Do you put your baby to bed only to watch him or her roll over and drift peacefully off to sleep? Well, I've been in shock every night for the past week because that's exactly what happens when I put Galen in his bed at night.

We nurse, then he has a potty break and I get him dressed for bed, then I rock him and sing a song. I carry him upstairs, give him a kiss and put him in bed. Then he rolls over and goes to sleep. I walk out of the room and he stays peacefully snoozing.

This is a major change from the crying, screaming, climbing, sleep fight that used to happen for an hour or two every night.

And this new, peaceful bedtime routine came with no crying (from Galen or from me!)

I decided to use Chris Towland's baby sleep system, and I have been floored by just how easily it worked with Galen, and with no crying. Since I didn't want him to cry it took a little bit of time - about two weeks - to get Galen to his "roll over and drift off to sleep" place he's at now. But the techniques worked beautifully and it has been worth the few nights it took to help Galen learn to go to sleep without having to cry it out.

Scott and I really enjoy being able to put Galen to bed at the same time as the other kids, and having some "kid free" time in the evenings - and I like snuggle time at night before Galen comes to bed with us (we still bring him to bed when he wakes at night).

I like Chris's sensible, gentle baby sleep advice so much I bugged him to put a little baby sleep report together for you. You can download it directly from this link:

Best Options for Getting Any Baby to Sleep

Chris recommends working on one thing at a time, so we got Galen going to sleep nicely. At this point Galen still nurses a lot at night, and since he's not eating much solid food I'm not sure I'm ready to have him "sleeping through the night" so we may just stop here and work on Galen's feeding skills. But Chris also has ideas on getting your baby to "sleep like a baby" through the night, if you and your little one are at that point!

~Kristen

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Q&A
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Lots of great questions again this week! Rember to feel free to add comments with your advice and experience. All past questions are indexed in the Q&A Topical Index - feel free to browse and pass along to friends.

Just Moved and She Will Not Sleep - I talk some more about getting Galen's sleep habits better in my answer to this question.

What Could Happen if Your Baby is Oblique?

More Energy

Colic

Blood Drawn Two Days in a Row During Pregnancy?

Hypno Childbirth in a Class or Home Study Course?

Pregnancy and Microwaves?

Getting Pregnant?

Cookbook Suggestions?

Baby is Fussy After Feeds

36 Weeks Along but Not Looking Pregnant?

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We got one belly pic submission last week - and it's a beautiful picture! Pampered Preggie :)

Ok, I hope you enjoy your upcoming weekend, and that you see many nights of peaceful bedtime coming in the very near future!

~Kristen

P.S. Join Natural Birth and Baby Care on Facebook!

P.P.S. Go ahead and grab the baby sleep report for gentle ideas you can use tonight to help your baby get to sleep: Getting Any Baby to Sleep