Having fun when baby won’t sleep
BY JUNE STRAIGHT World Scene Writer
Monday, January 14, 2013
1/14/13 at 6:46 AM
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Walking in the house at nearly 1 a.m. to find your 3-month-old wide awake can be a little frustrating. After an 8-hour shift at work at that hour, sleep is much more attractive than parenting.
But then she hits you with one of those slobbery little gummy smiles, you let yourself think, "aww, how cute, she's waiting up for Mommy."
But after a few hours when the cuddling, rocking and lullaby singing routine doesn't work, again sleep becomes more attractive than parenting.
And even though you're bigger, and smarter than your little one, when engaged in an outright sleeping strike, you still don't stand a chance.
Sure there are soothing baths, rocking motions, moving vehicles and a slew of other "get-your-baby-to-sleep" tricks.
But when all else fails and things get crazy - and after 3 a.m. they always get crazy - sometimes you just have to embrace it.
Since I am in the middle of a sleep strike with my baby, I thought I'd share a few of my tactics for embracing the crazy that comes with a baby and several sleepless nights.
1. Singing lullabies for hours on end will make you batty in a bad way; singing your favorite songs from middle school (cue slowed-down, softer version of No Doubt's "Just a Girl") is batty in the best way.
2. Run out of slightly inappropriate pop songs to sing? Turn your night into a musical! One night Rosie and I (really just me) wrote a musical. The score is full of new classics, the breast-feeding ballad "move on to the other side" and the uptempo jazz number "put dem socks on yo feet," sung in the voice of Louis Armstrong.
3. Clear out your DVR playlist. Babies like to stare at glowing screens. I like to watch all the episodes of "Bones" I missed. Win/win.
4. Have fun with words. Words start to sound funny once you near that 4 a.m. mark. Try saying "hello" 50 different ways to your baby. You'll both get a laugh out of that.
5. Youtube Karaoke! Turns out Rosie (again, totally me) loves singing along to Youtube videos. And at 4:30, my rendition of "Don't you want me," by The Human League is awesome.
Like I said, none of these tips will help your baby sleep. But they sure do help pass the time!
June Straight 918-581-8331
june.straight@tulsaworld.com
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Need some help getting your baby to sleep at night without going crazy? Ditch the standard lullabies and keep yourself entertained by singing your favorite songs from middle school.
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