How to Apply the Baby Whisperer's Sleep Method
Getting a baby to sleep on his own through the night is every parent's goal. A clear set of steps and the guidance of an experienced person can help new parents through this trying process. Tracy Hogg, the Baby Whisperer, recommends that babies need to be taught how to get themselves to sleep and while this may be hard for parents to accomplish, it's essential to raising an independent child.
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Instructions
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Implement the E.A.S.Y. method of getting your baby on a routine. The acronym stands for Eat, Activity, Sleep and You. Baby eats when she wakes up, plays and is active for a prescribed amount of time depending on her age and then sleeps. While the baby sleeps you rest and take care of yourself. Repeating this cycle gives everyone in the house a routine on which you can count.
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Soothe a newborn who cries when he's put down by patting his back and whispering "Shh-shh-shh" in his ear. This communicates that you're there if he really needs you, but he must get himself to sleep on his own.
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Train a baby who's already 6 months of age or older to sleep on her own by putting her down in her own bed the same way and at the same time at every nap and bedtime. When she cries, screams or fusses, walk back into the room pick her up and pat her just until she calms down and put her back down in the bed. Repeat this dozens of times if necessary until she finally falls asleep.
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Remain steadfast in your decision to implement these strategies. The first few days will be difficult, but after repeated and consistent responses to his crying, your baby eventually catches on that this is how things work.
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Tips & Warnings
All of the Baby Whisperer's methods require incredible patience and a strong will, but remain confident in the knowledge that your baby can put herself to sleep if you give her the chance to try. It may help your own sanity to say, "I know you can do it" to your baby.
To apply these techniques, a baby must be well-fed and healthy. It's not a good idea to let a sick child cry alone in his crib.
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Comments
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Don't forget the whiskey too :-)
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I am going to try it!
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How long does it usually take?
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This is my first night trying this method after nursing my ten month old to sleep AND co sleeping and it worked wonderfully. Yesterday I tried a modified Ferber method, and after about 15 minutes of wailing he did go to sleep, but that's hardly what I wanted in a bedtime routine. After doing some research today, I decided to give this method a go. When chosing a bedtime routine I think the number one thing is does it work, and then what the best method is for the baby. This seems like the best option by far to me, crying seems cruel and ineffective (you want them to learn how to put themselves to sleep, I wouldn't particularly enjoy listening to a two year old cry themself to sleep every night), Dr. Sears seems like he's avoiding the issue and just allowing them to depend on you and not learn for themselves which is fine IF you don't mind rocking your two year old to sleep, and this seems like a happy medium. I didn't buy the book, however I imagine that the intent is to make your child feel secure while they attempt to fall asleep. In my rendition of the baby wisperer method, I feed him, played with him, gave him a bath, a fresh diaper, and put him in his crib and turned on our fisher price ocean wonders projector mobile, and sat down while he explored his crib a little. When he became upset, I picked him up, layed him down and covered him with his blanket (repeat 15 times) he finally fell asleep on his own, in his own bed, without crying all night. I reset the mobile about 4 times, which I think equals out to about 40 minutes. I encourage anyone out there with infant sleep problems to try this in combination with a sleep schedule (I don't think it will work quite as well with an overtired infant).
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I safely co-slept with both of my babies (my son for first 5 months and first 12 months with my daughter), mostly because I was nursing them at the time and it was easier and more convenient for me. My daughter gave me a little bit more of a struggle with transitioning into her crib, but I started with her naps during the day and still co-slept at night. Once we got her naps down, I then worked on transitioning her to sleep in her crib at night. Not knowing until now, I used more this method. I would lay her in her bed when she was drowsy yet still awake and stay by her closed bedroom door, as soon as she made a sound I was in there to soothe her back to being calm, then lay her back down and leave the room (but stay by the door), I would do this until she fell asleep (first time would take close to an hour of going in and out of her room), again she never cried for more than 30 seconds if that. Always letting her know I was there for her, yet, letting her fall asleep in her crib on her own. She is very attached to me and to her father, and I don't think I ruined our strong bond. She still trusts us fully as well. I will definitely do this again if we have any more children. By day 3 she would be fast asleep with in 10 minutes and sleep through the night. She is 13 months old now and as soon as I see her cues of her getting tired I lay her down in her crib and she is asleep before I make it out of her bedroom door and she sleeps through the night. I would recommend this way to any moms out there!
