when did you start sleep-training?

[monets_garden]

I read on babycenter.com that you can start sleep-training as early as 6 weeks old...? I don't know how I feel about it, so I'd like some opinions/advice

 

[JayeD]

We started LO on a night time sleep schedule at 6 weeks (that was an edit! LO isn't even 6 months yet). We didn't leave him to self soothe or anything like that, but we have a specific routine that we do each night.

At 8:30 pm, we start heating up his bottle. While it's heating up, we change his diaper and put him into his sleeper. After he's in his pjs, we give him his bottle.

After he's done his bottle, we start rocking him to sleep and singing to him. By 9:15 pm, if he's still not asleep, we put him in his swing for a few minutes. At 9:30 pm, he's generally asleep (very rare he's not asleep by this time) and we put him in his crib.

If he ends up waking up after a few minutes, we start rocking him back to sleep and try again.

 

[hivechild]

Things like pick up/put down that don't involve letting your LO cry can be done from an earlier age but CIO and CC aren't recommended before 6 months.

 

[bekkie]

You can definitely start trying to introduce a routine if you haven't already, but as hivechild said - CIO/CC definitely shouldn't be started yet.

I can't do CC/CIO - I know it has worked for some but I've read some horror stories and a few studies about what it can do to babies and children later on in life - I have nothing against people who try it, or believe in it.. I'm just not one of them. Bobby still regularly wakes up pretty constantly through the night, but I know he'll sleep better when he's ready to, and love reading about when babies who had no sleep training, and were nursed to sleep regularly (as mine is) start to self-settle and sleep through on their own.

 

[aliss]

I am trying my darndest not to do any sleep training but if things keep up, I'm not sure how long I will hold out. I've made it to 5.5 months, hopefully things pick up soon. We're at 3 night wakings minimum, 6-10x a few times a week.

 

[Seity]

Never and he's a lousy sleeper. He'll sleep better when he's ready.

 

[aliss]

Never and he's a lousy sleeper. He'll sleep better when he's ready.

Everytime I get frustrated and think about CC or CIO, I think of Gabriel, cause I know he's been getting better!! And I hold onto that hope, lol!

 

[EmmaM2]

not yet but i am getting close. Lo is just over 3 months and getting worse with sleeping. He only went in his crib for 2 hours last night and i'm exhausted. I wont let him cry it out but something has got to give soon as i can't cope. Getting up lots is one things as long as he settles but my lo won't. You can try non-crying stuff like shush pat from v. early. x

 

[leelee]

I definitely wouldn't start sleep training at 6 weeks old. They are still so tiny then. I think it is to be expected that you are going to be up in the night with them at that age.

It's different when they are older - I can see why some people would implement training if their LO was waking numerous times during the night. It must be so hard to deal with that.

We started a night time routine with Max when he was about 4 months old. He went through a 6 week period when he was 6 months old where he was waking a few times a night. I think it started as a growth spurt and then he got used to a cuddle and a bottle during the night. So when he was 7 months old we did pick up/put down for 3 nights and he stopped waking up, apart from when he is teething or the odd dummy run.

 

[aob1013]

At 6 weeks old? That's crazy.

I would never do sleep training personally, as Leni will sleep better when he is ready to.

 

[MilitaryMummy]

I don't so much do sleep training as I do a rigid nightime routine! We started the routine at 7 weeks when LO started on the bottle. The nightime routine is the same now but just a little earlier! Now our routine is:
At about 7 LO has a bath and then into her PJs. She comes back down stairs and has a little nap for 20 mins or so. We make sure she's awake again by the latest of 8 then we have half hour playtime. One of us take her upstairs at 8.30 with a warm bottle and feed her in the room she's going to sleep in with just a tiny bit of light (more so we can see what were doing haha) when she's done and been winded she foes in her sleeping bag then into her cot weather she's awake or asleep. We don't talk to her through the nightime feed we only say nite nite and stuff when we put her down. We play her nightime teddy which plays music and leave her to it. Most of the time she will drift off strait away but sometimes needs her dummy which we will go up and give her if she needs it. She sometimes wakes up at either 4 or 6 for her dummy then strait back to sleep till she has her bottle at 8.30 xxx

 

[EmmaM2]

You will find tons of threads about this on here - lots of people assume sleep training is letting the baby cry in some way or working to just put a baby down to sleep alone without comfort. This isn't true - sleep training can just be about encouraging good sleep associations and sleep habits with certain types of comfort/strategies to get a baby to sleep over and above others. That is why you can do it from 6 weeks - this doesn't mean crying and getting a baby to go it alone. Different babies are born with different sleeping tendencies so some people tend to feel this is more important than others. It's an individual thing. x

 

[tu123]

After reading The Baby Whisperer out of desperation when she was 2 weeks old we introduced the "EASY" routine: Eat, Activity (bum change at this age), Sleep and You (watching Eastenders while she sleeps). Souds simple but we were all over the place. it gave us a routine, focus and eased day to day activities. She was up all night long but now seems to have slept an hour longer at night each week. she will now go 4 hours at night which makes me feel like i have won the lotto! Not exactly training-but sensible lifestyle routine which makes her and us happy!

