THE BEST BABY SLEEP TRAINING METHODS

Your Baby’s Problem is Your Problem

Parents of a baby can relate to how difficult it can be to sometimes put their child to sleep. Sleepless nights and a lot of tears are usually the norms for new parents. But it doesn’t have to be. In this article, we discuss the life-saving baby sleep training methods.

While newborns are pretty steadfast sleepers, the sleeping pattern can change when they’re about 4 months old. At this time, babies tend to have longer periods of lighter sleep per cycle. This is known as sleep regression. Other babies undergo the pattern change because they start to work on newer skills like rolling and moving around.

What Is Baby Sleep Training?

Sleep training is teaching your mini-me to fall asleep on their own with no assistance from the parents. This means that you need to put your baby down for bed when they’re fully awake, and they drift off to sleep without being swayed, rocked, nursed, cuddled, or shushed.

Waking up in the middle of the night is a normal part of the sleep cycle for kids and adults alike. Sleep training also teaches your baby to go back to sleep when they inevitably wake up at night. The child learns to “self-soothe” when they’re being sleep trained – making everybody feel well-rested the next morning.

However, you need to understand that sleep training and night-weaning are two completely different scenarios. Read more about how they’re both unrelated below.

How Is Night Weaning Different From Baby Sleep Training?

Sleep training your baby and night weaning is not related. Here’s how – 

Since your baby’s birth, you’ve probably woken up multiple times in a night to feed your child. Night weaning is ensuring that your baby eats their meals during the day, so they don’t need to be fed at night. The process is perfectly safe, provided your baby is at its appropriate weight and healthy.

Speak to your pediatrician about when it’s time to start weaning off your child from their night meals.

While unrelated, you can night wean and sleep train your baby at the same time. The fact is that sleep training usually leads to a drop in night feeds since your baby falls back to sleep on its own. However, should your child be underweight or has another medical issue, you might need to continue the night feeds for a while.

When Should Baby Sleep Training Be Started?

Sleep trainers – who are experts at the whole sleep training thing – agree that parents can begin the training process when the baby is about 4 months old. At this age, babies are capable of self-soothing and might not require night feeds.

Furthermore, at around this age, a baby’s sleep cycle begins to mature and the circadian rhythm starts to take effect. The circadian rhythm is the hormonal cycle that regulates the sleep-wake cycle.

While some babies can be sleep trained earlier, others start later – around the 6-month mark.  You can always speak to your pediatrician or sleep trainer to get the go-ahead first. 

To learn more about age-appropriate sleep timetables, read: How to help your baby sleep.

Why Is Baby Sleep Training Started This Early?

The reason why the 4-6 month age bracket is great to start sleep training is that the baby isn’t used to being nursed or rocked to sleep. Developmentally, babies at this stage are ready to learn the skill of falling asleep by themselves.

If your baby is over 6 months old, don’t sweat it – it is never too late to develop a good sleeping habit. Most parents find the ninth month to be the sweet spot in terms of babies sleeping throughout the night.

Your baby’s age determines the kind of sleep training method you choose. You’ll read more about the different kinds of methods ahead. 

Popular Baby Sleep Training Methods

Listed below are six of the most popular baby sleep training methods.

Ferber Method

Also known as the “check and console” method. There are numerous variations of the Ferber method, however, the general principles remain the same. Parents continue to check on the baby at regular intervals, but don’t rock or feed them to sleep. If they fail to do so, it only means that the baby isn’t falling asleep on its own.

• Once you’re done with the bedtime routine, put your baby in the crib, and leave the room.
• Wait for about a minute.
• Go back inside and reassure your child with a rub or a pat and with phrases like “Mommy loves you”. Avoid picking the baby up.
• Leave the room and repeat the same sequence, increasing the time between visits.
• Continue until you’ve reached the 10-15 minute interval and keep at it until the baby falls asleep.
• If your baby wakes up, restart the check-and-console sequence all over again.

Sleep trainers recommend that you reserve this method for babies who are over 7 months old. The reason is that younger babies require parental presence to assure themselves that they haven’t been abandoned.

This sleep training method can take up to a week to work.

Cry It Out (CIO) Method

While the Feber method was a type of gradual extinction, the cry-it-out method is a full extinction. The idea behind it is that you want to extinguish the baby’s crying behavior by not responding to it. The cry-it-out method is controversial, and most parents don’t feel comfortable adopting this.

However, keep in mind that each sleep training method depends on where your baby is developmentally along with what works for you.

Some experts suggest leaving your baby till the next morning unless they require a feed at night. And as one can estimate, the first night can be pretty tough. Other experts state that you wait for one or two wake-ups before going back into the baby’s room. Should the child wake up after midnight, parents can go in and comfort them for a couple of minutes and leave again.

While it can be a rough couple of days with the cry-it-out method, you’ll be surprised at how fast it works. The crying is short-term and parents see progress by the third or fourth night. Try the method for a week before deciding to abandon it altogether.

Chair Method

Compared to the previous two sleep training methods, this one is very gradual. However, it requires immense discipline on behalf of the parents.

