Once upon a time, there was a baby who slept all night, his parents were so happy that they decided to share their magical story with everyone, and so it was that all the parents in the world began to think that their children should sleep too all night long.
But they were wrong.
Expectations: here is one of the main problems of parenting. Adapt your expectations to reality. When you are able to realize that every story is unique, every family is different, every child is born and grows up and lives his own experiences without knowing what his parents expect from him, everything makes sense.
No, newborns don’t usually sleep through the night straight. And often not even at one or two years. And it is very common that even much older children require the presence of their parents to fall asleep or when they wake up at night.
This does not mean that if your little one wakes up every 40 minutes the situation cannot be improved, but in order to do so we need to analyze the rhythm, habits, environment, family organization and much more. Here is a reference chart to get an idea of how much our children should sleep depending on their age
Rest assured if your children don’t sleep through the night, you are not alone. If your children want to fall asleep in your arms or at your breast, it is absolutely normal.
If your little ones want to be picked up, AND YOU LIKE DOING IT, enjoy it! If you don’t like it, change that habit.
That your little one calms down when you pick her up is wonderfully perfect and normal, but that doesn’t mean you should pick up your 47-month-old if you don’t enjoy it anymore.
Habits are complicated to eradicate and all this can be done with enormous respect, toward the child, and the parents.
Here are some general tips for improving your kids’ sleep hygiene in case you need it.
It is normal to feel lost when facing the challenges of parenting, support, and community are essential to feeling less alone while you acquire the means and tools to achieve your goals, become the parents we want to be, and give our children the love and tools they need to become whoever they want to be.
