Sleep睡覺

If all babies and kids could look into the future and see just exactly how tired they are going to be in 20, 30 40 years, they would sleep A LOT now. 

如果baby和小朋友能預測到未來，看到有一天他們20，30，40歲的時候會有多累，那麼，他們一定會在現在拼命睡覺。

Silly kids, always trying to stay awake so they don't miss out on anything.  I'm only in my mid-twenties and I don't care if I miss out on anything.  I'd rather sleep!  

但是這些笨孩子，想盡辦法也要熬著不睡，深怕去睡了會錯過甚麼好玩的事。

我現在20多歲….

完全不在乎會錯過甚麼，

我寧願睡覺。

I've had a lot of people ask me how I get my kids to sleep. 

有很多人問我用甚麼辦法讓我孩子乖乖睡覺。

I like to think it's because of the "sleep training" we did with them when they were young.

我想想大概是從小開始就給他們”睡眠訓練”的結果吧!

But then again, they are also MY children....and one of the greatest talents I possess is being able to fall asleep fast, at any time, any place.  Second on that list of talents, is being able to sleep through any sound.  You can ask my mom.  Her voice, my two alarm clocks, and turning my light on and off were all things that FAILED to wake me up. 

不過話說回來，他們是我的孩子….

擁有跟我一樣的”偉大天賦”----在任何時間，任何地點都可以非常快速的入睡。

同時他們跟我一樣，睡覺時有著不會被任何聲音干擾的天賦。

不信可以問我媽，不管是她的聲音還是我的兩個鬧鐘鈴聲，或是開燈關燈…

沒有一項對我的睡眠有影響。

So in case you are one of the people that are wondering how I get my kids to sleep, you'll find out now!

萬一你也是想知道我怎樣讓孩子乖乖睡覺的其中一位，

那麼，你現在就會看到答案…

My babies have always slept in their own rooms.

When my babies were newborns, I would always go to them when they cried.  I did that for 3 months with each child.  This portion is very important.  This is the time you establish trust with your child.  This is how they learn to trust you, and they find comfort in knowing that you will come if they need you.

我的孩子們從醫院回到家就開始自己睡一個房間.

只要他們哭，我就會進去看他們。

這種作法持續三個月。

我覺得這個部份非常重要，因為在這個階段我們開始與孩子建立信賴關係。

孩子們在我們這個持續重複的動作中學習到對父母的信任。

學習相信他們的父母在他們有需要的時候，一定會到。

After they turned three months old, it was a different story.  My husband and I chose to let them "cry it out." Both children responded very well to this technique.  If I knew they were just crying at night because they wanted me to hold them, I would just let them cry.  

等他們滿了三個月後我的方法就改變了。我和我的丈夫決定讓他們”哭到睡著”。

我的兩個孩子對我的這個方法都反應良好。

當我知道他們晚上哭只是為了要我們去抱他們，我們就讓他們哭。

Don't get me wrong.  It was HARD.  SO HARD.  I hated hearing my children cry.  

不要誤會我，以為這是很容易的事。

非常難，非常難…

我真的不忍心聽孩子的哭聲….

However, both my kids after 2 days, were able to fall asleep on their own.  I would put them in their bed after a short routine (bath, song, prayer) and I would make sure they were awake when I put them in the bed.  We always put them in their beds awake, because we want to teach them they falling asleep is something they do on their own, and not something we do for them.  Then I would close their doors, and both of them at 3 months old would only wake up at night to nurse.  After they nursed, I would burp them, and then again put them into their cribs awake.  They would put themselves to sleep.  They never woke up to cry just because they were lonely.

然而，大約經過兩天的折騰，我的兩個孩子就能自動入睡了。

每天，我在一連串固定的動作(洗澡，唱歌，祈禱)後，將孩子擺到床上，確認他們是醒著的，然後關上他們的房門。

確認我們把孩子擺上床時孩子是醒著，是一個非常大的重點，因為我們要孩子學習睡覺這件事是要自己做的，不是大人哄的或搖的。

我的孩子們從三個月左右開始，晚上除了餵奶以外都不會醒過來。

餵奶後，打過嗝，我會再次把他們放回床上，讓他們自己睡著。

他們在這段時間的訓練裡養成不會因為要人抱，要人陪而哭鬧的習慣。

Malakai started sleeping 12-hour nights at 3.5 months.  He went to bed at 7pm (which gradually changed to 8pm the older he got), and woke up 12 hours later.  He then nursed once, and then returned to sleep for 3 more hours.

凱凱從3個半月開始，每晚睡12小時。他通常從晚上7:00開始睡(上床時間隨著年齡慢慢移到8:00)，12小時後醒過來。醒來後喝一次奶，然後再回去睡3小時。

I kept a consistent schedule of when he would nap, and when he would go to bed at night.  On occasion we would stay out later as a family but 95% of the time we kept to a good schedule.  

我盡量保持這種規律，固定孩子睡午覺與晚上上床的時間。雖然有時會有一些狀況我們沒辦法在孩子上床時間前回到家。

但是95%的時間，我們都在固定的規律裡運作。

It took Eli longer to learn how to sleep through the night because in the first six months of his life we traveled a lot.  We weren't able to stick to a consistent schedule.  Also, when we WERE at home, we were always out with Malakai and I wasn't able to stick to a schedule and allow Eli to have consistent naps, as tightly as I had with Malakai.

