If at any time you need a quick break, advise your child you will be right back – go out the room for a quick breather, then return. Then start over from the beginning with comforting words with your hand on his/her back. ❖ If your baby arches their back, hits you, or is in any other way aggressive while you are holding them, place your child back down into their bed. ❖ If your baby starts to cry as you are placing them back into the cot, continue placing them into his cot all the way and then pick him/her back up again. When your child is lying in his/her bed, continue to offer words of comfort and place your hand on their back. when your baby completely stands or sits by taking him/her in your arms and laying them back down with their eyes facing away from you. Instead, do the put down part of P.U./P.D. You may need to walk away from their cot while your child is settling/calming down because your appearance can be distracting and stimulate more upset.įor 8-12 month olds (plus): Babies this age usually settle better outside your arms so don’t pick them up unless he/she becomes very upset. Once you have picked up your baby, lie them in a horizontal position while saying comforting words then place him/her right back down in his cot again. This approach will help lessen the chance that your hand turns into a new sleep prop for your child.įor 6-8 month olds: If your baby gets more upset when you pick him up, first hold out your hands to him/her and wait until they hold out their hands to you before picking him up. You can gradually move farther from the cot during this stage (either during the first attempt or over days) until you are out the door. Instead of keeping your hand on baby until he/she falls into a deep sleep, you may also want to try removing your hands from baby when they begin to settle to sleep and take a step back and see if he /she can put themselves to sleep the rest of the way. Holding a baby too long at this age can lead to you turning into a prop. Just put them down in the cot (all the way down) after this much time has passed then pick them back up again if they are still crying.
35-40 mins (the infamous catnap!).įor 4-6 month olds: Do not hold them longer than 2-3 minutes at a time. occur at the same time each night or morning), or during the day you know your baby consistently only sleeps for a set period of time e.g. This technique is most successful when the wakings are in fact habitual (i.e. Just like any other sleeping method, it requires commitment and consistency, and can take an average of 3-7 days to see results.
Wake to Sleep is a strategy pioneered by Tracy Hogg (The Baby Whisperer) to help reset a child’s pattern of habitual sleep awakenings/body clock. I do not recommend starting sleep training of any kind if your child is currently ill, or in pain (which would require more intervention at these times, not less). I always maintain before commencing any sleep training, ensure you have firstly responded to your child’s basic needs (hunger, discomfort, pain, illness, cold/hot etc.). Expect an average turnaround of 1-3 weeks. The below options can be somewhat more labour intensive than other “cry it out” methods, so some patience, and a support network (spouse, friends, or family) can help you stay on track. These solutions do not offer a “quick fix”. The success of any method you choose will rely on your stamina, commitment, emotional bandwidth, and time. falling asleep on the breast, being rocked to sleep, the dummy and co-sleeping).Īlthough sleep training is not always necessary, below are some of the more ‘gentle’ strategies which can be effective for a range of sleep issues such as: rocking/feeding to sleep, habitual early rising (or overnight wakings), catnapping, and disrupted sleep patterns due to developmental milestones and life transitions.
Old habits usually die hard as our children rarely give up their favourite thing without a fight (e.g.
There is no such thing as a “no cry” solution when changing sleep patterns. Which one is best suited to your parenting style? your time commitments? your child’s temperament? or the most effective solution for the particular sleep difficulty you are experiencing? There is a plethora of sleep training methodologies and advice available at our fingertips so much so, that the decision of which one is right for you and your family can be overwhelming.
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