Baby Sleep Training
From the time parents bring their newborn baby home from the hospital until he begins to sleep through the night, many sleepless nights may be endured, along with unneeded frustration. For babies that do not fall into a healthy sleeping pattern on their own as infants, parents can choose to use a sleep training method to help teach them to fall asleep and sleep through the night.
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Types
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There are various methods of sleep training. The Cry it Out (CIO), or Ferber, method, named for pediatrician Richard Ferber who presented it in a parenting book for children in 1985, requires you to lay the baby down in a crib and allow her to cry until she falls asleep. The "No Tears" method of sleep training offers an opposite approach to the CIO method, finding various ways to comfort your child while easing her into a sleep routine. If you are not comfortable leaving her alone while she is still awake, there is the gradual parent removal method of sleep training. When using gradual parent removal, you ease your way out the room as the child tires, finally leaving the room once the child is asleep. You may also choose a sleep training approach wherein you simply set up a schedule with a set time to lay her down; you can use the comforting methods of the No Tears training method or CIO as needed, if you feel they are necessary.
Time Frame
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WebMD suggest that sleep training methods are intended for babies between three and six months old, as this is when they are capable of establishing true sleeping patterns. However, the BabyCenter Medical Advisory Board suggests that informal sleep training may begin with a newborn once he has reached six weeks of age by regulating his daytime and nighttime activities, giving him the chance to fall back asleep on his own when he wakes up for brief moments in the middle of the night and by establishing a bedtime routine. Once he has reached the three to six month age range for sleep training, the amount of time it takes for the sleep training method to work will vary depending on the chosen method and the child. According to What To Expect, parents have had success with the CIO method in as little as four to seven nights.
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Considerations
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If your baby is not ready to establish a sleeping routine, she will not respond well to sleep training, no matter what method is chosen, as she is not developmentally capable. Once she is ready, it is important to remain consistent with the method chosen in order for her to develop the intended sleeping habit. After you have finished sleep training with your baby, it is possible for her to again wake in the middle of the night when she hits a growth spurt and feeding patterns change; at this point, just reinforce the sleep training habits originally used.
Misconceptions
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It is a common misconception that babies put to sleep using CIO are left to cry inconsolably without having their needs met by the parent, and that parents using the No Tears method give in to their child's every whim. In fact, the CIO method calls for parents to lay their child down when they exhibit signs of being tired after receiving a clean diaper and being fed, gradually increasing the length of time they allow their child to cry before entering the room and comforting him, beginning with five minutes. The No Tears method may not allow the child to cry, but it does not advocate parents allowing the baby to dictate sleep the schedule, either. Parents enlist a variety of tools, such as sleep transitioning techniques and techniques to help the child stay asleep, as they gradually work towards the baby's consistent sleep schedule. Transitioning techniques used include rocking the baby, or placing him in a baby swing for a set amount of time to help wind him down for bed. To help the baby stay asleep, parents use techniques such as attempting to reach a child that awakes before they are fully awake and calm him back to sleep by patting them on their bottom. In the case of a breastfeeding baby, mom may send dad in for the middle of the night waking to repeat the bedtime routine so that baby gets used to not having access to round the clock nursing sessions.
Benefits
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Parents may find many benefits from using a sleep training method, such as noticing that the baby is less fussy or anxious. Using a sleep training method can help to ensure that he is getting the recommended amount of sleep for his age. Many babies are able to go to sleep without having to be nursed or rocked after sleep training, making the bedtime routine easier on some parents. What could be considered the most important benefit by parents, though, is the fact that once they have successfully used a sleep training method with their baby, they are able to get more sleep themselves, allowing them to be better rested and more able to care for their baby.
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References
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