5 Sleep Training Mistakes to Avoid
At CutieCozy we are huge proponents of sleep training your baby as soon as possible. For those who don’t know, sleep training is the practice of teaching your baby to sleep independently, on a regular schedule. Not only does it give you as a parent a much needed break from the mayhem of the day, but it also helps your little one to develop a routine that will greatly serve them during their early years. Now, sleep training is somewhat of a controversial topic in the parenting community, so before we dive into our 5 sleep training mistakes, we want to preface this by saying a couple of things. First and foremost, our point of view does not apply to all parenting situations. There are a number of scenarios, such as when parenting a premature baby or baby with an illness, where the topic of sleep training will need to be broached differently. Please always be sure to do what is right for you and your family.
Secondly, a lot of the information we share in this article is informed by an incredible book written by Suzy Giordano called “Twelve Hours' Sleep by Twelve Weeks Old: A Step-by-Step Plan for Baby Sleep Success”. If you have not done so already, please make sure you buy this book either for yourself or a loved one who needs it! As a result of applying the strategies in this book, we were able to train our baby (Zoe) to sleep 12 hours a night before hitting 12 weeks old. We do not get paid for recommending this book, we have just benefited so greatly from that we wanted to make sure we share the wealth and give credit where credit is due.
So, without further ado, here are 5 sleep training mistakes to avoid:
Mistake 1: Not Starting Early
This is the most controversial of all the mistakes listed. While conventional wisdom says that parents should not begin sleep training their baby until they are 4 to 6 months old, the book “Twelve Hours' Sleep by Twelve Weeks Old: A Step-by-Step Plan for Baby Sleep Success” beautifully makes the case for why you can and should start way earlier than that (as early as 8 weeks old in fact)! Starting our sleep training journey early, resulted in several benefits. First, as a work from home mom, it enabled me to return from maternity-leave well rested and with confidence that I could manage my little one and my work at the same time; second, it made it much easier to ask loved ones to watch Zoe overnight, when necessary, because we knew it wouldn’t be a tall ask; and third, it significantly reduced the number of times my husband and I wanted to kill each other day to day because we had a set time everyday that we knew we could be off duty (so to speak). The earlier you start, the earlier you and your baby get to start reaping the benefits.
Mistake 2: Co-Sleeping With Baby
But the baby is so cute, and warm, and cuddly, and needs you… I know, I know, but don’t do it! I know firsthand how strong the temptation is to have your baby sleep in the same bed or room as you, but do yourself and your baby a favor and don’t fall into the trap. Doing so will put you at risk of one day waking up and realizing that you have become your baby’s one and only pacifier. It is best to condition your baby as early as possible to sleeping in their own space, preferably in their own room. It will be hard at first and your smart baby monitor will no doubt become your new best friend, but it will be totally worth it when your baby is sleeping through the night on their own like a pro.
Mistake 3: Not Establishing a Routine
Consistency is key when sleep training your little one. Establishing a routine around what time you put baby to bed and what actions you take leading up to bedtime, will help your baby to more quickly adapt to your new regimen. When we first began sleep training Zoe we set her bedtime for 8pm every night. Leading up to bedtime we would always go through the following routine: turn off the light in her room, turn on the nightlight and white noise, get her changed for bed, feed her her bedtime bottle, burp her and then lay her down in her crib. In the beginning it took a little while for Zoe to fall asleep after we laid her down, but eventually the amount of time she spent crying when we laid her down became less and less until we finally reached the point where she didn’t cry at all when we laid her down on her own.
Mistake 4: Not Giving Baby Enough Time to Self-Soothe
I’ll be honest, my husband definitely had to play the role of the bad cop quite a few times during our sleep training journey in order to keep me from making this mistake a number of times. I remember many times when Zoe would cry in the beginning of our sleep training journey and I would be ready to go into her room to pick her up, but would then stop because I knew Darryn was watching me like a hawk on the baby monitor to make sure I didn’t cave. In hindsight, it was really helpful having a partner that had the willpower to stay firm even when I wanted to throw the towel in. The good news is, there are a number of techniques you can use to help your baby make it through those rough early moments without rushing to pick them up every time they cry. The book we recommended earlier offers up a number of ways to do this.
Mistake 5: Using the Wrong Sheets
I’m sure you never would have thought sheets would make the list, but it actually is a mistake my husband and I made when we started our sleep training journey. We highly recommend you switch to satin fitted crib sheets when you embark on this journey in order to protect your baby’s delicate hair during the process. During the early months babies tend to do a number of things to self-soothe while lying on their backs, including rhythmically moving their heads from side to side. Using satin fitted crib sheets will reduce the risk of your baby experiencing hair loss and/or developing bald spots during the journey. Wondering where to find some great satin fitted crib sheets? We’ve got you covered! Check out our CutieCozy Love & Serenity Satin Fitted Crib Sheets, available on Amazon.
And that concludes our list of the 5 most common sleep training mistakes to avoid. We hope this information was helpful to you as you consider how to approach sleep training your little one. For more on this topic, check out our other post on the 4 Must Have Items to Have in Your Sleep Training Arsenal!
With Love,
Ayisha Lee
Founder of CutieCozy