There must be many angel babies in this world who have a regular schedule and can sleep peacefully without effort.
But usually, the baby is not that type. It was difficult to fall asleep, woke up on the ground, cried a lot at night, and the old mother lost her bald head for the baby's sleep problems and her heart. As my children grew older, my method of sleeping was gradually upgraded.
Fortunately, after trying N kinds of sleep-coaxing dafa, I finally found the trick to sleep-
Milk sleeps well, but it is easy to overfeed
Not long after Little Hyperthero was born, her cries echoed throughout the delivery room. When I didn't know how to quiet her down, a young nurse came up and gently held little Hypertherm's head, pushing her pink little head close to my chest, so that little Hypertherm, who was crying with his mouth wide open, could drink milk accurately.
At that moment, the world suddenly fell silent. Drinking enough milk, little Hypertherm naturally enters a sweet sleep. Since then, I have unlocked the easiest and most instinctive way to sleep: milk sleep.
Sleepy, feed. Hungry, feed. Crying, also breastfeeding. It seems wonderful, but the drawbacks of milk sleeping are also exposed.
Because the milk was drunk too often, poor little Hypertherm digested, causing flatulence, and the milk woke up quickly after sleeping with a cry. So constantly falling into milk sleep, flatulence crying and waking up, milk sleeping again, more serious vicious circle of flatulence.
At that time, I had not yet contacted Traditional Chinese medicine parenting, and I did not understand why Little Hypertherm frequently cried, and after watching sister-in-law Yue use the "airplane hug", Little Hypertherm's crying was significantly reduced, and I began to wake up. Excessive milk sleep, damage to the spleen and stomach, can be described as endless troubles.
In addition to milk sleep, I have tried all kinds of fancy sleep. For example, sleeping in a hug is very expensive for the mother, and it is easy to wake up as soon as it is put down; for example, the carrier carries the baby to sleep in the community, or hangs in front of the lying baby with props such as a comfort towel and pacifier until she falls asleep... In the end, I found that the fancy sleeping method did not work, all depending on the mood of little Haibao.
Strict implementation of scientific coaxing,
Little Hypertherm's schedule is regular
Since four months, I have been constantly searching for all kinds of dry sleeping goods on the Internet, signing up for some baby regular work and rest courses, and trying to use scientific methods to coax sleep.
All kinds of special terms for baby sleep come to the fore: "short nap", "difficult to catch sleep", "zero point magic spell", "weaning milk", "sleep recurrence", "sleep regression"... I studied, practiced, and developed a set of "sleep rituals" for little Hypertherm before going to sleep: what time to take a shower, what time to brush my teeth, then pull the curtains and turn off the lights, start telling stories, and then coax to sleep... Every day in strict accordance with the time and steps.
Under my efforts, the little Hypertherm's schedule was once regular to heinous, from the original sleeping dregs baby, to a punctual and punctual alarm clock. The time error between sleeping and waking up each day is basically not more than half an hour. For 4 and a half months, Little Hypertherm had begun to sleep at night, sleeping until dawn.
The heavenly years are coming. In the eyes of my elders, my family status has also risen sharply, from a novice mother who can't do anything stupid, to a big hero who can get the baby's routine.
Proudly, I began to explore how to make little Hypertherm "fall asleep on its own." However, with the gradual addition of complementary foods, Little Hypertherm not only did not "fall asleep on its own", but began to "sleep backwards".
In this way, my scientific path to sleep was again frustrated.
TCM Parenting Sleep:
Stomach is comfortable, in order to sleep well
After the addition of complementary foods, the regular routine of Little Hypertherm was broken. There are also times when you fall asleep regularly, but after falling asleep, you will roll around in the bed or cry frequently in the middle of the night.
Finally, after a week-long diarrhea with my baby, I came into contact with Daddy Sheep. After learning the AB class of Sheep Daddy, I not only became more calm and calm about The various colds and fever problems of Hypertherm, but also learned that "stomach disharmony, restless sleep" - many children's sleep problems can be found from digestion.
Classic feedback feeding, that's where it comes in handy. Through observation and recording, once the child appears to be rolling around in the middle of the night and pulling stool abnormally, I will reflect and adjust my diet. After reducing or suspending foods that are not digestible, sleep will be more stable and stable. (Restless sleep at night is largely related to digestion.) After excluding accumulated food, the common reason may also be due to physical weakness or being frightened, the specific performance and response can refer to this article: accumulation of food, cold or frightened, may lead to children waking up frequently at night)
I also tried a new TCM way of sleeping: massage and sleep before going to bed.
