On a recent trip to the doctor's office for our little one's six month checkup we received some interesting news.
Upon hearing that our child still wakes up 3 to 4 times a night to take a bottle, our doctor looked at us with a certain level of "pity" in his eyes.
After saying "Wow, you're probably wore out aren't you?" he outlined a plan to enable our infant to sleep through the night.
The goal it seems was to get the baby to consume less bottles during the day and none at night. We needed to get the child on a three meal a day plan. More solid food and larger bottles fewer times throughout the day. An exceptionally large meal before bedtime would be a good idea.
The second part of the plan is to further dilute the babies bottles at night. Instead of one scoop for two ounces we were to make it one scoop for four ounces. The goal was to move to nothing but water and then no bottles at all. Of course if we did this we would have to make up for the decreased nutrition at night by providing more more nutrition during the day.
And finally if this does not work so well we could use a half teaspoon of Benadryl thirty minutes before bed time to help establish a sleeping pattern that would provide my wife with some relief.
I am struck by the fact that it seems that certain parenting skills have to be learned and relearned with each subsequent child. I do not know the reason but I think that we tend to give a crying child what they want so that they are comfortable, happy, and content until we as parents come to the conclusion that the child has taken over.
Sometimes we do this at the expense of giving them what they need to advance in their development. Many times giving them what they need instead of what they want can be the best solution for both parent and child.
Of course a well rested parent is a much better playmate for their kids than a parent who wakes up three to four times a night.
I am sure there are those who think "drugging" your child is a terrible, terrible thing. My wife and I have already decided to use Benadryl as a last resort and never as a matter of routine.
That being said my next article on redneck parenting will be to proclaim the benefits of putting whisky on the babies pacifier to ease teething pain.
Dan Bimrose is the creator of coffeeandprozac.com a website devoted to making people think, laugh or cry. Daily Opinions, Editorials, and Stories He suggests dropping bread crumbs so that you can find your way back on a daily basis.
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Careful, Dan. Before you know it you'll be using the television as a babysitter and considering video games a form of physical activity! I remember those days and am so glad they're over. Of course, we're about to have our first grandchild, so my guess is we may end up having some deja vu moments as the kid grows up. Argh!
Danny, You mean video games are not a form of physical activity. I guess I will have to make them go outside to play. My oldest boys are 16 years old so I seem to be relearning all this stuff all over again. Next thing you know they will start having grandchildren. I just hope it is like 15 years down the road. Thanks for the comment. Dan
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