 

[Tacey]

We've never done any sleep training, but I think if we'd wanted to I'd only have done it around 10 months when she seemed to get the idea that we came back if we went away.

 

[brownlieB]

I don't know if this is sleep training or just getting into general routine??

But at 6wks LO had already naturally started missing her 11pm feed, so we started putting her to bed after her last bottle at 7:30pm.

Basically we dim the lights, lower the tv volume, give her her bottle, and rock her for a little bit, sometimes she's sleepy straight away sometimes she's quite happy sucking her dummy being rocked, once she's settled we put her down in her moses basket and play a lullaby.

Some nights she's out like a light some night we go up a couple of times to pop her dummy back in we never leave her to cry as soon as she starts whimpering we go up, as usually it's a dummy situation and as soon as it's back in hers eyes are closed!!

It's working well, it gives me and hubby our quality time to snuggle together, we check her regularly through the night and she'll generally wake around 1am for a feed and again at 6am.

 

[aliss]

I don't know if this is sleep training or just getting into general routine??

But at 6wks LO had already naturally started missing her 11pm feed, so we started putting her to bed after her last bottle at 7:30pm.

Basically we dim the lights, lower the tv volume, give her her bottle, and rock her for a little bit, sometimes she's sleepy straight away sometimes she's quite happy sucking her dummy being rocked, once she's settled we put her down in her moses basket and play a lullaby.

Some nights she's out like a light some night we go up a couple of times to pop her dummy back in we never leave her to cry as soon as she starts whimpering we go up, as usually it's a dummy situation and as soon as it's back in hers eyes are closed!!

It's working well, it gives me and hubby our quality time to snuggle together, we check her regularly through the night and she'll generally wake around 1am for a feed and again at 6am.

That's perfect! That isn't sleep training at all, it's just helping her adapt to a bedtime routine.

 

[hivechild]

You will find tons of threads about this on here - lots of people assume sleep training is letting the baby cry in some way or working to just put a baby down to sleep alone without comfort. This isn't true - sleep training can just be about encouraging good sleep associations and sleep habits with certain types of comfort/strategies to get a baby to sleep over and above others. That is why you can do it from 6 weeks - this doesn't mean crying and getting a baby to go it alone. Different babies are born with different sleeping tendencies so some people tend to feel this is more important than others. It's an individual thing. x

I think this is a very important distinction to make.

I'm personally uncomfortable with letting Ronan cry and couldn't do it, but his sleep is very important to his growth and development, and his general happiness and contentment.

If he's waking every hour or so at night and needs me to help him get back to sleep, and if his naps during the day are too short and infrequent, he's suffering for that and it's doing him no favors to let it continue.

In cases like this, I personally think the best thing i could have done and would do again is to help him learn how to sleep better, to create rituals for him that help cue and let him know that it's time for sleep, and to create an environment that fosters good sleep, all without leaving him alone and crying.

 

[Justagirlxx]

I think it's a good idea to start getting into good sleep habits at a young age. ie training baby to fall asleep on his own in his crib, without having to be rocked/soothed to sleep. It will make it a lot easier in the long run if you start now. I've started mine from pretty young and he does so well still. Could you post the article you read? x

 

[monets_garden]

After reading The Baby Whisperer out of desperation when she was 2 weeks old we introduced the "EASY" routine: Eat, Activity (bum change at this age), Sleep and You (watching Eastenders while she sleeps). Souds simple but we were all over the place. it gave us a routine, focus and eased day to day activities. She was up all night long but now seems to have slept an hour longer at night each week. she will now go 4 hours at night which makes me feel like i have won the lotto! Not exactly training-but sensible lifestyle routine which makes her and us happy!

we both have a Lilly born in OCT of this year! just thought that was cool thanks for the advice.

 

[monets_garden]

I think it's a good idea to start getting into good sleep habits at a young age. ie training baby to fall asleep on his own in his crib, without having to be rocked/soothed to sleep. It will make it a lot easier in the long run if you start now. I've started mine from pretty young and he does so well still. Could you post the article you read? x

here you go!

https://www.babycenter.com/0_baby-sleep-training-the-basics_1505715.bc