• Similar to as you would with any other method, perform the bedtime routine and put your baby to bed.
• Instead of leaving the room, sit in a chair next to the crib.
• When your baby falls asleep, leave the room.
• If your baby wakes up, go back into the room and sit in the chair again till they fall asleep.
• Every few nights, gradually move the chair further away until you’re out of the room.

The pro of the chair method is that the parents are present in the room. On the other hand, it can be hard to watch your baby cry without any consoling.

Some sleep trainers suggest that having a parent in the room without responding to the baby’s cries can be confusing for the child. It can also be too much stimulation, depending on how old the baby is and their developmental stage.

Pick Up, Put Down, And Pat

This method is great for babies under the age of 7 months. In this approach, parents stay in the baby’s room without helping them too much to fall asleep. You can stand by their crib and either pat their tummy, shush them, or apply pressure to reassure and calm them.

Another alternative is to allow them to fuss for a little bit, but as soon as they start to escalate, pick them up. Soothe the baby and put them back down before they fall asleep. 

These methods work well for younger babies. However, after the 7-month threshold, a parent’s presence in the room and the pick-up-put-down routine might be too much stimulation for the child.

Bedtime Routine Fading

This sleep training method involves continuing whatever you were doing to help your baby go to sleep – such as nursing or rocking. However, you constantly decrease the amount of time you spend doing it until you don’t have to do it at all.

While this is a fantastic technique to minimize crying, most parents find it difficult to sustain. If they are willing to stick to the method and get to the goal of the baby sleeping on its own, it is worth a try. 

Bedtime Hour Fading

Bedtime hour fading is different from bedtime routine fading. In this sleep training method, parents put their baby to bed at the time they normally doze off and make that the new bedtime for a few nights.

For example, you put your child in their crib at 7.30 PM, but they fuss and cry until they finally sleep at 8. This means that 8 PM is their “natural bedtime”.

To figure out your child’s natural bedtime, keep a log for a couple of nights to track when they finally fall asleep. A couple of nights later, move the whole routine to about 15 minutes earlier. Continue moving up the time until your baby falls asleep at the appointed time, i.e., 7.30 PM.

How Long Does Sleep Training Your Baby Take?

The amount of time it takes to successfully train your baby to fall asleep on their own depends on the kind of method you choose. However, generally speaking, it takes about 3 to 4 nights for the baby to be sleep trained.

While some methods may take longer than others, the trick to any sleep training method is to be consistent with it. If you’ve been trying to sleep train your child for two weeks without any luck, check in with your pediatrician.

Are Baby Sleep Training Methods Safe?

There has been enough long-term research on sleep training methods and so far, there isn’t any evidence that the methods are damaging to children – both physically and psychologically.

On the contrary, evidence suggests that it improves the infant’s quality of sleep, parental mood, and increases the feeling of security between children and their caregivers.

As long as the child is in a safe environment and old enough, sleep training, no matter the chosen method, is perfectly safe.

Patting Your Baby To Sleep

Patting your baby to sleep is the simplest technique to help you settle down your little one. This is how you do it.

• Set your baby down in their crib
• Place them on their side, facing away from you
• Cup your free hand and gently pat your baby on the thigh or bottom
• Try to make the patting as rhythmic as you can – for example, similar to your heartbeat
• You could sing a soothing song or lullaby to help you find a rhythm. If that might disturb your child, count or sing in your head to keep the patting steady. 
• As soon as the baby falls asleep, quietly exit the room.

Some Tips To Sleep Train Your Baby

• Don’t Adjust Volume Levels In Your House

Babies should be adapted to sleep through a little noise. Don’t blare your favorite rock album but don’t keep it dead quiet either.

• Put Your Baby Down When They’re Drowsy

Make sure that when you’re about to put your child in their crib, they are drowsy but awake.

• Cut Out Unscheduled Naps

Unscheduled naps tend to make kids less drowsy during bedtime. Try to keep your child awake by indulging them in a fun activity.

• Divide and Conquer

When it comes to putting your kids to sleep, take turns with your partner. Create specific timings and keep switching shifts with one another instead of trading entire nights.

• Create A Routine Early

The earlier you start to form a bedtime routine, the easier it gets as babies grow older. But don’t worry if you haven’t started sleep training yet – there is no time like the present!

• Improve Air Quality

If the air quality in the baby’s room is bad or if the bedsheets are soiled, it could affect their ability to fall and stay asleep. 

• Keep It Consistent and Do What Works Best For You

As mentioned several times earlier, a consistent routine is a successful routine. Babies thrive on consistency, schedules, and routines.

Pick the method that you’re comfortable with and stick to it. You will have your child sleeping by themselves in no time.

Conclusion

Most parents prioritize the well-being of their kids at every stage of life. But we should also say that taking care of your baby is one way to indirectly help yourself. To be able to be a good parent and a well-rounded person you should learn the problem-solving strategies for personal development.

Further reading: Do Your Children Get Enough Sleep?