Baby Sleep Training - The Basics - Baby Center
Baby Sleep Training - The Basics - Baby Center
Baby Sleep Training - The Basics - Baby Center
Highlights
What is sleep training?
When can I start and what are the stages of sleep training?
What are my sleep training options?
What the experts say
Do I have to use a sleep training method for my child?
Parents' voices
Sleep training is the process of helping a baby learn to get to sleep and stay asleep
through the night.
Some babies seem to develop a regular sleep routine quickly and easily. But many others
have trouble settling down to sleep — or getting back to sleep when they've been
wakened — and they need help and guidance along the way.
When can I start and what are the stages of sleep training?
Beginning at about 6 weeks, you can reinforce your child's biological rhythms by
establishing a regular bedtime routine. At about the same time every night, for instance,
give him a warm bath, read him a book, and then feed him before putting him to bed.
(For more ideas, see our article on bedtime routines.) Try to get your baby up at around
the same time every morning and put him down for naps at the same point in the day.
At this stage, consider your routine and your baby's sleep schedule as a work in progress:
During the first three months of life, your baby will gradually sleep more at night and less
during the day. You'll need to keep adjusting the schedule as your baby matures and
develops.
Of course, every baby is different: Some may be ready earlier, others later. And some
will sleep seven hours or longer at an early age while others won't do so until they're
much older.
Before starting sleep training, make sure your baby doesn't have any medical conditions
that affect his sleep. Then be flexible about how you apply your chosen program and
carefully observe how your baby reacts. If he's very resistant or you see a change for the
worse in his overall mood and behavior, stop and wait a few weeks before trying again.
If you're not sure whether your baby's ready for sleep training, ask your doctor.
There are many different ways to teach healthy sleep habits to your child. Which
technique should you try? That depends on what you feel comfortable with — and which
sleep strategy you think your child will respond well to.
Consistency is more important than method. A review of 52 sleep studies using various
methods, published in 2006 in the journal Sleep, found almost all the techniques effective
if applied consistently. Choose a sleep training method you can live with and follow
through on it — and chances are, it'll work for you.
"Cry it out"
These sleep training methods say it's okay to leave your child to cry, if necessary,
although they don't advocate letting a baby cry endlessly. Typically these approaches
suggest putting your baby to bed when he's still awake and allowing short periods of
crying punctuated by comforting (but not picking up) your child.
The most well known "cry it out" technique is the one developed by pediatrician Richard
Ferber, director of the Center for Pediatric Sleep Disorders at Children's Hospital Boston.
Ferber says that in order to fall asleep on their own and sleep through the night, babies
have to learn to soothe themselves. Ferber believes that teaching a baby to soothe himself
may involve leaving him alone to cry for prescribed periods of time.
Video: Baby Sleep: The Ferber Method and follow-up article, How I Got My Baby to
Sleep Through the Night: Two Families Tell All
Follow first-time parents Mike and Margie Gunn's efforts to teach their 5-month-old to
sleep through the night using the Ferber method.
No tears
Sleep training methods in this category encourage a more gradual approach, with the
parent offering comfort right away when their child cries. Pediatrician William Sears,
author of The Baby Sleep Book, is probably the most well known proponent. Parent
educator Elizabeth Pantley outlines a step-by-step no-tears approach in her book The No-
Cry Sleep Solution.
Video: Baby Sleep: The Sears Method and follow-up article, How I Got My Baby to
Sleep Through the Night: Two Families Tell All
Watch as first-time parents Tamara and Cameron O'Neil try to teach their 5-month-old to
sleep through the night using the Sears method.
No. Parents often decide to try a particular method because they're exhausted or frustrated
by their child's sleep habits and nothing they've tried on their own seems to work. If
you're happy with the way things are going, count your blessings and continue what
you're doing.
Families have different expectations and tolerances. A 9-month-old who wakes up twice
a night might have one set of parents tearing their hair out while another family wouldn't
have it any other way. If sleep isn't going well for your family, you'll know it — and you
might want to read up on methods devised by experts and other parents for help.
• Some children are naturally good sleepers and before too long they fall into a pattern of
sleep that everyone's happy with. Others are naturally fussy or wakeful and may need
more structure — or more nurturing — to help them sleep well.
