All was quiet last night and I went to bed feeling upbeat about starting the Technique.  Surprisingly J slept till 3.45am to which I was woken with screams.  I didn’t go in straight away but when I did she was standing upright in her cot, dummy out and wailing like I’d neglected her for hours.  I quietly went over and without taking her out the cot I swooped her back to lying down.  (not sure if you are allowed to do this as it might be classed as picking up).

For 2 minutes I repeatidly said ‘Shhh Shhh’ and rubbed her belly as that is her usual cue when going to bed to go to sleep.  She went quiet but still eyes wide open.  After what i thought was 2 mins (not easy to count when your tired) I left her.  As soon as I took my hand off her she started crying again. 

At this point I was strong, and let her cry for 8 mins on her own, and went and repeated the previous steps.  This lasted an hour, and at one point I thought she’d cracked it as she went quiet…but this was not to be for long.  However I did make the crying last for 8-10mins before going in and reassuring her that things were ok. 

On the last spurt of crying, J started coughing after each major cry and I’m ashamed to say at this point I gave in.  I feel terrible that the 1 hour that i’d invested was all wasted and immediately regreted the decision.  But there is a point in all this that motherly instincts kick in and to me she was making herself worse rather than being able to settle herself.  Also I dont have the back up at the moment as my other half is away, i’m not making excuses as a first time mum this is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, and i think i need the re-assurance from my fella to carry on.  I do have to say once I had settled J in the usual fashion (taking her to our bed) she slept for longer this morning till 7pm rather than 5.30am.  YAY a lie in.

Tonight I am going to try again.  D is back from being away for work so I have the back up.  I sat there with J last night and I cried with her and felt such a bad mum, and feel selfish that I want a good night sleep.  You may ask well its all my own fault for pampering her when she was a newborn, and yes your right.  You actually start believing that at some point your child will sleep through the night as everyone elses baby seems to do.  And I get angry when I get texts from friends who have just had one bad night and feel exhausted.  10 months of sleepless nights have finally got to me and I am determined to do something about it.  Roll on tonight and I will try again.

After months and months of being woken up every night (10 months to be precise), I’ve decided to do The Ferber Method starting tonight.  I just want to sleep and I know its going to be hard but I need to do something otherwise I’ll be ending up walking down the aisle with black bags under my eyes.

I’m lucky in some respects, bedtime routine is up and running and I don’t have a problem putting little one to bed.  It’s just as I’ve got myself settled and asleep for an hour she wakes up.  I’m actually in two minds, I’m dreading this but then looking forward to the sleep.  I know i’m going to be even more exhausted than usual but it is the bank holiday coming up and i’m hoping my other half will help.

Right its 20.10 little one is fast asleep in bed.  She had loads for dinner tonight, we shall see how the nite develops and then i’m report back in my blog.  Fingers crossed.

I am delighted to announce that our new range of premium gifts for babies are here.  Please feel free to take a look and a listen by visiting the Lullaby Babies home page (http://www.lullaby-babies.co.uk).  The design and manufacture took a considerable amount of time but as I’m sure you’ll agree, it was certainly worth the wait!  

Read the rest of this entry »

Please read The Ferber Technique (part one) before attempting this technique.  As I discussed, this method should only be considered if your baby is healthy, well-fed and at least six months old.  Before starting this technique you have to be sure your baby is only crying because he wants something rather than that he actually he needs something.  If you suspect it might be the latter obviously give him everything he needs (a change, a feed etc).  Please note, I am not advocating the Ferber technique, I am simply letting you know the best way to go about it if you decide you want to give it a try. 

Read the rest of this entry »

Dr Richard Ferber was the first to propose the idea of ‘controlled crying’ in 1985.  Since then it has taken on many names such as, cry it out, self-soothing, sleep training, crying down and many more.  Some techniques vary slightly in the details but they all work along the same basic principal as Ferber first proposed.

There are few baby-related issues that evoke as much controversy as this one.  Some big names in the field frequently have fiery exchanges because of their conflicting points of view.  Many will remember Gina Ford and Dr Miriam Stoppard for example, who had a fierce debate on The Today Programme over the issue.  

Read the rest of this entry »

Sleeping bags for babies (also known as Grobags) are becoming an increasingly popular choice for new parents everywhere. I think I’m right in saying that the large majority of parents, however, still prefer to buy cotton sheets and cotton cellular blankets for their newborn. This is because they are easy to layer so baby can be kept at the right temperature by simply adding or removing a blanket. You can click here to read how many layers a baby should have in relation to the room temperature.

If, like many parents, you decide that baby should sleep in a moses-basket or carry cot to begin with, you can buy specially sized sheets and blankets for this purpose. This makes it easier to ensure that there isn’t an excess of fabric that baby could potentially wriggle down under and have their breathing restricted by. I highly recommend buying the right-sized bedding for the sleeping solution you choose. Although, there are a variety of fabrics available, I would suggest you consider the stretch-cotton sheets as these are less likely to become loose in the night and taking them off and putting them back on is a doddle.

Read the rest of this entry »

The lovely little lullaby Lavender’s Blue (also known as Lavender Blue Dilly Dilly) is great for playing to newborns at bedtime. You can listen to a sample clip and, if you like our version, you can download the full track as an mp3.

This English folk song goes as far back as the 17th Century. Over the years there have been many covers, some good and some ..well, shall we say, not so good!? Burl Ives, Dinah Shore and Sammy Turner have all recorded their own versions. It had a very popular spell during the 1950s Rock & Roll era when a Philadelphia-born singer/songwriter released his version. He was known as the King of Rock N Soul and also as Big Sol- can anyone name him?

Read the rest of this entry »

The timeless classic Pachelbel’s Canon in D is from our new album: Acoustic Lullabies to Soothe the Soul. You can listen to an audio sample and download the full track if you wish. 

Johann Pacelbel died in 1706 but his memory lives on through his music.  This song is a popular choice for weddings but we thought it could also make a wonderful lullaby.  We recorded a very special arrangement using only acoustic guitars.  We are delighted with the result- it sounds beautiful but don’t take our word for it -have a listen for yourself.  

Read the rest of this entry »

The timeless classic Ava Maria is from our new album: Acoustic Lullabies to Soothe the Soul. You can listen to an audio sample and download the full track if you wish.

Read the rest of this entry »

The traditional song Scarborough Fair is from our new album: Acoustic Lullabies to Soothe the Soul. We recorded a special arrangement of this traditional classic and you can read the lyrics, listen to an audio clip and download the full track as you wish.

Read the rest of this entry »