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What is Baby Sleep Training?
“Baby Sleep Training” certainly is a loaded phrase and one that is often used synonymously with letting your baby self-soothe, or “cry it out”. I found that when my children’s health issues were addressed it was then necessary to implement certain steps into their routine to ensure that they could initiate sleep.
I have invited Stephanie Bull founder of The Baby Sleep Teacher to explain what baby sleep training actually is and when it may be effective to implement for your little one.
Sleep Deprivation leads parents to Baby Sleep Training
When a baby won’t sleep for no apparent reason, the sleep deprivation felt by parents often leads them to research the different methods of baby sleep training. With information readily available online, the core purpose and concept of what baby sleep training is and isn’t has become very convoluted and contradictory. Parents feel lost, confused and are made to feel that waking multiple times overnight is simply a part of parenthood.
As a sleep consultant, early childhood specialist and founder of The Baby Sleep Teacher, I often find parents get discouraged and do not know how to regain their sleep and their sanity for their family. Solutions for improving a little one’s sleep is far simpler than parents realise. The fear parents feel about sleep training is very quickly removed when they realise by tweaking a few actions in the lead up to bedtime makes all the difference.
The objective of baby sleep training
The purpose of baby sleep training is to help a child build a strong foundation for a life of healthy sleep habits. While at the same time building trust, confidence and connection between a child and parent. When sleep training has been successful babies and toddlers sleep through the night knowing that if they need something their parents will be there to support them.
The point of all sleep training methods isn’t to keep a baby from waking up during the night, every person, even adults wake during the night. Nor is the goal for baby to get through the entire night without a feeding (breastfed infants might continue needing at least one feed during the night up until at least the 12 months of age). The goal is simply to teach your baby to fall asleep on their own, outside of your arms.
Tips to start sleep training
Parents need to consider…
- Ensuring there are no underlying health issues first
- Creating the ideal sleep environment
- Choosing a baby sleep training method to follow
- Creating a sleep training plan
- Devoting time to the sleep training process
- Extra backup support during the process
- Resistance and crying during the training process
- Staying positive and calm while sleep training
- Being consistent when sleep training
Ensuring there are no underlying health issues first
It’s worth checking in to make sure there isn’t another underlying health issue first before embarking on baby sleep training. It’s recommended to wait until your baby is 6 months to commence any baby sleep training. By 6 months any colic or reflux should have resolved. There may be other issues such as middle ear issues that can be very distressing and painful for babies. As such, it’s important to rule out health issues first.
Creating the ideal sleep environment
Many parents put a lot of time and energy into creating a beautiful nursery for their newborn. With the excitement of a newborn’s arrival most nurseries end up being far too stimulating for sleep. The ideal sleep space for a little one has a minimalist style. When a nursery has too much décor, the room becomes too stimulating for a baby, making it harder for them to fall asleep.
In addition, you need to ensure that your baby’s sleep environment is safe. For further information regarding the safe sleeping recommendations please refer to www.rednose.com.au
Dark Room
A baby’s bedroom needs to be dark enough for them to have restful daytime naps. It is okay if a little bit of light is peeking through between the windows and under the door as a bit of sun light will let your baby know it is nap time, not night-time. Installing black out blinds and window covers help keep the morning sun and light at dusk from impacting your little one’s sleep time.
White Noise
Using a white noise machine will help block out noise that could potentially cause your baby to wake. When purchasing a white noise machine, avoid machines that play music and opt for a machine that plays a continuous pitch when on. Machines that play songs, can be very distracting to your baby while sleeping.
Nursery Temperature
Keeping the nursery at the ideal temperature for sleep can be tricky. Installing a temperature gauge will help with monitoring when the nursery is too hot or cold and makes dressing your baby for sleep much easier. Baby stores sell a variety of different temperature gauges which light up in different colours to indicate whether the room is too hot or too cold. There are also temperature gauges built in to a lot of baby monitors.
Natural Sleepwear
To ensure your baby is warm enough and comfortable enough to sleep through the night, having a high-quality natural sleeping bag like a Bubbaroo Joey Swag baby sleeping bag will keep your little one cosy all night long. Follow the Bubbaroo dressing guide to know what clothing to put underneath your baby to suit the temperature of the nursery.
Choose a baby sleep training method to follow
There are many different sleep training methods for parents to choose from. Most sleep training methods are classified as either gradual or extinction methods. The terms refer to how long the sleep training method takes before parents see a change in their child’s sleep habits. Not all sleep training methods are equally effective, and some methods require parents to retrain their little one after experiencing setbacks due to illness, overnight guests, or holidays.
For most babies, the more involved a parent is in implementing the method, the less effective the method is. It is common for parents to struggle to follow through with methods focused on independent sleep skills and self-settling. Regardless of the method parents choose, it is important to understand that the change process is far harder on parents than it is on their child.
Creating a sleep training plan
It is important both parents whole-heartedly agree on the same sleep training plan for their little one. Once parents have decided on a sleep training method, sticking to their plan needs to be a priority for both parents. Babies learn incredibly quickly and continually changing plans does not help anyone. Continually changing plans only causes parents to feel more sleep deprived and their child confused. When sleep training, it is best not to have a “Plan B” and always stick with the original plan, as consistency and repetition help babies learn new ways to independently fall asleep.
