Sleep training has many implications for some people as they link it with images of crying babies. Here, we will talk about assessing your little one who might be ready to get engaged in some type of sleep training or assistance.

 Why sleep train babies?

Sleep training refers to help baby develop the skill of self-settling or falling asleep on their bed independently and without having an adult to tuck them in. 

Also read: Importance of sleep for new moms

How does sleep training work?

There are different methods based on the idea of removing parental assistance while putting their little ones to sleep. Sleep training works by teaching our baby to sleep on his own without any parental help. Usually, the sleep methods rely on using traditional techniques such as rocking or feeding to sleep as that’s what baby is used to since birth. W encourage you to soothe your baby along with the association they already have but not until they are fully asleep. 

Make sure that your baby is ready to sleep when you are planning to put them to bed. Also, make sure that the environment is dark with white noise to settle down the baby.

Make sure you are prepared with the following:

• Introduce a bedtime routine
• Prick a particular time
• Follow a daytime nap schedule

Is your baby ready to sleep on his own?

Once your baby’s sleep cycle is matured in around 4 months, you will notice a difference in their sleep pattern. They can start catnapping more with more defined sleep cycles during the day and they can also start waking up a lot more overnight- especially after 2 hours. If the baby is relied upon you for putting them to sleep, they will always need you to do the same thing again and again. Once your baby is used to dozing off on their own during day time naps and night time, it means that they are ready to be on their own during the night.

Things to consider:

• Some kids are naturally good sleepers, they do not fuss or whine about going to bed. They tend to sleep quickly and adopt a sleeping pattern that keeps everyone happy.
• Every child is different even if they belong to the same family. It is most likely that the sleep strategy you used on one baby might not work on your second child. You might need new ideas to tuck them in.
• Don’t follow any method strictly. You might use one aspect of any method that might be effective on your child and feel free to take whatever measures you have to take.
• Your child might go back to old habits once the sleep training is over may be due to any sickness or travel.