Nap Boot Camp

From: Hillary Frank
Series: The Longest Shortest Time
Length: 16:42

An exasperated mom decides that her daughter WILL nap in her crib by the end of the week. Read the full description.

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Playing: Nap Boot Camp
From: Hillary Frank

Kate_adelle_small Kate Bowman-Johnston had naps figured out. All she had to do to get her daughter Adelle down was nurse her, hold her tightly in her left (not right) arm, stop nursing and place the tip of her finger in Adelle’s mouth, then jiggle Adelle until she fell asleep. And sit there and sit there until the baby woke up. One day Kate decided she’d had enough of the football-hold-finger-sucking-jiggling method, so she instituted Nap Boot Camp. By the end of the week, she promised herself, Adelle would be able to nap in her crib. Find out if she got it to work—and what happens when a “no-cry” mom and a “cry-it-out” mom compare notes on sleep.

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Piece Description

Kate Bowman-Johnston had naps figured out. All she had to do to get her daughter Adelle down was nurse her, hold her tightly in her left (not right) arm, stop nursing and place the tip of her finger in Adelle’s mouth, then jiggle Adelle until she fell asleep. And sit there and sit there until the baby woke up. One day Kate decided she’d had enough of the football-hold-finger-sucking-jiggling method, so she instituted Nap Boot Camp. By the end of the week, she promised herself, Adelle would be able to nap in her crib. Find out if she got it to work—and what happens when a “no-cry” mom and a “cry-it-out” mom compare notes on sleep.

Broadcast History

This piece originally aired as part of the Longest Shortest Time podcast.

Intro and Outro

INTRO:

IF USING "NO INTRO" VERSION:
New moms have a lot in common. But get two in a room who have used different techniques to get their babies to sleep and the atmosphere gets TENSE. Producer Hillary Frank used what's referred to as the "cry-it-out" method when her daughter was 10 months old. Hillary called up another new mom, Kate Bowman-Johnston who used a "no-cry" method to talk about why that tension between moms exists. Kate had a special technique she used to get her daughter Adelle to go down for naps--a technique that created a permanent indentation on her couch.

OUTRO:

Kate Bowman-Johnston is a children's librarian at the Free Library in Philadelphia. This interview was produced for The Longest Shortest Time, Hillary Frank's podcast about surprising struggles in early parenthood. For more stories and to see Kate's reading recommendations for "no-cry" sleep techniques, go to longestshortesttime.com.