Sleep Training 101: Tips to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night

Just discovering the sleepless life of a new parent? Don’t worry, you’re not alone.

Most of us have been there: the endless hours of despairing that your baby may never actually go to sleep.

We can also tell you this: it gets better. It just takes time for our little ones to develop healthy sleep habits. What’s more, you can actually help them along with a little baby sleep training!

In this guide, we’ll provide you with some baby sleep tips that can encourage your baby to fall (and stay) asleep faster and more independently. In the process, you just might regain your sanity as well!

What is baby sleep training?

Sleep training is the process of teaching a baby to fall asleep independently. That means you’re trying to teach the little one to go to sleep without having to be rocked or fed first. 

When babies learn how to do this, they essentially take their first critical step towards independent life. Among other things, it means they no longer have to wait for you to soothe them if they happen to wake in the night. 

This makes babies more likely to sleep for sustained periods. Naturally, this allows the baby’s caregiver (you!) to also get more rest. 

There are many different kinds of sleep training solutions and baby bedtime routines. Some like the Pick-up/Put-down Method, whereas others swear by the No-tears Method. 

This tells you that it’s a myth that sleep training just means letting your baby cry alone for an hour. In fact, many of the popular methods rely on gradual adjustments and parental responsiveness.

When to start sleep training

The general consensus is that sleep training ideally begins when a baby is between four and six months of age. This is when little ones start sleeping for longer stretches and scale back a bit on the nighttime feeding. 

Here are other indications that your baby is ready for sleep training:

• Consistent weight gain

• Finger-sucking for self-soothing

• Longer nighttime sleep windows 

Just remember to consult your paediatrician first to ensure your baby is ready for sleep training, from a health and developmental standpoint!

Tips for helping your baby sleep

1. Have a consistent bedtime routine

Babies appreciate consistency. Give yours a predictable sequence of events each night before bedtime, e.g. a gentle massage, then a feeding, and finally, sleeping. 

Do this in as consistent a way as you can. For instance, start each activity at the exact same time each night whenever possible. 

This will eventually build your child’s internal clock and make it easier for both of you to settle into a set time for sleep.

2. Put the baby to bed drowsy but awake

You should put your baby in the bed or cot when they’re sleepy but still awake. The idea here is to put together all the factors that can encourage them to fall asleep on their own. 

If they’re still awake but on the verge of falling asleep already, you’re making it much easier for them to learn to self-soothe and fall asleep on their own. What they learn here can come in handy if they do wake up abruptly at night.

3. Make the environment soothing

Just as you can’t expect to fall asleep easily inside a club, you can’t expect your little one to learn how to self-soothe in a chaotic environment. 

Make things easy for your baby by setting up a quiet and cool room. Keep it dark as well, perhaps with blackout curtains or blinds. 

Avoid putting moving distractions (like mobiles) or anything that shows flashing lights near your baby’s cot. The more peaceful the area around your child, the easier it will be to sleep.

Sleep training techniques to try

1. Cry It Out Method (CIO Method)

This is also called the Extinction Method, but don’t let the name fool you. It’s not as negative as it sounds, although some parents will certainly find it an emotional challenge. 

In this technique, you put your baby in the cot while he or she is still awake. If the baby cries, you shouldn’t intervene. 

Studies have shown its efficacy for a lot of little ones. It seems to help a lot of them sleep longer and wake less often, perhaps because it gives your baby the chance to learn a new skill.

2. The Ferber Method

This one is named after the paediatric sleep expert, Dr Richard Ferber. In this case, you rely on controlled crying, which has been proven to improve baby sleep quality in many cases.

This means you can check on your baby regularly when he or she cries, but don’t pick him or her up. In this way, you allow the baby space to practise self-soothing yet still offer your presence as reassurance.

3. The Fading Method

Another name for this method is the Gradual Withdrawal Technique. Here, you progressively reduce your presence in the nursery during nighttime, especially in terms of proximity. 

So, for example, you might sit next to your baby’s cot on the first night. Then, you could move a foot away the next night. Then you move another foot away the night after that.

You essentially remain visible as reassurance to the little one, but also start training the child to be more independent in self-soothing.

4. Pick-up/Put-down Method

This is a very involved method, but many parents have used it to good effect. Basically, you pick up your baby when he or she cries, then put him or her down once he’s calm. 

It’s genuinely that simple. Because of the way it works, it can take much longer to sleep-train a little one with this technique, but it’s also emotionally easier for some parents.

5. No-tears Method

This is probably the method that takes the most time to produce results, which means it’s also the easiest emotionally for some parents. That’s because it means just never letting your baby cry alone.

In this method, you introduce changes very slowly. You gradually reduce the amount of time you spend rocking your baby, for instance, until he or she seems fine with the change.

What about sleep regression?

We can’t leave you with those tips without talking about sleep regression! This is when a child seems to regress into the old, more disrupted and disruptive sleeping style. 

First off, don’t worry – this is normal! It tends to happen around the time your child hits 4, 6, or even 10 months of age. 

The important thing to remember is that it’s temporary. Many of the natural developmental changes in your child’s life can disrupt sleep for a short period, like teething. 

Sleep regression solutions aren’t complicated either. Just stick to the established bedtime routine and try to adjust to nap times as necessary.

A final word on sleep training

One of the key things to keep in mind when sleep-training your child is that every baby is unique. You may have to try different strategies to find the option that works best with your little one.

Ultimately, it’s going to be about consistency, patience, and the willingness to give yourself and your tyke space to breathe. It’s fine to feel a little overwhelmed. Just remember that it’s temporary. We all went through this and made it through. You’ve got this!

And if you ever need parenting advice or plain emotional support, talk to other mums here at Mummy Guru’s forums – or check out our articles for more tips!