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Sleep Training Questions

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I received a call from a parent with a 15 month old who was not sleeping through the night.  The parents were getting up with him four and five times a night.  They were either feeding him or putting a pacifier in his mouth.  At times they had to rock him back to sleep. My first set of questions are : What is your daytime routine like?  Describe your child's naps.  Is there a nighttime bedtime and a routine?  My second set of questions are :  What does his room look like?  I like to see a picture or short video of the baby's room because it gives me a chance to see things that may be missed with mom's explanation of the room details.  Room details are so important.  Is there some kind of reflection of light that is not obvious during the day that may be keeping your baby awake at night?  Is it completely dark in the room?  Is a sound machine being use? What is being used to encourage sleep?   My third set of q...
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What is Sleeping Through the Night?

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What is sleeping through the night?  In researching the Internet, I found most people are content with five to six hours of solid sleep and consider that "sleeping through the night."    That is good for a six week old, but in my experience, I consider sleeping through the night a gradual process that takes 10 - 12 weeks.  By the end of that time, the child can be sleeping 12 hours straight. You may be saying, WHAT!  Are you kidding me?  No, this is completely possible.  If you enjoy getting up with your child every three hours or even once or twice a night, you may want to go on to the next blogger. If however, you are sleep deprived and just want to be able to sleep through the entire night you may want to give me a call.  If you have a toddler who is getting up multiple times during the night or even one time during the night, you have a child who is in need of a little intervention.  You are being played.   Now, ...
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Is Sleeping Through the Night Really Possible for a Baby?

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I would love to specifically address one issue that is near and dear to my heart, “sleeping through the night” a phenomenon that some babies seem to be doing.   You are probably wondering, is it really possible?    Can my baby really do that?   What exactly is sleeping through the night?   How do I do that?   Do I need a specialist to come in and do it for me or can I do it on my own? I have had consultations with parents who have had 7 and 8 month old babies who are still getting up one or two times a night for a feeding.   I have also had parents of   2 and 3 year olds calling me because their toddlers are still getting up at night.   What is going on?    They certainly do not need to be eating during the night.   They should be getting all the required ounces and nutrition during the day.   The nighttime awakenings are just a habit they have gotten into and have successfully convinced their parents that they n...
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Out of the Box

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I have been sleep training and conditioning infants for sleep for over 20 years.  Imagine my surprise when I went to a class put on by Summer Hartman and realized I could be doing so much more. What I learned: There are different scenarios for each situation. We can help everyone with just a little "Out of the Box" thinking. Look for the 'not so obvious.' I sleep train or sleep condition children up to the age of two years. Let's spend a little time today on the difference between sleep conditioning and sleep training. Sleep Conditioning is a method by which you will start with a child at birth and monitor their sleep, eat and awake time in a routine that is beneficial to the infant and easy on the parent.  As you do this in a proper manner, the child will begin to sleep longer at night.  Once the child is consuming a certain amount of milk per daytime hours, you can begin expecting the child to sleep through the night. Sleep Training is ...
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