Things to Rule out Before Sleep Training
We all know sleep is vitally important, both for your child to develop, learn and grow and for you to be the best version of yourself while parenting. Even though we know these things, the process of sleep training can still be stressful for parents. One strategy to eliminate the worry around sleep training is ruling out factors that could be contributing to your sleep struggles. By ensuring that these other pieces are in place you can rest assured that with a little support and consistency your little one can and will reach their sleep goals!
Sickness
While you can absolutely sleep train through teething, growth spurts, and transitions, it’s always best to wait if your little one is sick. Just like you and me, it’s hard to sleep when you don’t feel well. Your baby will likely need more support to get there, not less. Sleep is one of the best medicines and when your baby isn’t feeling well it is absolutely okay to utilize any safe sleep associations that will help them get the rest they need. When they’re back to 100% you can begin sleep training. The process will be so much easier on you when you know they’re not in any sort of pain.
Environmental Factors
Creating the ideal sleep environment prior to sleep training will set your baby up for success. Babies will always sleep best in a dark room, between 68-72 degrees, and with white noise. Most adults would sleep best in this environment as well, so why not give your baby every advantage as they learn this new, essential skill?
Appropriate Schedule
A baby who is over or undertired will be exponentially harder to sleep train than a baby who is following an age appropriate schedule. Many parents think that if they want their baby to sleep well at night they should keep them up so they’re REALLY tired at bedtime. While this seems logical, it isn’t how sleep works, even for adults. Once a baby gets too tired adrenaline takes over and they get a burst of energy and emotion that make falling asleep that much harder. When explaining this to parents I often share about a time I was up all night on a red-eye flight. After finally getting home and being awake for 24 hours I should have crashed. Instead I was unable to fall asleep and ended up reorganizing my closet. Getting good daytime naps, following wake windows, and aiming for the appropriate amount of sleep in a 24 hour period will help your baby to fall asleep and stay asleep at night.
Hunger
One of the biggest misconceptions around sleep training is that it means you can no longer feed your baby at night. This is not true. Sleep training is simply the process of teaching your baby to fall asleep independently. It is appropriate and sometimes necessary to still offer night feeds to a baby who has been sleep trained. Many babies will still require night feeds until around 6 months. At this point, barring other medical or feeding struggles, most babies are able to sleep 12 hours without eating. In order to help alleviate some of the stress around whether or not your baby is hungry, aim to offer feeds every 2-3 hours during the day.
Support
When you have a new baby every aspect of their day from feeding, to playtime, to sleep can feel overwhelming. We were never meant to do this alone though and having the support of an experienced professional while establishing healthy sleep habits and sleep training can make all the difference! Visit my website to schedule a free discovery call to set up the support you and your baby deserve!
