Sleep training
Tips for Night One of Sleep Training
- Expect a lot of crying. Babies will be protesting change and therefore it is more than likely there will be a lot of crying on the first night.
- Do whatever it takes to ensure some good naps before night one. Even If that means taking them for a pushchair ride, car ride, rocking to sleep, whatever it takes, go for it to ensure that baby’s not already overtired going into night one.
- Prepare ahead of time. Plan out a routine and start implementing it a week or so before you take the plunge and remove baby’s props.
- For parents of older children the reason your little one is crying for these first few nights isn’t due to discomfort. It’s not because they’re hungry, it’s not due to a wet diaper, it’s because they’re not calling the shots anymore. They’re protesting things not being done to their liking, and that’s just what kids do.
- You are probably going to worry about your little one crying but as long as you’ve set baby up for success with a full feed, proper bedtime routine, right awake-time window, then the crying is likely due to fatigue.
- Confused babies cry more, so the more consistent and predictable things are around bedtime, the sooner you can expect baby to settle.
- Find the motivation to stick to the program all the way to the end. You have come this far so try and be strong.
- Adopt a positive mindset. Instead of thinking, “This is too hard,” or “I can’t do this,” ask them to focus on positive thoughts like, “This is difficult at the moment but I know my baby can learn these skills.” Remind them that they need to serve as the example of calm and confidence that baby needs.
- Speak to your older children and explain to them the changes that are coming the night before they start the program.
- The first few nights will be difficult. I was in your position once and it’s worth preserving in order to see the benefits that my family has enjoyed after getting through those tough first few nights.
- Despite the fact that you will be staying in the room with baby initially, that comfort and support might not have an obvious impact on the first night. It will take a little time before baby understands what’s happening, but your voice and touch will be comforting to your baby, even if might seem like it’s ineffective.
- Try and do a little bit of visualization or role-playing before starting the plan. Imagine yourself sitting in the chair and getting through those first few nights. Then visualise yourself and your baby once they’re all sleeping through the night.
- It will be counter-productive of starting the process and then give in after baby cries for a period of time. It only serves to teach them that crying will eventually get results.
- Try and adopt realistic expectations about the upcoming experience. It’s likely going to be hard to deal with and that there’s no way to know how long baby’s likely to protest. Some might be as little as 20 minutes, some may be longer than an hour.
- Read the sleep plan out loud together between whoever is going to be following the plan so that you can discuss any points of confusion before baby goes down for the night.
- Let me know on the afternoon of night one you would like to go over any final details and to set a bedtime based on baby’s naps that day.
- Every child is different and that the length of time they protest for has nothing to do with their ability as parents. Everything has been carefully configured to minimize the amount of tears of fussing, but there’s hardly ever going to be immediate results.
- If baby’s still crying after an hour, it’s OK to bring them out and calm them down. Give things a quick reset, maybe read them a short story, then give it another go.
- Both parents need to be one another’s biggest supporter. An option is to tag each other out after about 20 minutes so that neither of you has to endure more than you can handle.
- Remember the long-term advantages that this will have for the entire family. A few nights of protest are going to pay off in ways that everyone will appreciate tremendously once you have gotten baby sleeping through the night.
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