Is it Okay to Rock a Baby to Sleep?

Relax, Breathe & Rock Your Baby to Sleep

Grandma rocks your baby and you don’t.  You have been through every how to raise baby book imaginable and all of them say that you have to set your baby down, let them cry it out and learn how to self soothe.  They instruct you to get your child sleepy enough, forego the rocking chair after 3 -4 months of age and just drop them into the crib closing the door behind you as you whisper good night.  Then, you have watched how nanny 911 gets parents to go in the room and pat bottoms two or three times but never pick baby back up.  Eventually, like magic – the baby is asleep!  And why not, after an hour or so of fussing and whining they have no other choice.

If you rewind a bit and think about putting baby’s to sleep before the Ferber method and all these other child rearing manuals became guide books to raising children, you will realize that the rocking chair has been as much a part of pregnancy and childbirth as breastfeeding and bottles.  The fact is that long before moms had curious mobiles, interesting DVD’s and Baby Mozart toys to distract their baby they had to rely on the one thing they did have to get their baby to sleep soundly; motherly instinct!

While it is true that children become used to being rocked to sleep, you are challenged right now to find an 8 year old that still requires a bit of rocking before bedtime.  Now, look for a preteen or teenager that seeks out mom and dads arms before bedtime.  The point is clear; rocking your baby will have them fall asleep a bit faster, it may be a bit addictive to you and your baby – but like all other things in childhood it won’t last forever.
The problem with our children is that they actually want to grow up and be big kids.  When that happens, parents sit back with bittersweet tears in their eyes completely amazed at how quickly the whole thing happened.  Ask any parent who has teenagers and they will tell you that their biggest regrets are not spending as much quality time with their children.  If they could do things over again, they would admit they would rock their baby to sleep and mother their children through their hearts rather than through the pages of some book.
Go ahead and rock your baby to sleep.  If you don’t mind them being in your arms, watching their eyes teeter backwards as dreams fill their minds and are comfortable knowing that your child goes to sleep peacefully, without fear and without apprehension every night because you took the time to rock them; then go ahead and do so.  It is not something you will regret later in life.

Even more, you may find that you enjoy rocking your baby to sleep.  After a hard day for you or your child there is nothing quite as calming as spending the minutes before sleep together, unwinding and relaxing together.  This allows children to feel safe and secure and doesn’t cause apprehension about going to sleep.  Would you rather your child spend an hour crying and calling out your name or spend 15 minutes in a chair made for motherhood, rocking them to the sound of your own voice?

The entire going to sleep issue has really pitted generations against one another.  It isn’t that today’s generation of mothers is making a mistake just that they are made to feel guilty for indulging in their own babies.  They are judged for doing something as natural as rocking a baby to sleep and limits are put on everything.  As if rocking your child for the first years of their life is going to warp them somehow.  On the contrary, it may create a special bond between the two of you and be one of those times during the day that you enjoy the most and look forward to.  If you want to rock your baby, rock your two year old or hold onto your three year old before they let go of your hand; then go ahead and rock them to sleep – relax and enjoy the moments because they all are fleeting!