NO, YOU ARE NOT DREAMING! SLEEP COACH KATHY SINCLAIR SAYS THAT YOUR KID
CAN SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT. HERE, SHE GIVES PARENTS THE ABC’S OF ZZZ’S.
MONTH THREE OF SLEEP TRAINING—IT’S ALL ABOUT THE PROCESS
Your baby is now 3 months old and you’ve achieved
the holy grail of sleep training: You are finally
comfortable letting your baby “cry it out.” Now, I don’t
really like the term “cry it out”; it has a bit of a bad stigma. But, cry it out (CIO) isn’t as cruel or rigid as most parents think. Most parents think that CIO means putting Baby into his crib and letting him cry until he falls asleep—which could take hours.
My Sleep Learning approach employs CIO but in a different and more effective way.
Here’s how it goes:
Dim the lights when you are doing the bedtime routine and/or feeding your baby before bed.
After putting your baby into his crib, if he cries, let him cry for five minutes before going into his room. When you go into his room, tell him that he is doing a great job, pat and shush him or even pick him up and cuddle him, but stay no longer than three minutes. Just don’t let your baby fall asleep on you, as this will defeat the purpose of teaching him to fall asleep on his own. After your time is up, leave the room—even if he is still crying.
The next step, assuming that your baby is crying, is to wait 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, go into his room, tell him that he is doing a great job, pat and shush him or even pick him up and cuddle him, but stay no longer than three minutes. Just don’t let your baby fall asleep on you, as this will defeat the purpose of teaching him to fall asleep on his own. After your time is up, leave the room—even if he is still crying.
And now, if your baby is still crying, let him cry for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, go into his room, tell him that he is doing a great job, pat and shush him or even pick him up and cuddle him, but stay no longer than three minutes. Just don’t let your baby fall asleep on you, as this will defeat the purpose of teaching him to fall asleep on his own. After your time is up, leave the room—even if he is still crying.
Starting to see the idea here?
Keep going in every 15 minutes until your baby is asleep. Though I doubt he will, he may cry for up to three hours the first time. Don’t feel bad, though—you are going into his room every 15 minutes to let him know that you are close by. Also, with my approach, you have the option of going into his room every 10 minutes if you just can’t bear the full 15. In fact, I’ve had clients who went into their baby’s room every five minutes and those babies are all sleeping through the night to this day. It’s more about the process than the timing of the intervals.
And while we’re talking about process, let’s go over good bedtime and nap time routines:
| Bedtime Routine | |
|
1
|
Bath |
|
2
|
Diaper and Pajamas |
|
3
|
Swaddle, if applicable |
|
4
|
Turn on white noise machine |
|
5
|
Nurse or bottle |
|
6
|
Put your baby into the crib awake |
| Nap Time Routine____________________________________________________________________________ | |
|
1.
|
Change diaper |
|
2.
|
Swaddle, if applicable |
|
3.
|
Close blinds |
|
4.
|
Turn on white noise machine |
|
5.
|
Nurse or bottle |
|
6.
|
Put your baby in his crib awake. You can pat his little butt for a couple of minutes, if you want, before you leave the room. |
I know it’s hard to hear your baby cry, but just remember that he isn’t saying he doesn’t love you anymore or that he’s hungry. All he’s saying is that he doesn’t know what to do—which is why it’s your job to teach him.
Kathy Sinclair, CNCS, CPD, CLE, CHBE, graduated from Australia’s prestigious Charlton Brown Nanny College and began her professional career as a nanny in 1993. Kathy developed her specialty with infant sleep while working as a newborn care specialist in Los Angeles. Currently the founder of Baby Sleep Solutions, Kathy provides one-on-one individualized sleep consultations, leads Mommy & Infant groups for new moms, and lectures on sleep in and around Los Angeles. She lives in Ventura, Calif., with her husband and three dogs. She may be contacted through her website at www.babysleepsolutionsla.com.
