As a mom, I haven’t had “husband sleep” since the year 2014 {before my, ahem, little angels entered the world}. What’s husband sleep? The dead-to-the-whole-world-falling-apart sleep.
Even though being a mom calls for sleeping with one ear open for the rest of your life, I refused to accept the fact that, because I had babies, I was going to be awake for all hours of the night, for years on end. Because I wasn’t blessed with naturally great sleepers from birth, my husband and I worked hard at reading, learning, asking, and trial and error to develop great sleep habits for our kids. And it paid off!
With that being said, here is my sleep training disclaimer: sleep training does NOT have to mean cry it out, neglect,or a harsh parenting style.
Sleep training comes down to one word, ROUTINE. I know, yuck, gross, that’s so boring, and there is no time for a routine. But everyone has a routine of some kind. Whether it’s loosely followed or regimented, everyone has things they do every day that help them keep their sense of time. But don’t worry, I won’t throw charts, or graphs at you. Instead, it is just these three simple words to remember.
Eat, Play, Sleep*
That’s it.
Wake up, eat, then play time! When baby wakes up in the morning, feed within 15 minutes of waking. Then play! When baby gets fussy again, it is sleepy time! Swaddle, put on a sound machine, or darken the room – whatever works for you – and lay them down. I would walk out of the room with a quick “sleep good” and shut the door. If my son fussed when I laid him down, I let him settle in for a few moments. But if he was really winding up for a full blown melt down, I would go in and settle him back down and then do my leaving routine all over again: “sleep good” and out I go.
I love this routine because it gives parents a ton of flexibility. You can choose feeding times, and what to do between play and sleep. It gives you a nap time to get things done around the house, or run errands with a sleeping baby.
Secondly, it helps with learning your baby. I learned quickly what my child needed because I knew where we were in their routine.
Thirdly, it helps your baby understand what is coming next. They learn that when they wake up they eat, then it’s play time. Because they are fed and not tired, this play time is enjoyable!
This routine works for breast fed babies, bottle fed babies, co-sleeping, and independent sleeping. Whatever form of parenting you practice, this is a great template to follow!
This sounds so easy. Granted, I didn’t address any troubleshooting tricks for teething, sickness, upset tummies, or just their general lack of baby wanting to comply with your scheduling efforts. All I can say is that the result of staying consistent as much as possible is incredible.
You can start the Eat, Play, Sleep routine as soon as today. Keep working at it and know that like anything in life and parenthood consistency is key!
Do you have a routine that works to encourage sleep? Share it with us!
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*We researched many books and methods, but chiefly used the Baby Wise routine, and put our own spin on it.
