Sleep Training Essentials: How Can I Teach My Baby To Sleep By Himself?

Protecting your mental and physical health as a mother is hard work. The first of the factors that make it most difficult to be a parent, especially in the early stages of infancy, is staying asleep for long hours. The solution to this problem is to give our children good sleep training. Keys to helping the baby learn to put himself to sleep should include establishing a calm nighttime routine, setting a bedtime while awake, and giving him plenty of chances to figure out how to go to sleep on his own.

You can start teaching your baby good sleep habits early like a few weeks after birth. This is a good choice because your child would not learn bad sleep habits. But even if your baby is no longer a newborn, trying the suggestions below can go a long way in helping him fall asleep himself.

Essentials of Sleep Training

• Put him to bed at regular hours. Putting your baby to bed at the same time each night sets his internal clock so he's more likely to be sleepy at a predictable time. Make sure it's not too late because tired babies have a particularly difficult time calming down.

• Follow a consistent bedtime routine. Let him know it's time to sleep with a nighttime ritual that includes three or four quiet activities like bathing, reading a story, lullabies or singing, rocking, or hugging.

• Put your baby to sleep when he is sleepy. Trying to put him to bed when he's sleepy will help him fall asleep without you. this a natural way of sleep training.

• Make it a habit to put him to sleep. If your baby goes to sleep while breastfeeding or bottle-fed, he won't be able to learn to sleep himself. Move your child's feedings to reduce bedtime or shorten your feeding time. If your baby starts napping, stop feeding him and finish the bedtime routine before putting him in his crib.

• Check out some issues. What if you've given your baby a chance to relax and he doesn't? Some babies take more time to teach this than others. Or maybe your baby just doesn't have the developmental ability to be self-sufficient yet.

Finally, consider whether you can take a step back and deal with it and start. Are you trying to put him to sleep before you put him in his cot? Is it okay to rush to comfort him at the first cry and deprive him of the chance to let himself go? Think you're just going to put him to sleep for one night when he's not ready?

Self-soothing takes time to learn, and some babies need a little longer than others. Be patient, stick to a calming bedtime routine, and remember that some days will be easier than others. In the meantime, read up on structured sleep training methods to help your baby fall asleep on their own. This could be the next step!