Here are the basics. When starting sleep training you want to do some things to the sleep environment first-

1. Make sure the room is darkened. Some babies do well with it pitch black, but others do fine with heavy curtains over the window. This will help baby get in the mode of sleep, and can prevent wake ups from bright light streaming into the room.

2. Introduce a "lovey", if you haven't already. Is there a small toy or small, lightweight blanket your baby would like? Many moms sleep in a tshirt for a couple of nights, and give that to the baby because her smell is very comforting to baby. It is necessary to give the baby a comfort object.

3. Introduce a white noise machine, if necessary. Some babies are waking up to noises, and a white noise machine can work wonders at providing a soothing backround sound and blocking out noise.

4. Do not put music makers, light shows, etc. in the crib. The lovey should be the only item in there. You want the baby to associate the crib with sleeping, and it needs to be a peaceful, clutter free environment. These things can overstimulate baby, and baby may even wake up to play instead of sleep, or worse yet, baby wakes to play and then cries for mom or dad.(Most sleep training methods/books are in agreement with this.)

5. An early bedtime is essential to good sleep. A baby's brain (after the age of 4 months) is ready for sleep between 6-8pm. After that timeframe, babies can be very difficult to settle into sleep.

The basics of CIO - You would do a soothing bedtime routine of whatever your baby likes best. A favorite for many babies is bath, bf/bottle and rocking. Other parents sing lullabies, or read a story. Just make sure the lights are low at the end of the routine and it's not too long-no more than 30 minutes. You would then put baby down to sleep, drowsy, but awake. Most likely, the baby will cry, protesting this new way of going to bed. You would need to leave the room and then you can handle the crying one of two ways- Weissbluth extinction, where you would not go in the room at all, or Ferber checks. Ferber method (how-to) A good overview of Ferberizing.

Some babies become more hysterical with the Ferber method versus the extinction method. The extinction method generally takes 9-14 days to work, and Ferber can take a few days longer. However, some parents find it's easier on them to do the Ferber checks and don't mind the extra few days. The crying in the first 1-3 nights of the exinction method can be very long, but, in the end, it's the fastest method of sleep training.

For naptime, you would create a short 15-20 minute wind down time for baby with a story, rocking or some other soothing activity, and then would put the baby down in his/her crib drowsy, but awake. You would not let the baby cry more than 60 minutes before getting him/her up. You would try again at the next naptime. The Ferber checks can be used during this time, if you would prefer. If baby is refusing naps, you can use the old method of getting baby to sleep after the others have failed, just so that s/he doesn't get overtired.

You can choose to train for naptime and nighttime this way, or do one at a time. Naptime and nighttime sleep are separated into different parts of the brain, so you will not confuse baby if you do them one at a time, or together.

The most important part of sleep training is CONSISTENCY! Once you make a plan, stick to it! Don't give up if it doesn't work right away. It will take time for the baby to learn a new way to fall to sleep. Learning to fall asleep and stay asleep on their own is essential to a happy,well rested baby and family. This is also a skill your baby will use for the rest of his/her life!

We are here to answer your questions.
This is only a guideline to get you started.

APPROPRIATE AWAKE TIMES FOR BABIES

Awake times between naps, by age-

Newborns under the age of 4 months old have unpredictable sleep patterns, and may sleep in long stretches or take short naps more frequently.

Babies who are 4-6 months old can usually stay awake about an hour and a half between waking and the first nap, and 2 hours between additional naps.

Babies who are 6-8 months old can often stretch 2 hours in the morning and two and a half hours between naps, and 8-12 month-olds can usually handle another half hour at each window.

The average baby takes 3 naps a day until 6-9 months old, and will then transition to 2 naps a day. The final transition to one nap a day commonly occurs between 14-18 months old. The time of that one nap will most likely start relatively early in the day, around lunchtime, and will settle into a predictable afternoon time around 2 years old.

JOURNALING TO SLEEP TRAIN

Journaling is very helpful and important to meet your sleeping goals. Here is information about how to keep a journal of your baby's sleep. This will be helpful when you post a question, so that we can see a snapshot, so to speak, of your day. We will be able to more easily pinpoint any troublesome areas in your baby's day that could be affecting his/her sleep. This will, also, help you to be consistent with training and see any improvements that you may have not realized were there before. Many parents believe that journaling their baby's day and night is very eye opening!

You would journal what time your baby wakes up for the day, nap times, how long they lasted, what time baby went to bed and what times during the night and naps the baby woke up. Please, also, post any naptime/nighttime routines that you use. Make sure that you post your baby's age, if it's not already in your siggy.

This is a great *sleep chart* I found to use to track your baby's sleep.

If you'd like, this is a calculation you can use at the end of each journal day. It helps to make the picture even more clear:

TNS = total (hours) nighttime sleep
NOW = Number of night wakings
LSS = Longest stretch of (uninterrupted) sleep
TDS = total (hours) daytime sleep
T24 = total (hours) sleep in a 24 hour period

When you start a journal entry thread, anyone can respond with advice and you can continue posting your journal entry each day in that same thread.

Check here for your baby's sleep needs -- How Much Sleep does your baby need? Guideline for age appropriate sleep needs. (Above post)

Feel free to ask questions.

Another website where you can read up on this is- http://www.familysleep.com/. This is the site of a sleep consultant who uses the Weissbluth method. It's an excellent resource for information.

**Please note**
While Kristen and I (Rachel) are avid followers of Weissbluth and his sleep training method, the advice we give on this board is based soley on our experiences and research as mothers. Having used this method to much success, we enjoy sharing this method with others. We in no way are medical experts, so please consult with your pediatritian if you have any questions or concerns about your child's sleep.

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Rachel
Ryan (4) and Michael (7)
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Hi Everyone, I'm new her and desparately in need of some sleep. After reading some of the post here it looks like I came to right place. I'm starting the CIO method tonight with our 5 month old son. Should the CIO method be used when they wake in the middle of the night or should it be used to put them down for a nap and bed? We've been rocking him to sleep since he was born. By the way how long do you let them cry for? Thanks.

Redeyed Parent