When Should I Start Sleep Training My Baby?

Before any parent starts a sleep training method for their baby, it is important to talk to your pediatrician and get cleared. Before you begin, your pediatrician will want to ensure your baby is gaining weight appropriately and is achieving his or her developmental milestones. It is also important to understand that most babies do not have regular sleep cycles until about 6 months old. You can start as early as 4 months. 

When you’re considering starting sleep training, here is what you and your pediatrician will likely look for: 

– Startle reflexes disappear starting at 2 months and should be gone by 6 months. Once these go away, your baby will not want to wake themselves.

– Increased feeding, including more daytime feeding than nighttime, and appropriate weight gain. If you feed your baby during the day, the less your baby is dependent on night time feedings

– Ability to self soothe. Your baby will be able to calm themselves down, whether it is using their thumb or working through it.  For instance, your baby goes from a 10 out of 10 cry (sounds like the cry to end all cries) and can calm down to a 5/10 to a 0/10.  Not all babies know this skill, so this is the primary skill we will help them learn during sleep training. 

Can you sleep train a 3-month old?

While you can start laying the foundation from day 1, I recommend official sleep training starts between 16-20 weeks.  Here are some helpful tips to get your baby off on the right foot when it comes to sleep training: 

– Getting them on a schedule (more so after week 8). This is of course easier said than done and something we can work on together with consistency.

– Lay them down on a flat surface to sleep, as outlined in the AAP Safe Sleep Guidelines. 

When should I not start sleep training?

All babies are different, so you will want to talk to get approval from your pediatrician before beginning sleep training. As mentioned above, your doctor will want to see your baby is able to self-soothe; he or she is taking more feedings during the day and fewer at night; and startle reflexes are lowered. 

There are of course other factors and reasons your baby might not be ready for sleep training, even by that 16-20 week mark. If you’re wondering what’s right for your child, set up a 15-minute intro call with me to discuss the specifics of your needs. 

When can you start sleep training your baby to cry? 

When one thinks of sleep training a baby, it is most likely that they think of crying, including the Cry it Out Method. 

The Cry it Out Method (or full extinction) is basically what it sounds like. In this method, the parent will allow the baby to cry it out with no intervention from the parent so that they can learn to sleep on their own. It is a very rigid method and not all parents can just let their child cry it out. Of course there are less rigid ways than the Cry it Out Method. Many of these other sleep training methods involve crying in certain intervals, which in turn allows your baby the opportunity to learn to self settle themselves. 

It’s so important that we remember that when a baby is crying during sleep training they are TRYING. By allowing them to cry, you are giving them an opportunity to self-soothe and find a way to calm themselves down on their own. 

If you are struggling with where to start with sleep training your child, book a 15-minute free intro call with me (https://www.asweeterslumber.com/contact) and you can see how I can help with this process.