15. Surviving without Sleep featuring Phil Boucher, MD

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 This Week I Am Honored To Welcome Another Special Guest To The Show.  Dr. Phil Boucher Is A Husband And Father Of Six Who Serves As A General Pediatrician Based In Lincoln, Nebraska. He Is Also A Fellow Podcaster With Two Podcasts, One For Parents Called “Raising Good Parents” And One For Pediatric Providers Called “Pediatrics 2.0.”  I Have Found A Kindred Spirit In Dr. Boucher As He Describes His Mission As  Focusing His Time And Professional Efforts On Educating Parents To Feel Confident And Reassured In Their Parenting Abilities, And I Couldn’t Have Said It Better Myself. 

Today, Dr. Boucher Is Going To Talk To Us About Sleep. We Will Be Talking About A Variety Of Topics Including How To Adjust To The Newborn Sleep Cycles, How To Think About ‘so-Called’ Sleep Training, And Some Of The More Challenging Ages To Navigate Sleep Issues. Let’s Welcome Dr. Boucher To The Show.

In this episode, Dr. Boucher and I will discuss

• AS A NEW DAD WHOIS JUST BRINGING A NEW BABY HOME FOR THE FIRST TIME, WHAT SHOULD YOU EXPECT IN THOSE FIRST FEW WEEKS? 

• WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN BABIES HAVE THEIR DAYS AND NIGHTS MIXED UP.

• INFANT SLEEP HAS BECOME A MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY, WHAT ADVICE DO WE GIVE PARENTS RELATED TO FANCY CRIBS OR SLEEPERS?  (HINT: IT INVOLVES A DATE NIGHT!!) 

• WE DISCUSS A COUPLE OF BUZZWORDS THAT GET THROWN AROUND FOR  SO-CALLED SLEEP TRAINING: "DROWSY BUT AWAKE" AND "CRY IT OUT."

• WHAT IS NECESSARY FOR A FOOL-PROOF BEDTIME ROUTINE

• TIPS FOR DADS WHO HAVE OLDER KIDS, (TODDLER AND PRE-SCHOOL AGED CHILDREN) AND DADS WITH TEENAGERS? 

HERE ARE MY THREE KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE WITH DR. BOUCHER:

1) While Babies Sleep For 16-20 Hours Each Day, These Are Usually In Short 2-3 Hour Stretches, So It Isn’t Quite As Glamorous As It Seems. The More You Can Work Together With Your Partner During Those Long Nights, The More Smoothly It Will Go. Check In With Each Other And Take Shifts As Much As Possible. If Mom Is Breastfeeding, Then Do All Of The Other Things That You Can To Make Her Job As Easy As Possible Overnight. And Learn To Swaddle. This Will Help You Get Your Baby To Sleep Very Easily In Those Early Days And Doesn’t Require A Second Mortgage On Your Home Like Some Of These Other Expensive Sleep Solutions. 

2) Your Bedtime Routine Should Be As Little As Possible To Achieve The Desired Outcome, Which Is A Sleeping Baby. It Doesn’t Have To Be Elaborate To Be Effective. Try Out Different Approaches To See What Works For Your Kids Until You Find A Sweet Spot.

3) For Older Kids, It Takes Consistency, Persistence, And Patience To Get Them To Stay In Bed. You Have To Consistently Put The Kid Back In Bed, And You Have To Be On The Same Page With Your Partner So That You Are Both Giving The Same Response. Patience To Not Give Any “Negative” Attention In Addition To Avoiding “Giving Into The 12th Request For Water. 

If You Would Like To Engage More With Dr. Boucher, You Can Follow Him @Philbouchermd On Social Media Or Check Out His

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