Sleep training can be so hard if you don’t know what you are doing. Take my advice and follow along with this easy guide of sleep training. If you have read my other posts, you know that I have four children and a have some interesting things to say about tips and tricks. This article will be an awesome how to for those parents who need a good night sleep with Sleep Training, but without the shame and guilt of making you do something you are not ready for. Here’s a great article for 10 Tips and Tricks for the New Parent.
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What is Sleep Training?
Sleep training is an important part of parenting and allowing children to gain confidence and independence. We need sleep training to help baby get a good nights sleep and establish healthy sleep habits. Also, sleep training helps lower stress on parents and especially mothers that may be going through postpartum depression. There are so many benefits to teaching your baby to sleep independently. Reduced stress is a big one, especially for new parents.
Babies Cry during Sleep Training
When your baby is between four to six months old, you should try to start sleep training them. Sleep training is terrible, no one likes it, but the pros outweigh the cons. After four months a baby can begin lasting six to eight hours overnight without needing comfort or feedings. Sleep training is hard, but so important to instill regular sleep cycles not just for baby, but for you too. We rely on our sleep and it’s important we get enough of it. Sleep training is horrible, but it pays off.
The Sleep Training Bedtime Routine
Routines are very important when it comes to parenting. The links in the text are all products from Amazon that I have used for my children during sleep training and a love each one of them.
- Warm Bath: When we sleep trained all of our children we started with a warm bath and a warm towel. Turn the lights down low and put some sweet lullaby music on. We use Dove Baby Nightime Wash, along with the Dove Baby Lotion. For the bubbles we use the Johnson’s Baby Lavender Bubble Bath. Also, this bath toy is super cute for babies and it’s really entertaining for the bath. Definitely purchase some cute light up bath toys. This whale bath toy is perfect. It turns different colors and spouts water! Another thing we used is a baby sponge. Its comfortable for little baby bums and perfect for relaxation. ALWAYS SUPERVISE BABY IN THE BATH!
- Baby Massage: Baby massage is one of the best relaxation techniques for baby. Use the Dove Baby Lotion and gently massage baby’s arms, legs, and feet. Baby’s love this. Your touch is comforting to baby, and you need to give baby all the attention if you want him or her to sleep through the night.
- Warm Jammies: Warm those Pjs, jammies, pajama jams, or whatever you call them up in the dryer for your sweet baby, especially, in those cold winter months. This is one of those tricks that soothes baby, just make sure they are not too hot and if the buttons or zippers are metal skip this step or make sure the buttons or zippers are completely cooled off before putting on baby’s skin.
- Read a Bedtime Book or quiet activities in the baby’s room: Reading books to baby is such an educational activity. Always read to baby. It’s important for baby to hear sounds and different words. This is the perfect wind down activity, but if you want to do something else play with non-stimulating toys. Montessori toys are perfect for this calming play. Montessori toys do not overwhelm a child’s brain with too much activity. These toys focus on one individual idea like shapes or colors.
- Rock and Feed Baby: One last feeding for baby is just perfect to wind down the night. Feed baby till they are completely full. Now that you completed the bedtime routine, baby will want to fall asleep, and this will put them right out. Four to six months is usually okay for baby food, but always talk to your pediatrician and see what they recommend.
- Lay Baby Down: When you lay baby down, they should not be sleeping. Baby should be right on the edge of sleeping. Try to let baby fall asleep on their own, but if they are sleeping already its completely fine, not to worry. Just lay him or her down. Remember to practice safe sleep.
Sleep Training Night time Routine
Now that we completed the bedtime routine, we can talk about the nighttime routine. The nighttime routine is a lot harder than the bedtime routine, because we have to go against our parental instincts and soothe baby without holding or picking him or her up. What we do is a modified “cry it out” method. I don’t believe the “cry it out” method is actually beneficial for parent or baby. It’s to chaotic and the negative feelings create too much anxiety within parents and especially a mother that is trying to heal from having a baby. The modified method we do has a time limit for crying it out. But there is contact between parent and baby every 15 to 20 minutes, unlike the “cry it out” method where you are leaving the baby for a long period of time to self soothe.
When you put baby to bed let’s say around 9 p.m., and he or she wakes at 1 a.m. try to suppress the urge to pick up baby from their crib. You can soothe the baby by laying him or her down on her back and stroking their head, then leave the room. The baby will continue to cry and be upset, but DO NOT PICK THEM UP. Do not pick them up, do not talk or sing to them, and do not turn the lights on. Just lay them down with love and leave the room and wait fifteen to twenty minutes. Usually, this needs to be done three to six times in a night, sometimes more. So, set your alarm for 15 to 20 minutes, go back to sleep, then when you hear your alarm, wake up and repeat until baby is sound asleep again.
Another important thing is to wake up your partner for help. If they refuse to help you or tell you not to wake them, then find a new partner. This is coming from my husband who knows the responsibility of a parent and knows that the responsibility does not just fall on the mother. This is a partnership, not a solo! If you are a single parent and do not have the luxury of having someone there to help you, then hang in there. It does get better, and you can do this.
Sleep Training have you at your Witts End?
No one says this is going to be easy and I don’t want to steer you in the wrong direction. Babies will cry and they will be mad, but what you are doing is important. This nighttime routine will go on from a few days to a few weeks. Just hang in there. When your baby is crying think of the benefits that you are giving them and yourself by sleep training. Also, do an all systems check for your baby. Are they warm, fed and clean? Look for the reason that they are crying and if the reason is that they want to be consoled by you, then leave them be. You are a parent, but you do not need to be constantly holding your baby and you deserve to have a good night’s rest.
Important
Sleep training is an adjustment. It is difficult, but life altering. If you decide that sleep training is for you then congrats, but if you feel like you’re not ready then that is fine too. You have to be 100% all in on this decision. This is your choice, and you decide what’s best for your baby and for your mental health. Lastly, always talk to your pediatrician in deciding what is best for you and your child. This sleep training routine is what works for our family.
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2 responses to “The Amazing and Astounding Sleep Training Routine”
I love the idea of a limit instead of letting them “cry it out” I think that really sounds like the perfect way to help them self soothe a bit without leaving them completely alone.
Thank you! It works for all four of our babies and I hope it helps others out there.