“The only thing worth stealing is a kiss from a sleeping child.”
—Joe Houldsworth
Did you ever hear the one about getting your baby to sleep by placing an onion near his crib? I can only imagine that the noxious smell of the onion causes him to close his eyes in self-defense! Many old wives’ tales are based on superstition, but some have roots in long-standing knowledge and experience that’s been passed on from generation to generation, and offer well-established advice, such as breast-feeding. While I can’t medically guarantee the success of all of them, some parents and grandparents I know swear by these traditional methods. This chapter includes some of my favorites I’ve heard over the years.
Rumor once had it cats can suck the air from your baby’s mouth. That’s just not possible, but the story persists, probably because cats are curious about the new addition, and they may smell the milk. You don’t have to put Fluffy up for adoption just because you have a new baby, but do make sure not to leave your baby unattended with cats, dogs, or other pets, because they can be unpredictable and even jealous of the new baby.
In the old days, parents used to bind their babies’ arms so they couldn’t bend them at the elbow and therefore couldn’t suck their thumbs. Parents were concerned that thumb-sucking led to buck teeth and a dependency on the habit. But sucking is a basic need in babies, and most begin sucking their thumbs even in the uterus. Babies have distinct preferences and either choose their thumbs or a pacifier for extra sucking. Studies today indicate that sucking may help prevent SIDS and does not cause dental problems, so let him suck if he wants to.
If you’ve ever been hushed around a sleeping baby, that’s due to the conventional thinking that baby needs absolute quiet to get to sleep. But this simply isn’t true for all babies. Some parents swear that their babies fall asleep when it’s noisy—at loud parties, restaurants, or with the TV on. One theory is that if baby is overstimulated, she “shuts down” and goes to sleep, so absolute quiet may not work for her.
While many people recommend that you swing your baby back and forth to get him to sleep, some parents used to be a little too vigorous in the past, and shook their babies to quiet them. Now we know that this may cause Shaken Baby Syndrome, a disorder that can cause brain damage, so you need to be careful when swinging or moving your baby.
Most parents are more comfortable feeding Baby while holding her sideways across the abdomen. But Grandma used to recommend holding baby upright while feeding her, saying it helped her process the food better, and therefore sleep better. While this position may be more awkward, it’s not harmful, and it just might work.
For a while, women were encouraged to bottle-feed their babies because their milk might not be rich enough or plentiful enough, so many mothers stopped breast-feeding and switched to bottles. Today we know that breast milk is best for Baby. It’s easier to digest and therefore causes fewer spit-ups and tummy aches and less gas. The act of sucking on a breast as opposed to a bottle nipple aids in Baby’s digestion, by creating waves than push the milk down and reduce the intake of air. Avoid bottle-feeding if you want your baby to sleep well at night.
A diaper rash will keep your baby from sleeping well. Luckily, there are several products on the market that will help prevent diaper rash or clear it up, such as Desitin, Burt’s Baby Bee Diaper Ointment, and Boudreaux’s Butt Paste. But to clear up the irritation fast, Grandma often used to crush Tums tablets and mix them with diaper-rash cream, then rub the mixture on baby’s bottom after each diaper change.
In the past, parents thought certain smells helped Baby sleep, such as the scent of roses or lavender. Today you can buy products with scents, such as Fussy Mussy Spritzer, (which smells like roses), then spray it on Baby’s face, avoiding the eyes. Or try an aromatherapy candle (just make sure it’s placed in a safe area).
Gripe water is a homeopathic remedy that contains chamomile, fennel, caraway, ginger, peppermint, lemon balm, aloe, and vegetable carbon. Give it to your baby, following the directions on the bottle, to calm him and help him sleep.
Some say that if you turn your baby upside-down, with her feet at the head and her head at the foot of the bed, she’ll fall asleep thanks to the new environment.
Parents would once offer their babies strained pumpkin, slightly sweetened, to get baby to sleep. It probably worked because pumpkin is high in carbohydrates, which release serotonins, a natural sleep enhancer.
In the old days, parents thought babies breathed better if there was a plant in the room to help provide extra oxygen. Although it isn’t likely that there will be a lack of oxygen in your baby’s room, putting a nontoxic plant in her room can’t hurt.
In the past, some mothers would take a yellow onion, chop it up, and place it in container with a lid near Baby’s bed, then let out a whiff of the onion to get baby to sleep. I would think the strong smell would wake the baby, but other cultures sometimes use this method, so it may be worth a try.
I found an old baby book that suggested you serve your baby mashed banana at bedtime to cause drowsiness. We now know that bananas contain L-triptophan, which aids in sleep, so they may have been onto something.
A common old wives’ tale claims that bright moonlight shining into your baby’s face can keep him from sleeping, much like a night-light that’s too bright. While it may not be the moonlight that’s keeping Baby awake, it makes sense that anything shining in Baby’s face or too bright in the room can prevent sleep. Draw the curtains and check the strength of the night-light to make sure this isn’t what’s keeping your baby from sleep.
Some old wives’ tales recommend wiggling your baby’s toes to help her relax and get her to sleep, but the reason has been lost over time. Still, there may be something to this. Today, many use reflexology for the same thing, with the belief that toe wiggling helps channel energy that causes relaxation.
Many believe that gently massaging baby’s stomach in clockwise circles will help with digestion, which leads to sleep. The clockwise direction is thought to relieve blockage in the colon, but back then it was probably discovered through trial and error, and then passed down through generations.
Grandmother often advised the new mother not to worry, knowing that eventually baby will go to sleep. That was probably easy for her to say in retrospect, but the advice is still solid: Relax and keep your focus on the big picture. Soon your baby will outgrow this problem and be into something else. Before you know it, your baby will be all grown up! In the meantime—here’s the most important tip of all: Enjoy your baby!