When to Start "Sleep Training"?

Hello A.. You can not start "sleep training" until 4 months. I have a 6 and 3 year old and I did sleep training with my six year old starting just afer 4 months old and had her sleeping good streatches, in her crib by 4 1/2 months and through the night (12 hours) by 7 or 8 months. I HIGHLY recommend the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child", by Dr. Marc Weisbluth. I swore by it for the first 2 years. Now I have 2 of the BEST sleepers on the planet.

One key sign to watch for. Yawns. If you see one its almost nap time/bed time. At the second she should be on her way. Use whatever method works to get her to sleep, rocking, feeding, etc. One thing people don't understand, but is very true, Sleep begets Sleep. If you put her down earlier she will sleep longer. It's true and my daughter is proof. By 9 months she slept from 6:30p to 6:30a. Once in a while she'd wake for a bottle.

Good luck.

Hi there. I too am a new mom! My boy is 4 1/2 months old and he is starting too sleep much longer... about 5 hours then I feed and he'll sleep another 4 hours usually. hang in there..it'll get better! My son actually will entertain himself in his crib for an hour in the early am now. If you start an evening routine...say 7 pm every night and stick with it its seems to work. We got off our routine for a week and it was awful but once back on our boy was back to sleeping longer stretches again. So heed the info from the other mothers here. Sleep Training for Dummies is a great book as is the Self Calming Baby(if you have time to read(hahaha). "dummies" is a quick read. good luck...it'll get better!

For right now, 2 1/2 months is a little young because their stomachs are too small too hold food enough to sleep through the night. When they get to be 15 lbs or 4 months, it will definitely get better. Of course, you can always start now with a bed time routine so that when they reach 4 months, they will be somewhat trained already. Definitely read the books from the PP comments. I let my son CIO at 5 months and he's doing much better with his sleep now. He can soothe himself back to sleep w/o our help and doesn't cry anymore.
Good luck!

Hi A.,
I am a big Dr. Sears lover. His book "The Baby Book" is great and "The Baby Sleep Book" is another good one. My son started sleeping in his own bed at 5 months old and didn't start sleeping more than 6-7 hours a night until about 8 months. My case could be different because I had a preemie and they aren't as good at self soothing as other babies. Anyhow, I love these books and they have helped me a lot in the sleep area and many other areas.

Good luck!
A.

Hi A.,

Congrats! I want to recommend the book "Happy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth. It's a great book! My first born slept through the night at 8 weeks and my 2nd started closer to 3 1/2 months. They both sleep very well- thanks to this book! Good luck and keep on nursing!

I agree with all of the responses that it is too young to do sleep training. Most books don't recommend it until baby is at least 4 months old or 15 lbs. What worked for me was putting my baby on a swing. He would sleep hours in it. The rocking did wonders. I just transitioned him to his own crib and it was easier than I thought.

At this age however, it is very common for them to wake up every 3 hours. My son use to wake up every 2 hours on the dot for feeding. Now he is 5 1/2 months old and is sleeping 7-8 hours straigh.

Don't worry one day she will sleep for 5 hours and than you will wonder why she is sleeping so long. Everything will come in time. Just be patient. As she gets older things will start to improve on their own and when she is physically ready

I know it's hard to try and get your little one on a schedule. I feel 2 1/2 months is too young to sleep train. All the books I read said not to start before 4 months. It's good to establish a nap/bedtime routine that are different from one another to signal it's time for sleep. At 2 1/2 months its still feed on demand and sleep on demand, you can try to start a routine, but don't worry about it till your little one is a little older. When my son was 4 months we did CIO, which he didn't really cry just fussed for 2 nights and now is an angel to put down for naps and bed. He would have to be nursed to sleep and would only nap 30 min, twice a day if I was lucky (before sleep training). Now he naps at least an hour 2 times a day and has a set routine and he is 5 month old. He also used to get up 2 times a night and has started only getting up once. Good luck!