![]() Establishing bedtime routines, putting your baby down drowsy but awake, and other techniques can lay the foundation for sleep training. However, setting up healthy sleeping habits can start from birth. Most babies are not ready for “formal” sleep training until 4 months old to 5 months old. If all these points are met, then I'm ready to start getting that little one sleeping through the night!" The baby should be at least 15 lbs, no medical concerns, and on a healthy growth curve approved by their pediatrician. A child is never too young to learn healthy sleep habits and routines! But to get a baby sleeping through the night there are a few things I check. “ I always say bedtime and nap routines can start from day 1. First, get clearance from their pediatrician to rule out any other health or medical factors that could be playing a role in your child’s sleep. Once you’ve decided that you’re ready for sleep training, you’ll need to determine if your baby is ready too. QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF BEFORE STARTING SLEEP TRAINING: You’ll also want to be sure you’re logistically ready to begin sleep training, as it’s best to start when you don’t have anything that might disrupt the training coming in the near future, such as a vacation or trip. ![]() Sleep training requires a commitment from parents. That’s right! Your baby of course needs to be ready - but before they are, YOU need to be ready too. There's no one "sleep training age" - the answer will be different for every baby! Plus, there’s a different question you should be asking first: How do I know if I’m ready for sleep training? Sleep training is NOT about getting your baby on the schedule that’s best for youĪlternatively, look at the term sleep training like this: sleep training is giving my baby the tools and skills they need to help them sleep better on their own in a way that me and my family are comfortable with. Sleep training is NOT denying your baby food when they are hungry at night Sleep training is NOT neglecting your baby Sleep training is NOT "Cry It Out" (CIO) if you don't want it to be So before we go any further, let’s establish what sleep training babies is NOT: Sleep training looks different for every family based on their needs and what they are comfortable with. There are many different sleep training methods and practices behind sleep training, including gentle sleep training methods -the most important part of sleep training is finding the method that works best for you and your baby! ![]() However, sleep training does not necessarily equal cry it out. There are certain methods of sleep training, such as “Cry-It-Out” or the Ferber method, that might make some parents wearisome of sleep training as a whole. It’s definitions like this that have given the general term “sleep training” a bit of a bad rep. “The process of training young children to fall asleep on their own, typically by means of techniques in which the child is left to cry without being comforted, either for gradually increasing periods of time or until they fall asleep.” If you search “ what is sleep training?” you’ll find the following definition: All of these, collectively, constitute sleep training." Learning to sleep is a skill that we teach with swaddles, pacifiers, swings, nursing, white noise, consistency, and bedtime routines. “ Everybody with a baby has been sleep training since the minute the baby arrived on the scene. Sleep training is teaching your baby how to sleep without any help from you - just like you’re able to go to sleep without anyone there to help you do it. Until they do, they need your assistance, which is why you (as you should) help soothe them to sleep at bedtime and comfort them when they wake in the middle of the night. Although they spend a lot of time sleeping, they need to learn when to sleep (day vs. Your baby, however, doesn’t have this same ability yet. As a new parent, you’re probably so exhausted that you pass out as soon as your head hits the pillow. It might be strange to think of sleeping as a skill that does not come naturally.
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