Controlled Crying. Cry it out. Don't cry it out. Soothe your baby. Co-sleep. Don't co-sleep. The advice is endless and talk to one expert, say your baby's doctor, and she will say one thing. Talk to another one and he might say do the opposite. Read this book or that book and it's likely to say yet another thing. This week I was quoted as one of three experts in Hudson Valley Parent in an article called Let Them Cry or Rock-a-Bye. One of my quotes reiterates how I believe all families and
Sleep Training
6 Ways Sleep Training is Like Potty Training
I've been reflecting recently on my potty training experiences with my boys. Now, my boys are well past the age of potty training (my youngest is almost 7 already!), but I do hear about potty training quite often from my clients in the Helpdesk. And I've been reflecting recently that, while potty training is certainly no picnic for most of us, there really are many ways in which potty training is like sleep training! Specifically, I think I've found 6 ways that potty training is very much like
How Crying Can Lead to Babies Sleeping
A lot of times parents don't understand how crying can ever lead to their baby sleeping. They think that they will certainly exhaust themselves and fall asleep that way, eventually, but what are they really learning? This article is very much NOT about cry it out. There is a LOT in between helping your baby back to sleep every two hours at night and letting them cry it out. This article is discussing how crying can lead to sleep and why crying might be a necessary step in your baby learning how
Are You Sleep Training a Tortoise or a Hare?
Sometimes it can feel like you're in a race. Your friends have babies sleeping through the night and you want one, too. The pressure mounts as your baby gets older while well-meaning friends and family ask the same question every time they see you: "Is she sleeping through the night yet?" If you don't answer "yes", you know will hear it again: "Just let her cry. Worked for me." Or, in my case, it was: "It's because you're breastfeeding." It might be tempting to say "yes", even if she
How Being Tired Makes You Feel Like a Worse Parent
It is 11:42 p.m. as I start to write this. I've been working some pretty late nights, lately (some of you know this because you have received some late e-mail from me in the Sleep Helpdesk), and over the weekend I started thinking about this article. I started thinking about how my late nights and 7-day work weeks (weekends limited) might be affecting my abilities to be a good great mom. Am I doing my kids a disservice pushing so hard? The mere fact I consciously thought about it actually made
How Long to Cry It Out (CIO)
This topic "How long to cry it out?" has come up a few times in the last few weeks in one way or another, so I thought I'd talk about it this week. I always preface any discussion about cry it out by making sure that everyone understands that I'm not a "Cry It Out Pusher" and I'm very much NOT an extremist or a hard-core "sleep trainer". I try to be realistic and just know that all babies are different and all family structures are different and what works for one won't work for everyone. I even
Night Feedings by Age –
When Do You Try Night Weaning?
A very common question we get is when a baby can go all night without a feeding. This article will outline general guidelines about how many night-feedings you can expect at each age for breastfeeding and formula-fed babies. Night Weaning: What do the doctors say? In my experience, pediatricians seem to disagree frequently with the answer to the question of when a baby can go all night without a feeding. Clients report various answers all the time. If you have read any of the sleep
Knowing When You’re Done Sleep Training
Is it always clear when you are done sleep training? Not for everyone, unfortunately. Success in sleep training, like so many things, is on a continuum. What is success for you might not be for someone else. It also depends on your expectations and what your goal is from sleep training. For some parents, sleep training means allowing their baby to fuss a few minutes and voila, they start to sleep 10-12 hours a night. For other parents, it won't be quite as smooth. They might take 2-3 weeks
What Is a Dream Feed? What Age to Dream Feed and How Do You Do It?
Some babies sleep through the night from an early age. But, some babies will eat in the middle of the night until 9 months old or longer. Some parents swear by a "dream feed" to help their babies sleep longer while others don't like it. But, what is a dream feed and at what age should you try it? What Is a Dream Feed? A dream feed is a feeding you give your baby while he or she is asleep before you go to bed yourself so they won't wake up in the middle of the night. Some moms