How To Sleep Train Baby At Night
Many parents have a difficult time to put their baby down at night. And I totally get it. Early evenings are often a busy time for parents and thus, creating a consistent and calming sleep routine for your little one is sometime harder than we would like it to be. Our focus is on getting dinner ready, doing homework, etc.
So, how to sleep train baby at night and to create a soothing bedtime routine?
Here are my favorite tips
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Make sure your baby is well rested before starting any sleep training. The more tired a baby is, less likely she will sleep! I know it sounds contradictory but it is 100% true. Make sure she naps a lot on day 1 of the sleep coaching. It will make bedtime easier and it will be less difficult to teach her how to sleep train baby at night. A well rested baby, will have fewer night wakings and will go down at bedtime easily!
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Create a bedtime routine that is Consistent, Predictable and Short, about 20-30 minutes long. You can start at a young age. Remember, babies and children love their routine!
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Look at his sleeping windows (when he is showing signs of sleepiness) and find a consistent time to put him down at bedtime. If for 3 days in a row he is yawning at 7 PM, that’s his ideal bedtime! You should start the bedtime routine at 6:30-6:45 PM and put him down around 7 PM. Sometimes we are busy cooking dinner, cleaning after dinner etc. and we miss our children’s sleeping windows. Make sure to be in sync with them and put them down when it is time! Not when it is convenient for you!
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Dim the light in the house an hour before bedtime, to help the body to release the melatonin (1) hormone (the sleeping hormone). Try to not expose your baby to TV (2) or screens one hour before bedtime. Avoid blue light (Ipad, TV, phone etc.) as these are also disruptive to a healthy sleep cycle.
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Make sure your baby if well fed prior to bedtime
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The room should be dark (3) and you may use a white noise machine. This often soothes baby and helps her fall asleep.
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Choose a sleep training method that fits your parenting style. AND you also don’t have to choose a method and stick to it. You can adapt depending of your child’s need. Whatever you decide, give it some time though. If it doesn’t work after one night, don’t give up! It takes 3-4 nights to create bad habits and it takes 3-4 nights to create good habits! Give it some time. Keep your head up. It may be challenging at first, but I assure you it will get better… If it really doesn’t work at first, then you can reassess your methods and modify your plan.
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Be patient, it takes time to change your baby’s sleeping habits and to learn how to sleep train baby at night!
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Don’t rush into the room as soon as he makes a sound. Give him some time to soothe himself back to sleep before entering the room to check on him. He might need a few minutes to turn and twist and to finally, to your complete astonishment, go back to sleep! If intervene too quickly, we are not letting him learning how to self-soothe.
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CONSISTENCY is key. That’s what I always say to the families I work with. If they are doing what I say and follow the plan 100%, they will see progress in their child’s sleeping habits. But if they are giving up one night and go back to their old habits, I cannot guarantee success!!! They have to be consistent for the sake of their child!
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Hiring a sleep coach is a great option and trust my experience, it will pay off! We offer both an emotional and practical support. We help you find the appropriate sleep plan to achieve your sleeping goals. Most parents know how to sleep and to stay asleep obviously! But when it comes to helping their babies to sleep at night, some parents don’t know what to do. Some end up reading about ‘how to sleep’ in the middle of the night when their children are awake and can’t fall asleep on their own! Dear parents, I know how difficult it is to assess the situation and to come up with a successful sleeping plan for your baby when you are sleep deprived yourself. I can help!!
As a sleep coach, my job is to help the parents see clearly (as they are most likely sleep deprived!), to design a personalized sleeping plan that will work for their family and to assess the effectiveness of the plan and change it if need be. I support my clients along the way and provide an outside perspective to help them see things they might not see on their own. My success rate is very high and I am confident that I will help you to figure out how to sleep train baby at night. Check out my reviews here and here.
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Last tip is to Listen to your intuition and follow your parenting styles. Intuitively you know what to do but often, we just need a little help! Let’s face it, being a parent is a marvelous blessing and it can be difficult at times. I will help you get through those difficult nights so you can get back to doing what you love. Rested 😊