The Steps to Teaching Your Infant to “Cry It Out”
“Crying it out” is not an easy thing for any parent to do with their kids at bedtime. Everyone is tired, your nerves are on edge and you want to comfort your crying child; however, allowing them to develop some self soothing skills can benefit them with much healthier sleep habits for life.
I myself used the “cry it out” method with all of my three children; my oldest son broke my heart while the other two were much easier. The process is true to the name, you simply lay your baby in his or her crib and allow them to cry themselves to sleep and learn to comfort themselves. Here are some things to remember when you are beginning this type of sleep training with your baby.
Between the ages of 3-6 months is when experts agree that babies are best suited to begin sleep training and you start encouraging your child to sleep through the night. What you need to do is establish a good bedtime routine with your baby; dinner, bath, pajamas on, read a book, turn down the lights, do some infant massage, and lay baby down to sleep. This was my routine… you can create your own.
Be prepared that the first night you do this your baby WILL cry. He or she is going to object to you leaving her in the crib and expecting them to fall asleep. Set a time schedule that you will return to check on your baby… but (this is the hard part) not pick them up and soothe them.
With my first son I went in every five minutes to check on him. I would make sure he was okay, give him his pacifier and walk back out… not easy. We did this for almost an hour… he was determined… but the amazing thing was that he did sleep all night long. Keep these few things in mind when you are starting this process:
♦ Be aware of your baby’s personality. Some kids will calm down when you walk in to check on them and be reassured by the sight of you… while some babies will just get mad.
♦ When you check on the baby, tell them that you love them and pat their backs for a moment to help them settle down.
♦ Don’t pick up the baby when they are trying to learn to put themselves to sleep… so hard… and every parent who is doing it, I understand, I have been there!
♦ Don’t expect overnight results… doctors say that it can take most children 7-10 days to learn to go to bed on their own.
“The most important rule that I discovered in sleep training with an infant who is “crying it out” is not to change your mind and give up. It is hard, there is no other word but that; however, it is a very important skill to teach your baby.”
I want you to know that it does get easier… my son who put up a fight for almost an hour the first night… only cried for 5 minutes the following night, and went right to sleep the third night and every night since. I share this with you today because I know that I struggled with this problem, I know that my brother and his wife are struggling with this problem, and I know many other parents are as well.
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