Sleep Training Questions

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 questions are:  Are you breast or bottle feeding?  How much?  Does your child have any medical issues?  Do you co-sleep?  What methods have you tried?  How was your first year with the baby?   Why are you calling me now instead of 2 months ago?

My fourth set of  question are:  How open are you to change?  They may have come to me with a problem but are they willing to buckle down and do the required work.  You will be doing much of the work as it pertains to the daytime.

Check back tomorrow for the answers and solutions to this baby's sleeplessness.







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