In a Special to CNN, Dr. Karp discusses the risks associated with being a sleep deprived parent. Affecting depression, health, breastfeeding success and parental health, learning how to put your baby to sleep and how to keep a sleeping baby asleep is extremely important.
When my oldest, Hazel, was born, a coworker gave me "Happiest Baby on the Block exclaiming "this book became our Bible the first few months". Heeding that sales pitch, I dug in to the book and actually PRACTICED the swaddle techniques on a baby doll. I humbly bow my head in dorkiness.
Dr. Karp's advice is different from the general advice I received about sleeping babies. However, I also read a book entitled "Baby Wise" which contradicts with Karp's methods and makes equally convincing points. While there are many great tips and resources about getting your baby to sleep, it can become overwhelming and stressful for desperate, sleep-deprived parents.
After Hazel's birth, I began using Dr. Karp's methods. The swaddle was a life saver, the bouncing helped, the shh sound seemed effective... kinda. My baby had colic and for over 3 months, I vacillated between complete joy and utter exhaustion.
Returning time and again to the experts, I felt like an incompetent failure when I wasn't getting results. Frantically thumbing through the books in search of a key technique that clearly I had missed while my baby screamed with Bieber Fever intensity, I had a revelation:
I needed to STOP reading/rereading the experts. I needed to STOP feeling like a frantic failure. I needed to listen to my intuition.
Gradually, my baby mellowed out, though it was probably a year before my sleeping baby and I got the coveted 8-hours of regular sleep. While it's easy for me to say that ignoring the advice of the experts increased MY happiness, I also had all of their nuggets of wisdom in my "tool box".
What worked for you? Did you heed the advice of an expert or (re)discover the value of your intuition?