Sleep training

Why sleep train?

Some babies love to sleep: get them past the newborn feeding-every-five-minutes stage, and you can pretty much guarantee they'll close their eyes and slumber ever so peacefully from dusk to dawn (or more).

But some  just don't 'get' sleep. And, boy, do they let you know about it - several times a night!

If you've not been blessed with a natural sleep-lover, it may not bother you that much. You may be happy to get up in the night to rock, cuddle or soothe her back to sleep. That's fine, if it works for you.

But if, night after night, the lack of sleep is affecting your moods, your wellbeing and, most importantly, your relationship with your baby, you may feel you owe it to both of you to take steps to teach your baby to sleep better and longer.

Many parents sleep train their babies with great success and, provided yours is old enough to get through the night without a feed (six months at least), there's no reason why you shouldn't give it a try too.
 

What's it all about?

Sleep training is all about getting your baby to go to sleep by herself, rather than relying on you. It involves a certain amount of effort on your part - sleep training won't work unless you're determined to see it through, and ready for things to possibly get (temporarily) worse before they get (much, much) better.

Think you can handle it? First, you need to ask yourself three important questions...

• Is your baby over six months? Any younger and sleep training's unlikely to work.

• Is your baby well and settled? Never attempt to sleep-train an ill baby or a baby whose routine or surroundings have recently changed.

• Are you prepared to see it through? The most common reason sleep-training fails is the parent giving up at the first hurdle. Sleep training doesn't take long - 10 days at the most - but, for the first night especially, you do need a lot of patience and a firm resolve to see it through.

Before you start

• Discuss your plans with your health visitor.

• Make sure both you and your partner are happy with the idea and are prepared to support each other.

• Clear your diary. No going out. Give yourself a clear fortnight to sort this sleep thing out once and for all.

• Prepare yourself for a battle of wills. Your baby's used to her old routine and will almost certainly resist the new one for a while.

• Get comfortable with the fact that being firm and consistent is not being mean or cruel. Your baby will still love you in the morning if you set clear boundaries for her at night.