It’s exciting to think about getting your baby to sleep through the night. The best time to sleep train is when your baby is ready, and that involves reaching a few important milestones first.
After 16 weeks, a baby’s circadian rhythm has usually developed, and most children at this age will sleep more during the night hours than the day. By this time, your baby will also be able to practice self-soothing and go for longer stretches without feeding. These skills will allow them to help themselves sleep, which reduces their discomfort as they learn to sleep by themselves.
Sleep training can get a bad rep- but we call it that because babies need our help learning how to use these milestone skills to sleep at night. And while traditional sleep training (think cry it out) isn’t for every family, sleep is a basic human need, even if you have a baby. However you choose to help your baby learn to sleep- whether you’re comfy with tears or choose a method with less crying- sleep training is really just sleep learning.
So when is the best time to sleep train? The optimal (and easiest) window for sleep training varies from four months to eight months, with the ultimate sweet spot right in the middle. Before this time, babies may or may not be ready, and after this window, it gets more difficult (but still doable!).
Remember, it’s never too early to implement sleep hygiene principles and a healthy nap schedule, but sleep training or sleep coaching is not appropriate until at least four to five months of age.
If you want to learn more about how to sleep train, the different methods available and go through the process with support- contact Joan today! Your family deserves sleep.