Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-10
Your Baby and Mine
BIT MYRTLE MEYER ELDRED.
That Sleepless Baby.
BY BRIGGS


First of all, we are going to FIRE our
largest cannon at the beginning. 1t
Ia a mothers fault II her baby is a
poor sleeper! The kind of sentimen-
tally which makes mother pity her
baby when she puts him in a dark
room at night and leaves him so that
he may sleep comfortably in his own
bed Is the same kind of sentimental
ity which will make her hurry to
him when he turns over and whim-
pers a bit at, night and take him into
her own bed, as if he were being mis-
treated, instead of being. as he is,
the most fortunate of children. This
type of mother encourages sleepless-
ness in her baby. for he cries out
when he finds 1t brings him attention
and petting, and soon he Is waking
just from habit and not because there
Is one thing at all the matter with
him. She encourages this wakeful-
ness every time she cakes him out of
his bed at night.
Having had three babies myself, !
speak from experience when say
that sick or we'll a child who is in the
habit from birth of being put in his
own bed in dark room and left
alone, after his last feeding, will
never dream of rebelling against this.
Even when a baby is sick or badly
fed, he will still sleep at night If he
is habited to sleeping, thereby making
his return to health just that much
easier for him.
1t Is all in getting started from
birth. BY six weeks a baby should
be so accustomed to a s O'Clock bed
hour that he will be half asleep be-
fore he Is even slowed away in bis
crib. 1t makes no difference how
nervous his mother is this is a rcgu.
lation excused 1t is natural for him to
sleep. 1t Is because of wrong habits
instituted by his mother that he fails
to sleep. Mothers have everything in
their favor I'M starting good sleeping
habits forfthey are Working with ma
1t is true that the hungry baby is a
wtde-awake baby In most cases. Nat
urally. he won't sleep when he is full
OF gas instead of food, or when he is
so full of food that every breath is a
pain. We cannot treat this sleepless-
ness like the sleeplessness that comes
from the bad habit of handling the
baby at night when he doesn't need 1t.
We must first adjust the food. But in
spite OF bad feeding babies who have
good sleeping habits will sleep any
way.
The mistake lies in taking a baby
up when he whimpers q bit. Turn
him over, straighten his covers and
his clothes, see that he is warm and
comfortable, and then leave him alone.
Say Go to sleep" softly each time
you put him in bed, and associate
with these words quiet and darkness
and being left alone. Very, very soon
| the baby knows exactly what is ex-
| pected of him and he does 1t.
So many mothers say, II can't let
my baby cry at night because Of his
father. who has to work, or neighbors
who Will be disturbed" etc. But isn't
one night of wakefulness better than
months Of 1t for the mother and the
baby, who should be sleeping instead
of being kept awake and quiet by a
tired, irritable mother? Even if the
mother were the smallest considera-
| ton, II is ruinous for the baby.
He should sleep at night. That is
not the time for playing and enter.
| tainment. The sooner he learns this
| the better for every one.