| ‘Is He a Good Baby?’ There can scarcely be a parent who has not
been asked this question about a new baby. What the questioner often means is: ‘Does
he sleep for long periods and does he cry a lot?’ It is one of the biggest shocks of
becoming a parent to discover that the right you took for granted to sleep when and as you
wanted has been taken away, apparently for ever. No wonder that in any gathering of
parents with young children there is so much comparing of notes about how much their child
sleeps at night. Hearing that someone else’s baby settles for the night at 7.00 p.m.
and sleeps without interruption until 6.30 a.m. the following morning is certain to bring
gloom, total amazement and a sense of inadequacy to the many parents whose children seem
to spring to life as dusk falls. If the child in question also cries a great deal and is
very hard to console, the stress for the parents is intense. But be comforted. Before
reading any further, parents of wakeful or crying children should take some reassurance from these simple truths:
• This is probably the most stressful
and difficult time you will have to cope with. Things can only get better.
• You are not alone with your problem – most
people with children have had terrible nights and miserable days at some stage as well.
• There are things you can do to solve some of the
problems – in other cases time alone will bring a solution.
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