One parenting issue I have is that my daughter doesn’t like to get to sleep by herself in a room. Often it requires my husband or I to lie down next to her and coax her to sleep. The problem is that it means she won’t go to sleep in her cot as she is alone in there. We end up lying with her in our bed and then co-sleeping with her during the night. This comes with the hazard of us squashing her and we don’t sleep as deeply throughout the night - or as comfortably, because we are often too scared to change positions in case we roll on her! Whilst I have known this is an issue in my life, I never thought to attempt to solve it as I assumed that the only solution would be the dreaded controlled crying technique.
I randomly picked a creative thinking technique from the Mycoted website to free me from any preferences. What follows is applying the Productive Thinking Model (also known as thinkx)....
Step 1: "What's Going On?
• "What's the Itch?" - Baby only sleeps in parents' bed not in her own cot.
• "What's the Impact?" - Bad night sleep for parents, risk of rolling on baby.
• "What's the Information?" - Baby wakes up if asleep and put down in cot, baby happily sleeps when near parents whether they are awake or asleep. Parents are not prepared to inflict controlled crying methods on baby. Bad ergonomically for parents to be crouching next to the cot for long periods of time trying to get baby to sleep.
• "Who's Involved?" - Mum, Dad and Baby (plus anyone that crosses the path of a sleep deprived parent during the day).
• "What's the Vision?" - Peacefully sleeping baby, fully rested parents.
Step 2: "What's Success?"
• Do - what do you want the solution to do? - Create a way everyone can sleep peacefully.
• Restrictions - what must the solution NOT do? - Cause baby unnecessary distress.
• Investment - what resources can be invested? - Some financial resources if necessary.
• Values - what values must you live by? - Environmentally friendly.
• Essential outcomes - what are the essential outcomes? - Baby sleeps comfortably, parents sleep comfortably.
Step 3: "What's the Question?"
What can we do to get a good night sleep with a co-sleeper baby?
How can we provide a good night's sleep for parents and baby?
How can everyone in the family get enough sleep?
Step 4: "Generate Answers"
Parents naps during the day.
Bigger bed! Hmmm, this may be the solution to pursue...
Train baby to sleep by herself (may involve controlled crying).
Step 5: "Forge the Solution"
• Positives - what's good about the idea? - Parents in control of the situation can be near their child when they choose to be, but allow for more room for everyone to be comfortable.
• Objections - what's bad about it? - Need enough space for bigger bed (but many parents have cot in the room anyways).
• What else? - What does it remind you of? - The general concept of placing baby close to the bed has been done before, but only with a side bed of bassinet size. That isn't suitable for older babies.
• Enhancements - how can what's good about it be made better? Rather than just a bigger bed, what about a bed extension, which is the size of a single bed and the same height as the parents' bed, which can be placed directly beside. That way the parent can sleep next to the child but move off after baby is asleep, or roll over into the main bed during the night, whilst still in close proximity. It is an environmentally friendly option as the same bed for the child can be used from birth to adult.
• Remedies - how can the things that are bad about it be corrected? Side rails that can be lifted when parents are not around would be an additional feature to ensure the baby cannot fall out of the bed.
Step 6: "Align Resources"
The final step translates the selected, developed solution into an action plan that may include, among other things:
• to do list - give away cot (or put it away for now), buy single bed the same height as parents' bed and attach side rails that can be pulled up and down.
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