Sleep Training Basics

If you are here because you typed “sleep training basics” into your favorite search engine, I am glad you are here! Whether you are a first time mother or a mom of five, see this as a refresher on what sleep training is and is not, the basic methods, and some pointers to get you started.

What sleep training is

Perhaps it is more appropriate for me to start with what sleep training is not. Sleep training is not night weaning. It is not shutting the door and leaving your baby for twelve hours. It is not abandoning a child to cry it out. It is not electing not to be a parent at night. It is not something that will destroy your bond with your child.

Now, with that out of the way, sleep training is simply teaching your child to fall asleep without your help. There are myriad ways to accomplish this, some very gentle and others a bit more tough love. Your baby may or may not sleep through the night after sleep training, but “sleep training” is only the process of working with your child to lay them down for bed and have them fall asleep independently.

Goals

This will vary wildly from one family to the next, and you sleep consultant should support you working toward whatever your goals are.

Do you want to continue to offer a feeding or two during the night? Great! Have you and your pediatrician agreed that it is time to night wean? Awesome. Do you really just need bedtime to be smooth and easy rather than a battle? Cool, we can work on that, too.

The only common thread among these goals goes back to the basics: your child needs to fall asleep independently.

The rest is variable and unique to you and your baby. Decide what your goals are and let them guide the process.

Jumping in

The day you plan to start sleep training, get your child to take naps any way you can- even if it means depending on their old sleep props for one more day. You want to begin sleep training at bedtime, and a day of great naps will set them up for success at bedtime. If your child doesn’t nap well even with your help, start with bedtime anyway. The end of the day means you have natural melatonin production and a long day of activity working in your child’s favor to get them to sleep independently.

Schedules

Having your baby or toddler on an age-appropriate schedule is about half the battle toward great sleep. It is important to understand that every child’s sleep needs and ideal schedule will vary. Even a child the exact same age as yours may have very different sleep needs and thrive on a different daytime schedule.

Bedtime may vary. Even wake times vary! Plenty of consultants out there provide one-size-fits-all schedules for your baby based on age. I have found this to be, at best, a moderately helpful guideline. Many mothers grow very frustrated when their child doesn’t nap or sleep “on schedule.” Stop trying to fit your baby into someone else’s box and let’s work on finding the schedule that works best for them.

Methods

Alright. This is probably the meat and potatoes of why you are here. Here is a simple outline of the most popularly used methods.

Nap Training

Know that nap training can be done concurrently or separately from nighttime sleep training. Naps and nights are fueled by different hormones and different parts of the brain, so there is little need to worry that your child will be confused. You can absolutely train for only nights, or you can tackle them both head on.

Here is the honest-to-goodness truth:

This article and millions out there like it just don’t know your child and cannot begin to account for all the ways your family situation is special. By summarizing, I want you to take a peek into what a comprehensive sleep plan includes and all of the ways it can and should be customized for your family. Schedules, methods, siblings, personalities, parenting styles, goals are just a few of the ways every plan varies.

Mother Together can do the work for you and take the guesswork out of sleep training. It is not just expertise on the subject, but a wealth of experience to back up the support.

Are you ready to start sleep training? Check out Mother Together’s packages now!