A Pain-Free Way to Helping Your Baby Sleep Through the Night
Only new mom’s who are running on adrenaline and hormones are okay with waking up in the middle of the night. There is even a certain novelty about the bonding time we spend while the rest of the world is asleep. Then reality strikes and sleep quickly comes to the top of our priority list.
I had to go back to work when my son was 8 months old. Getting up in the middle of the night was not an option for me anymore. I had recently visited the doctor and she told me that he was surely capable of sleeping through the nights and was only waking up out of habit. I decided that we needed to find a way to break the habit. I was reluctant at first because his crying would tear my heart out. I felt like he thought I had abandoned him. I had all kinds of crazy thoughts but I came across a method that really worked for us.
When he cried, I’d go into the room and pat his chest or give him a pacifier or if neither worked, I would pick him up until he stopped crying. As soon as he settled, I would lay him back down and walk out of the room. Obviously, he would start crying again. The first day, I waited 2-3 minutes and would do the same thing again. The next day I went in every 5 minutes and within 4 or 5 days, worked my way up to 15 minutes. Don’t leave them crying for longer than that. If they are just whimpering or talking, they will very likely fall asleep any minute.
The trick is consistency. Don’t go into the room after 10 minutes one time and 5 minutes the next. Try to have the same routine every time you go into the room. If you want to quietly whisper to them, say the same short sentence and perhaps repeat it a couple of times. Babies love routine. Routine is where they feel security. When they feel secure, they can learn to trust and will soon be able to soothe themselves.
Once you have the night time habit broken, try nap time. Instead of rocking or walking or god-forbid maybe even driving your baby to sleep, try laying them in their crib and using the same routine. I’m telling you, this really works. My son is now 16 months old and loves his crib. It is not a lonely or scary cage where he wakes up and doesn’t know how he got there. Of course that is where he wakes up because he knows that is where he went to sleep. Sometimes instead of an afternoon nap, he sits in his crib and plays with toys and books for an hour or more. He loves his crib. It is a secure and peaceful place for him.
I found that this method really worked for us because we eased our way into it. The first few minutes of crying are so hard to listen to. I would set myself a timer otherwise 45 seconds felt like 5 minutes. It gets easier every time and soon your baby won’t expect you to come into the room at every whimper.
We had our 8 month old sleeping through the night in one week. It is so worthwhile to dedicate just one week to this. Like I said before, the trick is consistency. They will quickly trust that you are not far away and with that peace of mind, they will put themselves back to sleep.
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