Sleep Training Your Baby: Method And Tips
[DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical professional. Also note that my babies were all born full-term with no medical issues. Preemies and baby with certain medical issues may understandably need more time before they can sleep through the night.]
As a mom of three, 4-years-old and under, getting a good night’s sleep is one of the things that helps me be a better parent. As a first time mom, recovering from a c-section and breastfeeding every 3 hours, sleep deprivation was tough!
What if I told you that by the second week, baby was sleeping 4-5 hours, feeding and doing another 4-5 hours? And before turning 3 months was sleeping up to 12 hours? It’s all true!
I honestly don’t believe some babies are just “good sleepers” while others are not. I believe babies will adapt and learn the sleeping habits we introduce them to. On Instagram, I have been very open about baby’s eating and sleeping routine which has led to many parents asking how I do it and the reason why I created this sleep training guide to hopefully help more of you get better nights sleep for you and baby. Sleeping through the night isn't just beneficial for you, it’s even more beneficial for your baby. Leading them to be happier, more aware during the day and even helping them develop.
BEDTIME ROUTINE
Creating a bedtime routine for baby is crucial. Babies are not born with an innate time-clock. They have no idea what is day or what is night which is where we come in to teach them the difference between day and night. Believe it or not, from day 1 at home, I began a bedtime routine with baby consisting of basically the same steps every night at approximately the same time.
Your bedtime routine doesn’t have to look exactly like mine, you can change it up a bit to better fit your lifestyle as long as you are consistent with it every night.
Bath time
I only bathe baby two times a weeks, max. Every other night I just wipe him down. I also give him a quick little lotion massage.
PJ’s, Bedtime “mood” and feeding:
I slip him into his pj’s and dim the bedroom lights to further help him learn that lights out means bedtime. Note: during the day, I do not turn off the lights for him to nap. He typically naps in the living room with all the daily noise… the kids playing, the tv or music playing, us just talking.
Even for bedtime it’s not complete silence because it’s also the same bedtime for our toddlers who are usually still in the room with us until papi takes them both to bed.
Just like I do with every other feeding session, I nurse him for about 15 minutes on each breast and burp him after each side.
Make sure his diaper is clean and swaddle him for the night. He’s almost 3 months so I'm going to transition him to a sleep sack soon which will give him some of the comfort of swaddling but with some flexibility.
Swaddling is another thing I swear by to helping baby sleep better and longer throughout the night, especially in the earlier days. Reminding them of the womb, being swaddled also helps them not startle themselves awake. Again, I personally love swaddles and all three of my babies have done great with them but it’s all up to you. This one is my favorite!
PUT BABY DOWN AWAKE
Baby is usually falling asleep by the time I’m done breastfeeding but burping him and swaddling always gets him to open his eyes up again.
After swaddling him, I get my last cuddles in for the night and put him down in his crib while he is nice and calm but awake. Since you’re not rocking or holding him to sleep, baby won’t expect any different. He’ll understand it’s bedtime and you will be “sleep-training” him to put himself to sleep.
LIGHTS OUT
Once baby is in the crib, I turn off the lights and leave the room.
That’s it. Really, it’s simple. There are no crazy tricks but it does take commitment. You need to stick to your routine. Babies are born with absolutely no schedule, no innate patterns beside they’re typical 3-hour feeding pattern.
Now, when I say stick to your routine I don’t mean you can’t go out past 8pm until your baby grows up because that’s their bedtime. On nights when we’re not home, I try to stick to the nighttime routine as much as possible. Wipe baby down, feed and put him down in his bassinet or wherever we are and he usually falls asleep just the same. Next day, we go right back to our regularly scheduled program.
BEDTIME TIPS
If you start the above routine from day 1, you will most likely have no issues in sleep training your baby. If you’re starting a little later and have created some “bad” bedtime habits, it may take a little longer to get baby to drop those habits and fall into your new routine. Here are some other baby sleeping tips that helped me and that I usually give moms who mention making some of the common baby nighttime “mistakes”.
Do not wake baby to feed. Unless of course your doctor recommended you do so because of a health issue or because baby isn’t gaining enough weight. Beside doctors orders, there is no need to wake baby to feed. Trust me, a baby will wake up if he’s hungry. if he’s sleeping, he is content and so should you. You can’t wake baby up every 3-5 hours because you’re worried he’s hungry and then be upset about baby not sleeping through the night a month later. You are essentially training baby to wake up and eat frequently. Remember, it’s all about us teaching them what their days should be like.
Do not jump out of bed at every sound. This one is hardest the first time around but do not run to baby every single time he starts squirming around. Babies are just like you in the sense that no one sleeps through the night without waking up. Baby will inevitably wake up throughout the night, may make noises and even get a little fussy. That’s all ok. You can watch them (on your monitor or even in the room if you feel more comfortable) but don’t turn on the lights and definitely do not pick them up. They may fuss and wiggle around for a few minutes but they will soothe themselves back to sleep.
The earlier you start, the better. I knew nothing when I became a first time mom but I always knew I wanted my babies to sleep through the night as well as my mom had told me we did. So I started the above from Day 1. Beside getting a jumpstart on getting a full night sleep, sleep training from Day 1 will avoid you having to even think about the dreaded “let the baby cry it out” routine.
From the bottom of my heart I hope this works as well for you as it has for me with my three babies but also remember that each family and baby is different. If your baby is a preemie or has any medical conditions, it may take longer before baby is able to sleep longer stretches. Still a good idea to do this bedtime routine with baby even if they are only able to sleep 3-4 hours at a time because they will get used to the routine and once their bodies can handle it, they will sleep longer with no problem.
You may also enjoy: Tips For Breastfeeding and Self Care Tips For Moms.