  The better a baby naps during the day, the better s/he will sleep at night.

凱弟的前六個月花了比較長的時間學習一覺到天亮，因為那段時間我們出門旅行的次數較多，沒有辦法遵照規律的時間讓他睡覺。就算是在家，我們也會因為跟凱凱玩而沒辦法像只有凱凱一個孩子時那麼規律的讓凱弟睡午覺。

我發現，午睡睡的好，晚上才會睡得更好。

In establishing a schedule and finding out what times your babies need to nap, a very important key is to observe when they get tired (when they start rubbing their eyes and yawning), and make sure you put them in their crib or room BEFORE it ever gets to that point. When they get too tired, all they want is somebody to hold them.  But if you put them in their rooms when they are getting tired, and do it consistently, they learn that that's when they need to rest, and can do it without you.

要建立一個固定的規律和找到孩子需要睡覺的時間有一個很關鍵的辦法，

那就是仔細觀察他們累不累…

當我看到孩子揉眼睛或打呵欠時就知道他們開始覺得累了。

請在孩子剛剛有疲倦徵兆時就把他們放到床上，因為如果你錯過這個時間點，到了孩子太累的時候，孩子會吵著要大人抱。但是如果你養成在他們剛剛開始累的時候就送他們上床的習慣，這樣一貫地執行以後，小baby就能學到;

累的時候需要休息，而且自己可以做到，不需要父母哄或抱。

I know that it seems cruel to let your children cry.  There are other techniques out there, but this one has worked for us.

我知道讓baby”哭到睡著”這個方法看起來很殘忍。

我也知道還有其它的方法。

但是這個方法對我的孩子們非常有用。

I also know some people prefer to sleep with their children so they can care for them.  I also know there are people who prefer to rock their children to sleep, so they can bond with them.  You can do whichever you'd like.

我知道有些父母因為覺得可以就近照顧，所以選擇跟孩子一起睡。 

我也知道有些父母想跟孩子親近，所以選擇抱著孩子搖到入睡。

我覺得基本上怎麼做都沒有關係，只要自己覺得適合.

I'll tell you why I chose to train my children to sleep though.  

那麼，我來說說我為什麼選擇用這種”睡眠訓練”的理由:

1. I wanted time for myself.  After I put them in their rooms, it was MY time.  After spending the entire day with my children, their bedtime is my time to be alone!   

   

我想在他們睡覺後能留一點時間給自己。

一點屬於我自己的時間。

也許因為我是一個專職母親吧!

2. The sooner a baby learns to soothe him/herself, the sooner s/he will learn to sleep through the night.

嬰兒越早學會如何安慰自己，他們將越早學會一覺到天亮。

3. It teaches them some independence.  After I establish trust with the babies and they know I will be there for them, I quickly teach them that bedtime is when they need to sleep, not to spend time with mom and dad.

教他們學習獨立。

在我們建立了與孩子間的信賴關係後，孩子知道我們隨時會在他們身邊。

但是我要教他們必須自己睡，

因為那段時間不該是一個跟爸爸媽媽一起渡過的時間。

4. Sleep is an essential thing, and I wanted the kids to learn that.  I'm not trying to bribe them to go to bed, and I personally don't feel like they should be rewarded because they went to bed.  Sleep is vital, important, and it needs to be done.  No questions asked.

我要我的孩子知道睡眠對他們是非常重要的。

我不會用賄賂，獎勵或鼓舞的方式去跟孩子談條件。

因為睡眠是重要且必須的。沒有條件可談。

Malakai is 3.5 years old right now, so he likes to do whatever he can to not go to sleep because he wants to play.  We start his routine around 8, 8:30pm because we know he'll probably ask for a drink or ask us to fold his blanket, or tell him an extra story.  However, he still falls asleep around 9pm, and will still sleep 11 hours.  

凱凱現在三歲五個月，我們在8:00到8:30之間開始和他一起準備睡覺。

但是他會想盡辦法托延睡覺的時間，因為他想多玩一會兒。

有時候他會要求要喝水，有時候會要求多聽一個故事….

不過，再怎麼混，通常9:00左右他會睡著。

睡11個小時到隔天。

Eli is 14 months and goes to bed at 7pm.  He takes two naps during the day, and only yells out "MOOOOOM" for about five minutes before he falls asleep.  He sleeps 13 hours at night if he goes to bed at 7pm.

凱弟現在14個月，每天晚上7:00上床。

他白天小睡兩次，

晚上睡前會有五分鐘在床上大叫”ㄇㄚ---------“

然後睡著。

睡13個小時到隔天。

Besides a schedule, I also think swaddling newborns is the best way for them to sleep longer.  If you're curious, I'll write another entry just about that!  

除了規律以外，我覺得把小baby用布完全包裹起來，是一個非常好的方法。可以讓他們睡的久一些。

如果大家有興趣，等下次再來分享我的經驗。

For now, I'm going to bed to use my very amazing sleeping ability.  Good night!

至於現在，我要去睡覺了。

運用我那無敵的睡眠天賦…

晚安!!