Preparation:
Readings
Read up on a few techniques and purchase the books that most align with what you agree with. I highly recommend reading before you have the baby. It’s a pain in the a– to read a whole novel when you’re sleep deprived and unsure when was the last time your washed your hair. Tell me how to fix my baby in point form! Which leads me to my next point, write some notes and highlight your book. That way you can reference back to it.
Well being of baby
Make sure your baby is gaining enough weight before cutting night feedings. The best person to ask is your doctor.
Hunger or needs comforting back to sleep? If you’re not sure how long your baby can go without a feeding, get your husband to try rocking them back to sleep. I personally did not cut his night feedings. I knew my baby had a sleep association since he was waking up every 40m-1h15m on a bad night. For months, anything over 2 hours was a luxury. My goal was to help him connect his sleep cycles and learn to fall back asleep.
Mindset
Once you’ve decided that you’re going to sleep train. Stick with it. Otherwise both you and the baby will suffer for no reason. It would be a shame to let them cry it out while you’re sweating in the hallway, all to have the same sleepless baby. Also when you give in, you’re just making it worst. Because now they know, if they scream hard enough. You will come. And they will push themselves to that extent each time if you give in. But as a parent, you’ll know when the cry sounds different. So if something is telling you it’s off – go check on the baby.
Execution
Timing
Once you decide that sleep training is right for your family, choose a time where you can stand to lose a little bit of sleep. For me, I chose a Friday night. Because I know this way, if I’m exhausted , my husband is home for the next few days to help with the baby while I rest during the day. If you can, pick a long weekend. The first 3 days are the worst, but you should sleep an improvement each day.
Baby Monitor
I highly recommend keeping a monitor on them to make sure they’re okay. Also I find it’s better to leave the room so they’re not so upset with you being in the room and ignoring them.
Remembering Why
It’s very easy to want to throw in the towel once you start sleep training. The worst thing you can do is go through a few days and give in. Remember, sleep training isn’t just for you. Your child would benefit from sleeping longer. Otherwise they’re waking up frequently, and waiting for your sleep deprived butt to crawl out of bed to soothe them.
Other things to consider
Standing Baby
Ideally sleep train before a baby can stand up. We had to do some re-training, and I was really worried about him falling and hurting himself in the crib. If it’s too late for you, just know that they will go from standing, to sitting, to laying back down when they’re tired. And sometimes they will start back up and stand. But they will eventually lay down and sleep.
Sleep Sack
I’ve read numerous recommendations on putting a sleep sack on a baby to prevent them from climbing out. I also like it because it cues sleepy time for them. Also not to mention, blankets are not recommended due to suffocation hazard.
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