• Every child, even within the same family, is different. So if the sleep strategies you used
with your first child aren't working with the next one, you may need some new ideas.
• You don't have to follow an entire method. You might find just one aspect of a
particular method that's effective for your child. Feel free to take what you can use.
• Sometimes common sense is the best "method." Families often develop their own ways
of getting their kids into good sleep habits. If it works, keep going.
Parents' voices
"My first daughter was sleeping through the night (10 p.m. to 9 a.m.) by 6 months. We
had a complete bedtime routine — a bath, a book, a bottle, then to bed, a little music in
the crib, and asleep in ten minutes. It was wonderful, but that scenario didn't work for my
second daughter and hasn't worked for my son, so I've tried different things for each of
them. Sometimes a plan doesn't work. Listen to your baby — he or she will tell you what
you need to know."
— LaKisha
"My 3-month-old doesn't sleep through the night, and it's fine with me. I keep her in her
crib or a bassinet until her 3 a.m. feeding, and then she joins my husband and me until we
get up for work. She won't go in her crib unless she's already asleep, usually from nursing
and rocking, but she'll fall asleep in her bassinet beside our bed. She's happy and we're
happy, and even if it goes against the wisdom of the experts, it's working for us."
— Anonymous
"My first cried it out and all was well. My second cried it out but it took much longer
until all was well. My third, if allowed to cry too long, literally freaked out. He threw
himself around his crib and would rarely calm down and fall asleep. On the rare occasion
that he fell asleep, he'd wake up within minutes screaming bloody murder. Letting him
cry it out was clearly not working so I looked for other options. Find your child's groove.
You'll be glad you did."
— L.B.'s Mama
"My 4-and-a-half-month-old will only sleep through the night if we do everything the
experts say not to do. She must be nursed or slept with unless we want to see her turn
purple and cry for 45 minutes or more. She's like a wind-up doll when she starts and
never settles until she's comforted, and she's been that way from the beginning. It really
became a matter of, do we want to sleep or do we want to do what the books say? If she's
comforted and put down sleeping, she sleeps eight to ten hours. To all you parents out
there who have a baby like mine, do not despair — just do what works for you."
— Amanda
http://www.babycenter.com/0_baby-sleep-training-the-basics_1505715.bc?showAll=true
Posted: 8/16/2007
Community Answers
I have a 2 months and 3 weeks old and he is sleeping through the night from 8 pm to 8
am... he wakes up only once for feeding!!!... the secret???, this website, I swear it worked
for us... is a online book with email support if you need it... just in a coule of days Aidan
was sleeping all night long and I couldn't believe it! this is the website:
www.sleepsense.net We are so gratefull for it... it is a lot of things you probably know
already, but it puts everything together in the right order... It was amazing how quick my
son learned to put himself to sleep.... so he didn't need me anymore to put his paci on or
turn on some music. I highly recommend this book after reading 10000 other ones that
didn't work at all! Good luck with it!
posted 8/26/2007 by Marcela1812
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Posted: 8/16/2007
Community Answers
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night_670139_164993885928.bc?print=true&intcmp=rel_wps_qa&pn=Article
%20page&pn=Answers
My baby is up all night and sleeps all day. How can I get him to
switch his schedule?
My baby is up all night and sleeps all day. How can I get him to switch his schedule?
Expert Answers
Deborah Lin-Dyken, pediatric sleep disorders expert
It would be great if your baby were born with the same awake/sleep schedule as the rest
of the family, wouldn't it? Lots of babies seem to prefer the nighttime hours for activity,
though, and the daytime hours for slumber. If your baby's fussy during the night, it's even
harder on you, of course.
You might have had a hint of whether or not your baby was a night owl when he was in
utero. Did you feel him moving around most nights when you were trying to sleep? Even
if his schedule synched up with yours during pregnancy, his sleeping patterns could have
been disrupted by your labor and delivery if they were long and took place in the middle
of the night.
Be patient. Most babies adjust to the family timetable in a month or so. In the meantime,
when your baby is just a few weeks old, you can begin to gently coax him into a more
reasonable schedule.
