Babies can go through periods where they struggle to fall asleep or wake up frequently throughout the night. Although this can be a challenging time for parents, there are ways to help your babies.

Solutions can come in the form of baby sleep training. These services are usually provided by a professional sleep consultant in Singapore.

However, parents should carry out some preparations for themselves and their babies before attending one of these professional sleep training sessions.

What is Sleep Training?

Sleep training is a set of methods to help babies adapt to their own changing sleep patterns, The length and stages of sleep that a baby experiences undergo several periods of development as they grow. These methods are ultimately meant to encourage your young ones to fall asleep independently.

The following are sleep training methods that can be practiced by parents at home.

The Chair Method

This method is a gentle and gradual sleep training method that parents often start out with. It involves sitting in a chair near your child’s crib after putting them to bed, and leaving the room after they fall asleep.

When they wake up and cry, parents come back into the room and sit on the chair, but don’t pick up or interact with them. The theory behind it is that the presence of a parent should reassure the child as they develop a self-soothing method to fall back asleep.

Leave and Check

This method involves parents performing their bedtime routine together with their babies and then putting them to sleep. After that, parents leave the room for a set amount of time, say 15 or 20 minutes.

When they return, they can console their baby with soothing words or a pat and rub. However, parents are not encouraged to pick up their babies as babies are meant to fall asleep independently.

The Cry It Out Method

The Cry It Out method is sometimes also called the extinction method. It requires parents to put their babies to bed after a sleep routine just like the check and console method. However, unlike the check and console method, parents are advised to leave their babies until morning, letting them cry it out if they wake up.

It might seem harsh for some parents, so experts allow parents to check their babies after at least one of two waking and crying spells. However, this should be gradually decreased so that babies can be left on their own for the whole night. Most babies will eventually adapt and stop crying over time.

Shush Pat and Pick Up

For babies younger than 7 months of age, there’s a gentler method. The shush pat method allows parents to soothe their babies when they wake up at night. Firstly, they can rub or pat their babies, and if the crying escalates they can pick up their babies but put them back down before they fall asleep.

Bedtime Routine Fading

In this approach, parents are allowed to soothe their children and help them fall asleep, but the time spent doing these routines should be gradually decreased over time. Routines can include patting them to sleep, rocking them or nursing them as they nod off. The main objective is to eventually cease any form of soothing routine so that your baby can fall asleep independently.

Bedtime Hour Fading

Bedtime hour fading is different from bedtime routine fading. In this approach, parents attempt to move their baby’s bedtime forward by about 15 minutes each time. Parents should start out by putting their babies to bed at the usual time that their babies fall asleep. Usually, babies will consume some time fussing and fighting their sleeping time so this gets pushed back.

Putting your baby to bed slightly earlier, about 15 minutes earlier for a few nights, and then gradually adding 15 minutes thereafter will shift their ‘natural’ bedtime earlier and encourage them to sleep longer throughout the night.

How do I Prepare for Sleep Training?

Parents who have tried their own sleep training methods without much success may be asking,

“Is there a baby sleep trainer near me?”

The good news is that asking for help is easy, and an expert will be able to guide you through a proper baby sleep training plan.

Here’s how you can prepare yourself and your child for a professional sleep training consultation session.

Do Your Own Research

There are many resources online regarding baby sleep patterns and how they change as your baby grows up. Learning the basics and facts of your baby’s sleep will help you ask the right questions and pick up on important points from the certified trainer during the sleep training for your baby in Singapore.

Set Your Goals

Determine what you want to achieve when it comes to your baby’s sleep. Set specific goals. For example, you would like your baby to wake up less at night, sleep earlier, or decrease the amount of time they cry and fuss before bedtime. You can set more than one goal and communicate it with your sleep therapist.

Plan Your Strategy

With the help of your therapist, make sure you have several strategies in place. Different approaches have varying levels of efficacy for different babies. You should manage your expectations and consider a plan B or C if necessary.

Write Down Questions

As you do your research, many questions will pop up in your mind. Make sure you take note of these questions and get them clarified with your sleep consultant when you meet.

There’s Nothing Like Professional Help

A professional consultant can offer you guidance and expert opinions that online resources just cannot. Carrying out sleep training on your own requires a lot of effort, time, patience, and trials-and-errors.

As the certified baby sleep consultant at Sleepy Bubba, I look forward to offering you my expertise and support, which would normally be absent when you’re attempting to improve your baby’s sleep on your own. I hope I can offer valuable insight that can help you and your baby get a good night’s sleep.

Let’s get you and your baby the best sleep possible. Book a free discovery call with me to learn more now!