottom, I was about to ring the police when she crawled out wondering why we were all so frantic.

Yet another toddler liked to sleep in the cupboard. I have no idea why.

All things pass, as they say. And the day does come when you are no longer wondering what it’s like to have an uninterrupted night’s sleep. Uninterrupted by children that is. There are plenty of things that will interrupt your sleep in later life. But that’s another story.

Moo