• Establish a wake-up time and stick to it, even if your baby was up most of the night.
Sleeping in may be attractive option for both of you, but it won't help you reach your goal
of sleeping soundly at night.
• Rather than let your baby sleep for long periods during the day, wake him for feedings
for the first month or so, even if he's fast asleep. (He'll still need feedings during the
night, but you may be able to stretch the interval between them to three or four hours.)
• During daylight hours, when you want your baby to be awake, open your shades and
curtains and put on some lively music. Play with him. Let the phone ring, run the
dishwasher, and in general allow normal household noise to happen.
• When bedtime (and nap time) rolls around, keep his room quiet and dark, and use only a
soft light or a nightlight for feedings and diaper changes. Talk to him quietly and move
slowly. Be brief and boring rather than engaging.
Keep in mind that your baby may sleep well one night and not so well the very next night
You'll have good nights (and days) and rough ones for a while. But as your baby's brain
and central nervous system mature, his sleep cycles will lengthen and more sleep time
will occur at night.
Community Answers
I had the same problem with my son when he was first born. My partner and I spent a
week when he was around 4 weeks old waking him up every hour to either play, feed,
change his nappy or bath him. It was a hard week but completely worth it. A week later
he was sleeping 8 hours every night and now he is 14 weeks old and sleeps 12 hours.
Obviously you have to make sure you wake your baby slowly but just don''t let him sleep
for long periods during the day. Do not feel guilty for this either, as i did instead
remember if you get a good nights sleep your happier and therefore so is your baby. I
started to enjoy being a mum when his night time and day time were not the wrong way
round. Hope this helps!
posted 9/14/2007 by Lauren!
Report this answer
share
My baby is up all night and sleeps all day. How can I get him to
switch his schedule?
My baby is up all night and sleeps all day. How can I get him to switch his schedule?
Expert Answers
Deborah Lin-Dyken, pediatric sleep disorders expert
It would be great if your baby were born with the same awake/sleep schedule as the rest
of the family, wouldn't it? Lots of babies seem to prefer the nighttime hours for activity,
though, and the daytime hours for slumber. If your baby's fussy during the night, it's even
harder on you, of course.
You might have had a hint of whether or not your baby was a night owl when he was in
utero. Did you feel him moving around most nights when you were trying to sleep? Even
if his schedule synched up with yours during pregnancy, his sleeping patterns could have
been disrupted by your labor and delivery if they were long and took place in the middle
of the night.
Be patient. Most babies adjust to the family timetable in a month or so. In the meantime,
when your baby is just a few weeks old, you can begin to gently coax him into a more
reasonable schedule.
• Establish a wake-up time and stick to it, even if your baby was up most of the night.
Sleeping in may be attractive option for both of you, but it won't help you reach your goal
of sleeping soundly at night.
• Rather than let your baby sleep for long periods during the day, wake him for feedings
for the first month or so, even if he's fast asleep. (He'll still need feedings during the
night, but you may be able to stretch the interval between them to three or four hours.)
• During daylight hours, when you want your baby to be awake, open your shades and
curtains and put on some lively music. Play with him. Let the phone ring, run the
dishwasher, and in general allow normal household noise to happen.
• When bedtime (and nap time) rolls around, keep his room quiet and dark, and use only a
soft light or a nightlight for feedings and diaper changes. Talk to him quietly and move
slowly. Be brief and boring rather than engaging.
Keep in mind that your baby may sleep well one night and not so well the very next night
You'll have good nights (and days) and rough ones for a while. But as your baby's brain
and central nervous system mature, his sleep cycles will lengthen and more sleep time
will occur at night.
Community Answers
i know this is going to sound out of this world but it works. when your baby fall asleep
flip him and then lay him back down and his sleep patter with chance.
posted 9/16/2007 by Anonymous
http://www.babycenter.com/404_my-baby-is-up-all-night-and-sleeps-all-day-how-can-i-
get-him_3129.bc
http://www.babycenter.com/404_my-1-year-old-still-wakes-up-at-night-what-can-i-
do_6801.bc
http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-i-got-my-baby-to-sleep-through-the-night-two-
families-te_1495436.bc
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night_1368534.bc