Babies don’t have a proper sleep pattern or time. Their little minds are all curious to learn and grab things around them. They play and are active and sleep when they feel tired.
When they reach 4 months of age, sleep regression starts. And we all know that it is one of the toughest parts of the whole journey. Your baby not only changes his whole pattern but also becomes irritated. He cries a lot and it might give you some tension.
So to cope with this problem we often opt for sleep training. Every baby is different and so is the time is taken by them to learn. With a little patience and consistency, you will be able to succeed.
Before you start to search for methods for sleep training, a few things need your attention. In this article, we have listed down the things that you can expect when sleep training your baby.
Things to expect
These are some common things to expect while the training lasts.
1- Consistent bedtime is the key
First of all your whole efforts would be useless if your baby does not have a consistent bedtime routine. Yes, that is a key aspect of the whole sleep training process.
There won’t be any point to train the baby if he can’t sleep at the same time each night. All your hard work would go vain and the baby would also become annoyed.
So for this, you need to ensure that he wakes up each morning at a particular time. Then you feed him at a certain time, put him to a short nap. All these steps need to be done at the same time every day. Only then the baby would get used to the training and will sleep peacefully.
2- Be prepared for setbacks
Though sleep training is a great help for tired parents. But as everything comes with a few drawbacks, the same is the case here.
When the babies are all of the sudden set to follow a routine and sleep and wake at a fixed time. They might become startled or irritated or fussy.
Most babies learn this with ease and follow the pattern for the long term. Whereas others will cry a lot and demand your presence. They will wake up often and sometimes when you feel they are all trained. They will again start to show opposite signs like waking up more often.
No need to get worried sick as this is a part of their nature. Not all babies are born will a cool, calm temperament.
3-Self-soothing
When your baby feels sleepy or tired, it is high time to put them to sleep. Now either they will fall asleep or cry a bit. At this moment you will be close to soothe them and help them.
Once they have fallen asleep, you won’t be around the whole night. So when the baby wakes up at night, he should learn to soothe himself. And this is only possible when you leave them to sleep on their own.
Instead of panicking when the baby cries, show some guts and give him some time. He will learn to comfort himself and sleep after some time.
4-No right way to train
One thing that every parent needs to know and keep in mind. There is no right way to train the baby. Each baby is unique and every parent has its own methods.
A bigger part of training depends and succeed if the parents show flexibility. They are ready to try out various methods and not freak out when the baby cries.
5- Babies are bound to make a fuss
Well, They are babies what less do you expect. As beautiful and adorable maybe but they are bound to make a fuss while sleeping. This is a time when they are tired and get irritated with everything. So make sure you know how to handle a fussy baby.
Conclusion
I am sure you will be able to understand all the things mentioned in this article but if there is still something then ask us freely. We would be really glad to help you in any manner we can.
