My daughter was 4 months old when we decided that it was time to stop putting her to sleep before bed. We would make her nice and drowsy with a feed, cuddle her, and lay her in her crib. We wouldn’t hear a sound until 11 hours later. Her sleep was perfect.
I knew that this ritual we enjoyed was about to end, and that she needed the skill to fall asleep on her own sooner than later. The odd time she did not fall asleep, we had to find a different way to get her there and those other methods – rocking mostly, were hit or miss.
That was before I became a Sleep Consultant, and I always thought that eventually babies learn to fall asleep on their own. Don’t they?? I heard these same thoughts when I begin to work with families.
Helping your little one get to sleep by making them drowsy can be beneficial in the first 3-4 months. However, as parents, you want to start exploring how to put your baby to sleep while they are still awake. This allows them to learn the skill of falling asleep on their own.
Here are some reasons why putting your baby to sleep awake is crucial for their overall well-being and development:
- It enables you to support your child in a new way with techniques such as soothing touch, gentle shushing, and a comforting presence, all while slowly reducing external sleep aids.
- It reduces frustration for parents and crying for baby when external methods used for getting baby to sleep stop working.
- It provides a predictable routine and allows the entire family to optimize their sleep needs.
- It allows your child to develop self-soothing skills throughout the night.
Moving from putting your baby to sleep drowsy and putting them to sleep awake is something that takes patience and perseverance, while adjusting and adapting as necessary to meet your baby’s unique needs.
Remember, every child is different, and what works for one may not work for another. By being cautious not to put your child to sleep for months or years on end, you are providing a skill that will lead to restful nights and peaceful bedtimes for you and your little one!
Schedule your free Discovery Call here
