Sleep Training: 5 Tips for Success
Many parents, I personally worked with, thought that sleep training is all about cry-it-out. While although sleep training will involve some tears but it’s not only about this and there are more many methods out there where you can be with your baby during the process.
But first what is sleep training?
It is the process of looking into all the components that help the body to sleep to connect everything together so that the baby knows how to sleep independently at the beginning of the night and nap, so eventually when the baby wakes up anytime in-between, will know how to connect to the next cycle and have long stretches of sleep. We are helping the body to become rested instead do being overtired from all the broken sleep.
When sleep training is done wrong, there is no progress! in this blog I am sharing my 5 key tips that I share with clients when we do the training together:
1- Stay steady:
Through the training process, we introduce many things that will help the body to sleep including the way the baby falls asleep, the schedule, the routine … and many more.
With everything we do, we need to stay consistent. Babies know how to pick up on patterns, and when they know what to expect they are often calmer and happier.
2- Be patient:
Like any habit, we break. Change takes time! We are breaking some habits, building new ones, and helping a body to move from being overtired to being rested. It’s a process, change will not happen overnight or even in 2-3 days.
Sleep training will take at least 2 weeks to see progress. For younger infants and older toddlers, it will take even longer.
3-Do it at the right time:
This is the most important in my opinion.
By right time I mean the right time when the baby’s body is ready to respond to the changes we are doing, so it is recommended not to start doing sleep training until the baby is at least 4 months old, by then the body is able to sleep for long stretches and respond to all the changes we are doing.
Also, because sleep training requires consistency and patience (as mentioned above). It is important to make it at the right time for you as a family. Don’t try to make changes during a vacation, or when the baby is sick, or right before having another big life event such as moving homes or having a second baby.
When we do sleep training, it is important to do it alone, so if you are in the process of introducing solid food, or potty training. Wait until the time is right, too many changes will backfire.
4-Ensure that everyone is on board:
You as parents need to be on the same page and aligned on the process and goals. If one parent is not on the same page, usually things don’t work out. Sit together as a family and choose the solution that you both agree on so that you can work on it together and see progress.
Also, if there are other caregivers involved like grandparents/helpers at home, everyone needs to be on the same page with everything in the process so that the baby is not confused.
5- Ask for help:
If you feel like you don’t know where to start and not sure how you can do this. I would advise you to ask for help and do this with a Sleep Consultant. A Sleep Consultant is someone who did the homework for you and knows everything about sleep inside and out, and will take into consideration your family dynamics. So instead of doing many unplanned trials on your own, you can do it once with a professional, with a personalized plan based on your preference and the baby’s personality too.
Read below the experiences of different parents
