Three weeks ago we started sleep training and let me tell you, it’s been so nice getting a full nights sleep again! Now that we are a good ways into the whole process, I will say that I couldn’t be happier we made the decision to do sleep training. Not only has it been helpful for Mo and I as parents, but we’re also doing the right thing for our little guy as well. Everyone in the house is more rested and happy, even Rambo is happy to be getting a full nights sleep again!

Here’s a little bit of background on what we were doing before I started working with our sleep consultant Jessica. At about 3 months I started a little bit of daytime routine with him, putting him down for naps every couple of hours and in his crib rather than the bassinet (at night he was still in our room). At about 3 1/2 months he started sleeping through the night on his own. I remember the first night thinking it was a fluke, but when it happened 5 out of 7 nights and continued into the following week I was so excited! My first thought was, “This is great! I’m not going to have to do any sleep training with him!” Man was I naive!  He hit right around that 4 month mark and the regression started.

At first he was just waking up once a night and I felt it was manageable. But then we went back to Cleveland for the holidays and between the time change and him teething, when we got back he was waking up two times in the middle of the night. It really started wearing on me, I could feel myself getting agitated easily and my days were just pure exhaustion; I felt like I had a newborn again! I had also gotten into the habit of rocking him to sleep. When I would put him in the crib he was already sleeping or pretty close to it, so he had no clue how to put himself to sleep. At this point when I would put him down he was waking up the second he touched the crib and getting upset and wouldn’t go back to sleep. It was literally taking me an hour and a half to feed him and get him back down before I could get back to sleep myself. I knew I needed to do something because it wasn’t healthy for him or me the way things were going. I had bought a sleep training book a few months prior, but every time I picked it up to read it I would literally fall right asleep.

He was now 6 months and I knew he could definitely be sleeping through the night at this point, but it just wasn’t happening anymore. This is about the time I connected with Jessica our sleep consultant who told me she could help me get him sleeping through the night. Of course when I heard that I was totally on board, as long as it didn’t involve the “cry it out” method. I never wanted to be that mom who let her baby just cry and cry, that is just not for me! When she emailed over all the details and the schedule she had put together for him, I realized that’s not what her method was about. Yes, I would have to let him cry a little bit, but I set a short time limit for myself (I started with 8-10 mins) and then I could go in and soothe him without picking him up.

The first night of sleep training, I got him bathed, read him his book, fed him and put him into his sleep sack. I kissed him goodnight and told him I loved him and shut off the lights, closing the door. I nervously watched him on the monitor, hoping he wouldn’t start crying. He was awake for a few minutes just kind of moving around and then he did start to cry. I set my timer and before I could even reach my limit of 8 minutes he had put himself to sleep. He ended up sleeping through the night that night, I was one happy mama! It’s been three weeks of following our routine and I feel so good about how far we’ve come since we started. He finally knows how to put himself to sleep, even when he wakes up in the middle of the night. Yes there are still some nights he may wake or get fussy, but now that he knows what to do to get back to sleep again. These are some of the tips she gave me to help get him sleeping through the night.

1. Set up a good sleep environment

• Make sure the room is cool (68-72 degrees)
• The room should be nice and dark, consider black out shades
• Use a white noise sound machine, set at a good volume
• Use a sleep sack, it becomes a sleep cue for them to know that it’s bed time and also prevents climbing out of the crib (We use this one here and love it!)
• An empty crib with no distractions in or above it

2. Set up a routine

One thing I have realized is that babies too are creatures of habit and thrive on a routine. Our night time routine looks the same everyday and he knows it’s bedtime. I can also tell during the day now when he is getting tired and it’s time for a nap. Once I pull out the sleep sack, he knows it’s sleepy time.

3. Make sure baby is getting full meals 

Baby is going to sleep much better on a full stomach. With Maurice being 6 months when I started this, I knew he could make it through a full night sleep without a middle of the night feed. I do still make sure he is getting all of the ounces he needs throughout the day and he gets his last bottle right before I put him down for bed. This is something that will be different for everyone due to the age of your baby.

4. Know your babies wake window

This has been a tough one for me, mostly because I can’t always tell when he’s getting tired. Sometimes it’s only after being awake an hour and a half. Jessica told me that it’s better to lean toward putting him down earlier because once he’s too tired it’s tougher to get him down. You’re supposed to put baby down before they get overly tired or else they will be wired when they go down. But you also don’t want them to go down to early or they won’t have the sleep pressure to sleep through the nap or the night. As your baby gets older the wake windows become longer. I just try to watch for different cues that indicate he is getting tired, like rubbing his eyes or getting fussy.

5. Put your baby down awake

This is probably one of the most important parts of all, this is where I was going wrong. Letting your baby learn the steps to falling asleep on their own is so important! When they wake during a nap or middle of the night, they need to know what it takes to fall back asleep again. If not, this is when you end up half the night rocking them or trying to soothe them. Once they are able to do that, you’re on your way to a full nights sleep!

This is what our schedule has looked like the past month. There are times when the schedule gets a little shifted, sometimes he’ll get tired earlier then what the schedule says, so I’ll just adjust it based on his cues. What has been so great about this whole process is when I’ve ran into a question about something I have been able to contact Jessica and ask her what to do.

7:00 AM- Wake/Feed

7:30/8:00 AM- Breakfast 

8:00-9:00 AM- Playtime

9:00 AM- Begin naptime routine

9:15 AM- Naptime

10:45/11 AM- Wake/Feed

12:00 PM- Lunch

12:30-1:00 PM- Playtime

1:00 PM- Begin naptime

1:15/1:30 PM- Naptime

2:45/3:00 PM- Wake/Feed

4:30 PM- Catnap

5:00 PM- Wake/Feed

6:30 PM- Begin bedtime routine (Bath, book, bottle)

7:00 PM- Down for the night 

Since we he have been following this routine for a little while now it’s become natural for us both and we know exactly what to expect. I can’t thank our sleep consultant Jessica enough, she has been a lifesaver for us all in this house! Whether you’re having troubles getting your baby to sleep or just looking to get advice on how to start sleep training, I  highly recommend working with her. She has been so knowledgeable and I love that I can contact her anytime when I hit a bump and don’t know what to do. Every baby is different and having a schedule tailored to what works best for him has worked amazingly for us. I will leave her contact info here for you! Go give her a follow over on Instagram, she has some great sleep tips on her profile as well!

+Instagram- @sleepshopjess

+Email- sleepshopjess@gmail.com