Devoting time to the sleep training process
When embarking on a sleep training journey, it is essential parents block out time to dedicate to implementing their sleep training plan. I recommend parents do not plan anything in the evenings for a minimum of a full week if deciding to go with an extinction sleep method approach. Gradual sleep training methods take longer for the change to happen and between three to four weeks Mum and Dad will need to be around in the evenings to support one another.
During the day, limit outings to ensure a focus is placed on your little one’s sleep. When schedules are too busy, babies fall asleep in the car and pram and miss critical opportunities to practice falling asleep in their own bed. Sleep habits change faster when a little one is continually sleeping in their bed.
Extra backup support during the process
Have backup support ready in case parents have sudden meetings, fall ill or simply need a little bit of extra support to see the sleep training plan through. Create a list of parents, grandparents and close friends who can lend a hand if Mum and Dad need a shoulder to cry on and an encouraging word.
Having a friend or an experienced mother in sleep training, whether physically there or over the phone, makes the process much easier. You can receive encouragement and support from one another. Parents are always surprised how quickly their little one’s learn. Then the whole family feel so much better once rested and new sleep habits are formed. If need be, call in any old favours you may have from a friend or family member who has gone down the sleep training journey with their little one.
Resistance and crying during the training process
Parents need to expect there may be some protest involved when starting on any sleep training method. Whether that crying comes from a baby, Mum and Dad or both, remember your child is learning a new way to fall asleep and they are crying out of confusion and anger. With experience, your baby will relax into this new method of falling asleep. Like adults complain when things are changed at work, babies complain too. When it comes to baby sleep training, be prepared for a little bit of resistance or a lot of resistance from some babies.
Staying positive and calm while sleep training
Staying positive is the number one thing parents can do for themselves and their children when on a sleep training journey. Creating a positive atmosphere will help your child accept their new method of falling asleep. Babies have the ability to pick up on our emotions so being relaxed is very important.
When placing your little one in their cot, if you hesitate halfway through, simply take your baby out of the room, and take a time out. Take a break, take deep breaths, and place your baby back in their cot when you feel confident to place them in their bed.
Most importantly be consistent when sleep training
The number one rule for sleep training to be successful is to be consistent! Babies learn with repetition. Being inconsistent when teaching a child anything only confuses them. Parents are often astonished how quickly their child learns new sleep habits when they are consistent day in and day out with how they approach sleep time.
Conflicting messages surrounding baby sleep
As a baby sleep consultant and an early childhood educator, it saddened me that there are so many conflicting messages out there! Parents are told that it’s only natural for their child to wake multiple times throughout the night. Understandably so there are times when a little one will wake overnight due to sickness, growth spurts and bouts of separation anxiety. However, when a young child is waking multiple times overnight consistently, this is a sign they have not been given the space and guidance to link sleep cycles and learn to sleep independently.
Sleep is a foundation necessity for learning
Sleep is a natural process and an essential life skill. It’s a foundational necessity on which cognition, memories, educational regulation, and learning are built. Messaging that encourages parents not to teach their children sleep skills leaving this to develop naturally is not helpful. It’s akin to telling parents who live near the water to not teach their children to swim. Knowing full well that swimming is a life skill that could one day save their life.
As a parent reading this article and deciding on whether to sleep train your baby, a good question to ask yourself is how did you learn to settle and sleep through the night? I am certain the answer would be my parents taught me independent sleep skills as a child. If this was not the case, even as an adult you would still be waking up overnight looking for your parents to help get you back to sleep. At some point in your life, you learned to sleep independently. Your child can learn those same independent sleep skills at the right time. As your child’s parent it is entirely up to you when and how you start the process. If your child’s sleep habits are not a problem for you right now, then it is not a problem and do not feel pressured to sleep train.
Sleep training maybe easy for some parents and not others
Consider the sleep training 8 points above when and if you’re ready to make changes. I firmly believe parents should make changes to their child’s sleep when they feel ready to make the changes. Baby sleep training for some parents is not an easy process. The resistance your child may display can have emotional toil on Mum and Dad. In my experience working with children, they protest the most just before settling in to their new method of falling asleep. Don’t give up just because you think your child is not capable of making the change. Little ones are very adaptable you just need to give them the space to learn. It doesn’t mean that you love your baby less, you’re giving them the gift of sleep for life.
About Stephanie Bull
Stephanie Bull is a baby sleep consultant and owner of The Baby Sleep Teacher.
She is a passionate advocate for early childhood health, well-being, and education.
In 2020, Stephanie completed her training as a baby sleep consultant. Her passion for baby sleep was ignited from Stephanie’s experience running a family daycare. After caring for multiple young children, Stephanie learned first-hand how important quality sleep is to a baby or toddler’s day and their overall development. Each child she cared for learned in their own unique way. Stephanie realised a baby’s temperament plays a vital role in sleep training. Following this philosophy, The Baby Sleep Teacher was born!
Stephanie supports parents to establish healthy sleep habits with their little ones. Whilst providing guidance for stimulating learning in early childhood.
Stephanie established The Baby Sleep Teacher to help families get the great sleep they deserve.
