Babies are noisy sleepers. They grunt, whine, whimper, and cry even in the middle of their sleep cycles! You always want to be cautious of instant gratification, but depending on age you may need to attend to baby in the night if it is time for a feed or they need assistance going back to sleep. Newborns have not developed self-soothing skills, so they will need help frequently through the night. Babies 4 months and older are capable of independent self-soothing, but this does need to be taught. (Enter, sleep training!) A baby that is not self-soothing will constantly wake up in the middle of the night and expect help in going back to sleep. No one likes to hear a baby cry, but making change in sleep does mean crying is a part of the process. I know this is a sensitive subject so you can listen to how I address this on my podcast: How long you should let your baby cry. LINK: https://littlezsleep.
2. When should I unswaddle my baby and how should I go about it?
Baby’s arms should be out of the swaddle and available to self-soothe by 10-12 weeks old (from due date!). You should start getting baby’s arm out of the swaddle one at at time, rotating which arm is out each nap/night by around 9-10 weeks old. That can sound daunting, I know! A great transition tool from swaddle to sleep sack is the Zipadee-Zip LINK: https://amzn.to/2sVyadK Baby should be swaddle free by 3 months old to begin the journey to independent sleep!!
3. How do I get may baby to fall asleep on his own with no rocking?
If you've been rocking your baby for sleep, your baby is now looking to you as the ultimate driver to sleep. The moment you stop rocking is the moment they are stranded with no one to help go to sleep! Let's look at age expectations though: With newborns, it is OK to rock to sleep. They can't self-soothe and need your help! But...After 4 months, this process is no longer needed as they are capable of self-soothing. Breaking habits such as rocking takes time and consistency. When you commit to breaking this habit, you should see change by 3 nights. If you are having continuous nights of extended crying, it is time to get a plan and support to ensure progress is happening!
4. What bedtime routine do you suggest?
This depends on the age of the child, but a great starter would be using this 5-steps guide LINK: https://littlezsleep.com/
5. How do you wean a baby from a pacifier?
The goal is to encourage your child to use her self-soothing skills. Using a pacifier will take the place of any skill your child could develop independently. After 4 months of age I ask parents to pull the pacifier outright. (I know, I sound so counter culture!!) While you may think this is easy for an outsider to come in and say “just throw it away”, please know that I understand YOU are the most nervous about this change, and not your little one. Read how one of my recent clients ditched the pacifier https://www.justinecirullo.
Searching the internet for answers is great, but there's nothing better than having an actual person to ask your questions! Becca seriously knows her stuff, and I have loved getting to know her. If our little girl doesn't start learning to fall asleep on her own soon then I will definitely be looking into Becca's personal sleep consulting! If you need sleep bad then Becca offers a FREE 15 minute call. I know that she would love to help you on your journey to a full nights sleep.
xoxo,
kelsey
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