Worst baby sleep advice ever

Ask any new mom – having a newborn is probably the most euphoric experience that you will ever go through. You will feel an overflow of love and happiness. You will exist in a little baby bubble, where all you do is marvel at the little hands and feet that you created.

Unfortunately, you will also walk around with one eye open, wondering whether the difference between night and day even matters anymore.

And because you look like a walking zombie, every woman who you dare to make eye contact with, will offer you their ‘tried and tested’ baby sleep advice.

From swaddling, to crying-it-out, to keeping baby awake during the day – you will hear it all. In sleep deprived desperation, you will probably try every piece of advice that you receive, only to realise that it doesn’t work and you’re still yawning your way through life.

Some tips are just not worth it. To help you sift through the baddies (before trying them and realising that they don’t work), we asked our Facebook fans to share the worst baby sleep advice that they had received…

“Sleep when baby sleeps”

Ok. So who will do the housework, laundry and cooking for you then?

“Give them Panado if they won’t sleep”

Your baby is awake, not sick. If your baby wants to be awake, she will probably fight the drowsy effects of the Panado. Cue overtired, screaming baby.

“If they won’t sleep, put them in their beds and let them cry themselves to sleep”

Sleep training is important, but for an older baby, not a newborn. The only thing this piece of advice will get you is stress and crying, crying and more crying.

“After feeding, just put them straight to bed. They must learn to sleep on their own”

Um, what if your newborn baby chokes?

“Leave him, if your baby is tired, he will sleep”

No, he won’t. Not without help. All this piece of advice will get you is an overtired baby. An overtired baby cries. A lot.

“Give baby water in between feedings to fill her tummy”

Giving water to newborn babies is not recommended, as it interferes with their digestive system. The last thing you want on top of a tired baby, is a crampy baby.

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Lara Bestbier

Writer. Creative. Word-nerd. Aspiring photographer. Old wife. Brand new member of the elite society called mommy-hood. Mom to the only drama queen more demanding than me. “Life’s too short to keep a straight face”.

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