It's two in the morning and your baby is crying again! It's the fifth time she's woken you up today and you're starting to wonder if you'll ever get a full night's sleep again. Will the crying ever stop? 

If this sounds like you, consider sleep training your baby. Sleep training might sound like an impossible task, but it’s actually relatively straightforward and doesn’t take more than a few weeks.

In this post, we'll discuss everything you need to know about sleep training, including how and when to sleep train your baby! 

Baby Sleep Training Coaching

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Sleep training teaches babies to drift off without being cuddled, swayed, rocked, nursed, or shushed. 

While it's tempting to start training straight away, parents should only sleep train their babies during their developmental stages, the sweet spot being the ages of four to six months. 

At this stage, babies have the capacity to self-soothe and sleep throughout the night without needing to eat.

When Should I Sleep Train My Baby? 

As follows are some of the best methods of sleep training your baby, recommended by certified sleep consultants and exhausted parents!

Baby Parenting Coaching

5 Sleep Training Methods You Should Try

The Cry It Out method is exactly as it says on the tin: put your baby to bed, leave her room, and let her cry her heart out until she falls asleep on her own. For this reason, it's also called the Controlled Crying method or the Extinction method.

A lot of parents don't advocate the CIO method because they find it cruel or heartbreaking. However, studies show that this method doesn't actually harm a child's emotional development. Quite the opposite, actually! It teaches babies to soothe themselves to sleep and solidify their sleep independence over time. 

Keep in mind that the CIO method is harder on you than it is on your baby. Stay strong and don't be swayed by your little one's tears! Show her a bit of tough love; at the end of the day, it's for her own good.

Cry It Out (CIO) Method

If you're not a big fan of the CIO method, you might find this method more forgiving. 

After placing your baby in her crib, sit on a chair close to her and keep her company until she falls asleep without picking her up or playing with her. Don't stand from your chair when your baby cries; simply give her an audible indication that you’re around and that she's safe.  

Do the same the next day, but move your chair farther away from your baby's crib. Keep moving the chair until you're near and out the door. 

This method may not work with babies who can't fall asleep alone. They might be startled and possibly feel upset when they wake up in the middle of the night to see their caretakers are no longer there. 

If this happens, you might want to mix the chair method with the CIO or the Ferber method so she can gradually get used to sleeping even if you're not around. 

Chair Method

The Ferber method, also known as Check-and-Console or Graduated Extinction, is a gentler, more gradual approach to the CIO method. 

Before leaving your baby alone, establish a predictable nighttime routine. You can sing to her, read her a bedtime story, play soft music, etc. Once she’s calm (but still awake), leave the room for her to sleep. 

For a few minutes, watch your baby through a baby monitor and see what she's up to. If your baby starts crying, wait and enter her room after 3 minutes, then after 5, then after 10. Occasionally talk to her and touch her, but don’t pick her up.  

On the second night, increase the intervals to 5, 10, and 12 minutes consecutively. And so on. Each time you enter her room, pick your baby up, provide assurance, then leave. Don't stay longer than 1 to 2 minutes.  

By the end of the week, leave your baby alone for 30 to 45 minutes at a time until she stops crying entirely.

Ferber Method

The fading method, also known as Bedtime-Hour Fading, involves adjusting your baby's sleep schedule until you reach the bedtime you desire. It's a little-to-no-tears approach that doesn't require you to leave your baby alone for extended periods of time.

If your baby starts yawning, rubbing her eyes, turning away from lights, or any other indication she's tired, put her to bed. If she doesn't cry, quietly leave the room. If she does, enter the room and pick her back up. Soothe her for 30 to 45 minutes and try again. 

Take note of when your baby’s falling asleep every day. If you don't find it agreeable, move your little one's bedtime 15 minutes at a time until you reach the time that suits you the best. Babies typically fall asleep between 7 to 8 pm. 

This method trains your baby’s body clock and reduces the duration it takes for her to fall asleep. It also decreases the number of times she wakes up calling for you in the middle of the night. 

Fading Method

This technique involves gradually decreasing the duration of your baby's bedtime routine (such as nursing or rocking) until it 'fades' completely. When your baby cries, give her a few minutes to settle down. If she keeps crying, pick her back up and start rocking or soothing her. 

Once calm, place her back to bed. Repeat this process until your baby falls asleep, then leave the room. On the second day, increase the duration in which she cries before picking her back up again and repeating the same process.

Bedtime Routine Fading

If you want your baby to fall asleep without the help of a sleep prop, you'll have to start sleep training her. Babies run on pure instinct; if you don’t teach them how to sleep independently, they'll always depend on their caretakers to help them sleep. That's what they're used to, after all. 

Try the five techniques above and with a bit of patience, persistence, and a strong heart, you'll be able to sleep train your baby in less than a few weeks. Good luck!

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When to Sleep Train Your Baby