Every night, after all the preparation activities, I began to sit on the bed and massage little Hypertherm from head to toe. First it is the Yintang acupuncture point, then the ten fingers belly is used as a comb to comb the scalp from top to bottom, then the abdomen is massaged, sometimes clockwise, sometimes the pressure is lifted up and down with her breathing, and then it is pressed on the calf belly, ten fingers are pinched, and the soles of the foot are rubbed.
After a set of massages, Hypertherm fell asleep quickly and slept peacefully throughout the night. As a result, the daily full body massage before going to bed has become a necessary lesson for sleeping.
But this method of coaxing sleep does not succeed every time. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
Why is that?
I found that sometimes, when I massaged, my mind was not quiet, and I was sleeping while thinking about something else in my mind. And I have an obsession with going to sleep before 9:30. Once I haven't slept past 9:30, or if I'm still excited to sleep for too long, I'm getting more and more anxious and irritable.
When I was irritable, the massage under my hands turned into a mechanical movement. Little Hyperther is a very sensitive child, and my unfocused and irritable state will be easily felt by her, so she will not relax and fall asleep more easily.
Mom relax first,
It is the most important condition for sleeping
With the continuous deepening of TCM parenting, I tried to stand on piles, meditate, and practice exercises, and it seemed to be closer to the situation of "idyllic nothingness and spiritual guarding".
I realized that in the previous Dafa of sleeping, I always paid too much attention to the process of sleeping, but I was detached from the present and the living person in front of me.
I gradually gave up many of the original rules and regulations, leaving a lamp to leave a lamp, and not pulling the curtain without pulling the curtain.
Along with those who give up, there are also those anxious thoughts in the brain, such as: I have been sleeping for half a day, how can it not work! It's too late for such a young child not to sleep at half past nine! How can you grow up well if you sleep late! Children still can't fall asleep on their own, and have always relied on their parents to do it...
After every thought, I ask, "So what?" What about coaxing for another half an hour? Sleeping late today doesn't mean you'll sleep so late in the future. Not falling asleep on your own now doesn't mean you won't fall asleep next month or next month. The process of coaxing and sleeping seems to be long, but she will always grow up, so how long can it take to rely on me completely for me to coax?
When all the "most frightening" results have been considered, a calm and calm will arise in the old mother's heart. I didn't sleep at half past nine, so it was later. Still excited, then I will wait quietly. It's no use clinging to those thoughts, only if I relax first, the baby will relax.
Before going to sleep, I will end everything early, and I will no longer covet to go to sleep and then go to work on something else. Mute your phone, wash up early, and completely enjoy the intimate time that belongs to me and my daughter.
I went to bed with Little Hyperther. Sometimes I tell stories, sometimes I chat, sometimes I even sing. Then, without a destination, massage slowly and softly, and the heart also calms down a little. The light in the living room, the moonlight outside the window, and my gentle and loving eyes are all cast on the child, and she relaxes in such a safe and stable environment.
Sometimes I put my hand on the top of the little Hyperther's navel, and I can clearly feel the "movement" in her belly as soon as it touches her belly, raising small bubbles or making grunting sounds. My hand slowly sank, more close to her skin, and the energy between heaven and earth naturally flowed through my hand into her abdominal cavity.
The most amazing thing is that when I focus on this moment, my stomach will also "grunt" with it, when we seem to go back a long time, when she was still in my stomach and we were still connected with an umbilical cord.
Sometimes Little Hyperther was lying on her stomach, unwilling to let me massage her stomach, and I didn't force her to turn over, so I gently pinched it on her back. Sometimes I gently brush the scalp of Little Hypertherm with my fingertips, from front to back, from forehead to neck. Sometimes I gently rub her calves, rubbing my feet for three miles, the fountain, and putting it where I think I should massage. Sometimes just don't do anything. Listen to your inner feelings.
Although sometimes the process of coaxing is still very long, I really enjoy this time of coaxing. After a busy day, this is the quietest moment in my heart.
More often, when I don't ask for a few hours to fall asleep, Little Hypertherm falls asleep faster.
It turns out that the secret of sleeping lies not at all in the method of coaxing, but in the mother's heart. When the baby feels that the mother's heart is relaxed, steady, and focused with herself, she will also relax, in a calm and safe atmosphere, sleep deeply, a good night' dream.
About the Author: Cow Cow Little Sun. Primary school Chinese teacher, TCM learner. Combine parenting, education and TCM, and strive to warm others with words.
Wen | Cow Cow Little Sun
Edited by | Xiaoya
Illustration | Jasmine & Alaya
Proofreading | Yukimi