WARNING = THIS POST CONTAINS DISTURBING MATERIAL AND MAY BE UPSETTING TO SOME


This is a bit of a vent post! I have been having lots of trouble with DD sleeping of late - since her wonderful arrival into this world I have not got up less than twice a night and last few nights it has been hourly (even with her in bed with us for half of the night). However, I would rather be up all night than to follow the advice given to some people i know. The first two examples below are directly from my close friends, the third awful horrifying story is a friend of a friend and they are all recent!

1. A mother of twin boys went to a leading paediatrician in adelaide and was told 'now what you need to do is to put a lock on their bedroom door - lock them in at 7 pm at night and do not go back until 7 am in the morning'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2. A mother of a six month old who has always had issues with sleep such that only way baby can get to sleep is by mum cuddling him (even after two weeks in a place called torrens house where they help with sleep/feeding issues) was told by another leading paediatrician that he should now be sleeping through the night so give him a top up feed and then go back after 5 hours no matter what (even if he screams/cries etc)!!!!!!!

3. A mother of a six month old girl went to a sleep doctor in adelaide and was told to give baby a top up feed and then do not go back into nursery for seven hours NO MATTER WHAT!!! Well unfortunately the parents followed this advice, the baby screamed for seven hours and when they went to baby after SEVEN hours the cot was covered in poo and vomit - no the baby cries whenever going near her cot!!!

I could not get to sleep last night thinking about that poor baby and cannot believe this is the advice given by some experts in this day and age. Surely these practices constitute child abuse - I wouldn't treat my dog like that let alone another human being.

So please beware if you are seeking expert advice on sleep issues and instead follow your heart and your own intuition