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View Full Version : Do you darken baby's room during naptime?



LucyG
07-26-2003, 03:03 PM
I know that Weissbluth says NOT to do this for the morning nap, but I can't remember what he says about later naps.

emilyf
07-26-2003, 04:18 PM
I close the curtains (they mostly stay closed b/c of the heat anyway) but the room does not get really dark-it is much lighter than it is at night.
Emily
mom of Charlie born 11/02

mamahill
07-26-2003, 05:59 PM
We have blinds that I close during Ainsleigh's afternoon nap because there would be a lot of direct sunlight if I didn't, she sleeps better if they are closed, and it stays cooler. I don't remember what Weissbluth said, but maybe that's selective memory... LOL!

MartiesMom2B
07-26-2003, 07:51 PM
I don't remember reading this either but we keep the blinds and curtains closed all the time. They don't really do a good job keeping the light out anyway because they are white.

Sonia
Proud Mommy to Martie 4/6/03

kapow
07-26-2003, 08:18 PM
My curtains are a dark blue denim, so it makes a big difference in the light in Ian's room. I close them for any nap I can get him to take. At three weeks, he's not exactly predictable :)

Andrea S
07-26-2003, 09:41 PM
I do and Andrew has been sleeping longer since I have. Before he would sleep 30-45 minutes and now he sleeps at least a hour.

Andrea
mom to Andrew 8/14/02

atlbaby
07-26-2003, 09:47 PM
I don't remember reading this either, but then again I only got Weissbluth after Arielle turned a year. I've always closed the blinds and shades for all sleep. We have blackout shades for Arielle's room as well as for our room and they do a wonderful job of keeping the sunlight out. I assume she would sleep if I just closed the blinds that are underneath, but I'm not willing to experiment!:)

-Rachel
Mom to Arielle Jill, 10/30/01
#2EDD 10/24/03-Another Girl!:)

jubilee
07-28-2003, 09:55 PM
I thought he said to put the baby in the sunlight for the hour between waking and their first nap. I don't remember the not darkening the room for the nap though

parkersmama
07-28-2003, 10:02 PM
I didn't read Weissbluth but it's always been my theory that you should just let them sleep under "normal" conditions...light if it's daytime, dark if it's nighttime. I also don't use room-darkening shades/blinds. We had several friends who used room-darkening shades and their babies ended up not being able to sleep well anywhere that had any light. This is particularly a problem when visiting friends and relatives or on vacations. I also finally learned to just let normal noises occur during naps/sleeping time as well. It took experimentation with the first two but I've finally gotten it right and Amy Grace can sleep anytime, anywhere! :-)

daisymommy
07-29-2003, 07:59 AM
I don't remember what Weissbluth said, but here's the advice from our Ped. that we follow and has woked very well for us. When baby wakes up, open the blinds/curatins in the house and turn on the lights. This signals their body that it is day time, and we are awake in the daytime. When it's time for a nap, close their blinds to make the room semi-darkened and help them sleep (bright light signals the body to stay awake)--but it's not toatlly dark so that they think it's night time. I've heard that if it's totally dark (as with room black-out shades) your baby will get his days and nights confused and will have alot of problems with sleeping through the night. When it's night time, close the blinds and only use a dim night light for diaper changes.
Hope this helps,

MKH76
07-29-2003, 08:48 AM
I haven't read any Weissbluth, although I am considering it before this next one is born in March. Here in Alaska it is light until about 11pm right now. Joshua naps with the curtains pulled but blinds open to allow some light, the curtain just filters it a little. At bedtime, I pull the curtains closed all the way so he can't see that it is still light outside. It still leaves the room pretty well lit, not well enough to read by, but there is light in there. I hear him awake for a little while and then blessed silence!! For the first month here, he would wake up at 3am when the sun came up and lightened his room. Now he is used to it and can nap just about anywhere.

dogmom
07-29-2003, 03:01 PM
I don't care what Weissbluth said, dark makes for better sleep. I used to think, I can sleep anyway, no matter how light. Then when I started shift work I couldn't sleep past noon, which I thought was normal. Then I moved to an apartment where the bedroom got very little light and, what did you know, I slept to 4 pm. I don't make it complete black out for naps. (You should see what my former bedrooms looked like when I did a lot of night shifts, I actually put aluminum foil on the windows because I didn't have the money for expensive black out shades.) I made curtains for the nursery with black-out fabric backing and my DS went from sleeping 1 hour at naps, to two. (Of course it took me 4 months after he was born because I didn't do it before.) Some light gets enough, he knows when the sun rises because he wakes up. I'd rather suffer for a week or two when we *may* be away and be happy the other 50-51 weeks a year.