The Definitive Guide To Sleep Training Your Baby

What is Sleep Training?

Believe it or not, the ability to sleep independently is not second nature. It’s a skill that must be learned. Essentially sleep training is about teaching your baby to self-soothe and fall asleep without your intervention. This includes offering bottles and pacifiers, nursing, and rocking. Not only do you want your child to fall asleep on their own, but ideally, you want them to do it without these types of “soothers” because when they wake in the middle of the night, those are the things they will be looking for. And when those things can’t be found, you can cue the crying.

The purpose of sleep training is to establish healthy sleep habits early on. This includes maintaining longer bouts of sleep and creating a consistent routine, with more predictable sleep times. Healthy sleep habits are crucial to your child’s life-long development, as research has shown that poor sleep habits have been linked to obesity, behavioral problems, and learning issues.

Sleep training is, “a wonderful way to teach kids and babies how to put themselves to sleep overnight, return to sleep when they wake up during the night, (like we all do), and to sleep for nice long restorative naps,” says Child Sleep and Behavior Consultant Mylee Zschech.

What Sleep Training Is Not

While sleep training is about helping your baby establish good sleeping habits ( an important life skill), sleep training is NOT:

• Any one method – There are plenty of ways to sleep train your child, and parents are encouraged to due their due diligence and choose the method that everyone is comfortable with
• Putting your baby down for the night, and not returning until the next morning

Popular Sleep Training Methods

Sleep training is often used synonymously with letting your child cry it out, but the truth is that crying it out is only one method, and sleep training, on the whole, is so much more than that.

Sleep training is an all-encompassing term that refers to the process of teaching your child when and how to sleep. And as we mentioned earlier, it is not any one method. In fact, regarding the varied methods of sleep training, the list is long. For the purposes of this article, we will examine a few approaches to sleep training, simply to offer parents a jumping-off point for their research. Moshi does not advocate one approach over another, and parents are always encouraged to consult their pediatrician as they explore the best method for their families.

“Parents need to know not just the ins and outs of the sleep training method they choose but their baby ‘s sleep needs and schedule, their ideal sleep environment, and how to best gauge if they see improvements on their sleep training journey,” says Zschech. “This is the best way to ensure that they have sleep training success.”

Pick Up Put Down And Shush Pat

The pick up, put down and shush pat method works exactly as it sounds. Like most sleep training methods, parents are encouraged to put their baby down while he or she is drowsy but awake.  When the child inevitably fusses, parents are encouraged to pick the baby up, soothe him/her, and put them down again once they are calm. These steps are repeated throughout the night as needed. The pick up, put down and shush pat method is considered one of the gentler forms of sleep training, and according to Zschech, it “works best for babies under six months because it’s very stimulating.” Zschech also reminds parents that the pick up, put down, and shush pat method is a slower process. “Parents will find that it takes time to see 100% success.”

Bedtime Fading 

The bedtime fading method, also known as camping out, is where parents gradually distance themselves (physically) from their babies, and this progression takes place over a period of time. Unlike the cry-it-out method, parents initially remain in the room, near their child and offer a minimal amount of verbal and physical comfort. 

“It can be stimulating for some babies to have their parents be in the room as they learn independent sleep skills because they can see their parents but can’t have them help like they used to,” according to Zschech. 

Over a period of nights or weeks, parents gradually increase their physical distance while remaining in sight. Should the baby begin fussing or crying, parents are encouraged to offer reassurance in hushed tones, again, with little physical contact. “For some kids and babies, having that connection can be calming and comforting,” says Zschech.

Camping out is a slower process, but there’s less crying. “Bedtime Fading is slower because it is very gradual, and there are multiple steps before babies are completely independent and falling asleep on their own,” says Zschech. 

Timed Intervals

Also known as “Ferberizing” or “graduated extinction,” timed intervals sleep training was designed to help babies learn to sleep on their own while allowing parents to comfort their child. 

With timed intervals, parents should proceed as usual with their child’s nightly bedtime routine. When it’s time for lights out, put your child down in his/her room, drowsy but awake and then leave the room. If your child begins to cry or fuss, wait for a spell and then return to the room and comfort them.

Keep in mind that comforting your baby during interval training should be limited to patting them and soothing them in hushed tones. Parents should refrain from picking up their babies, offering a bottle, or engaging with them otherwise. Doing so will only confuse them. 

In the early stages of timed interval sleep training, parents are encouraged to keep intervals short. Three minutes is a good starting point for your first attempt. You can gradually increase the length of these intervals throughout the night, progressing from five to ten minute wait times. Richard Ferber, a physician and the pioneer of “Ferberizing” refers to this technique as “progressive waiting.” On the second day, parents should begin with a five-minute wait time and increase the length of the intervals to ten minutes, twelve minutes, etc. 

Ideally, after repeating this process for a few nights, your baby will learn to fall asleep on her own. “Like most sleep methods, timed intervals may work better for some kids and not for others,” says Zschech. “For some babies, timed intervals can be too stimulating while others may find it frustrating to have a parent come in, check on them, and leave.”

Zschech says that “timed intervals  can be a fast method for sleep training, and parents will often see some great improvements within a few days to a week.” Moreover, timed intervals is a popular method because it gives parents an opportunity to soothe their crying child, and it prescribes a way for them to remain vigilant throughout the process.