I happened upon an article where a woman (and husband) was against cry-it-out and specifically, The Ferber Method, but ended up doing it anyway because it was what worked. In that article, Confessions of a Ferberizer, she said that, in the end, her son stopped wanting to be rocked or cuddle. She did not seem to regret doing cry-it-out, I don't think, but reading the article reminded me that many of us wonder whether doing cry-it-out will change our child's personality, so I thought I'd reflect
sleep
When Can Baby Have a Pillow and Top 3 Baby Pillows
Becoming a new parent is full of worry. It's a lot of pressure keeping your new baby safe! A common concern for parents is making their baby comfortable so they will sleep through the night. Does your baby need a blanket or a pillow? When can baby have a pillow for the crib? This post will answer some common questions about babies and pillows as well as share our top 5 favorite baby pillows. Does Your Baby Need a Pillow? First, does your baby even need a pillow? Not usually. Babies
10 Tips to Help Your Newborn Baby Sleep
When you bring your brand new baby home, no one tells you that "sleep like a baby" may not happen, or that if it does, it may only last a short time. This article will give you 10 great tips to help your newborn sleep better. Before I get to the 10 tips to help your newborn sleep, I thought I should note that it can be dangerous for a new newborn baby to sleep all night. They really do need to eat at least every 3 hours in those early days so they can grow well and thrive. Addtionally, it
Newborn Sleep Patterns Guide + Free e-Book
Newborn sleep patterns vary significantly in the early days, but many new parents want to know when they can put their baby on a schedule and what to expect. This guide will teach you about your newborn's sleep patterns and how they will change over time. Newborn Day / Night Confusion When your child was in the womb, movements during the day lulled her to sleep. When you rested at night, you may have noticed that she perked up. She may have started kicking or doing acrobatics when you
Sleep Training (From No Cry to Cry) Series – Part 1 – Bedtime Routines
Today I will start a series of posts outlining the variety of sleep training methods that I recommend. I will post them in order (as I interpret them) from no (or very little) crying to the most (potential) crying. There are many variations of these methods, so I am only going to highlight the main gist of each method. Every parent can add tweaks here and there to accommodate their unique style and situation. At the end of the series, I will tell my story of my first son and, eventually, my
Baby Sleep Needs by Age
I am working on a sleep training series where I will outline the various methods, from no-cry to cry, but I don't think it makes sense to write that until I have written out how much sleep we can expect our babies and toddlers to get. If our expectations are too high, we could be trying to sleep our children too often (yes I'm using "sleep" as a verb!) and it will become frustrating for everyone. If our expectations are too low, we might not sleep our children often enough, they may become
How A Child’s Sleep and Weight Might Be Related
Have you ever wondered whether a child's sleep and weight might be related? Time Magazine reported that a Harvard study (https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/obesity-causes/sleep-and-obesity/) concluded that too little sleep in babies and toddlers might be linked to obesity. And, they said TV viewing heightened the effect. No surprise there. At first I was skeptical about this study of the link between sleep and obesity. After all, we are also living in a fast food era,
Sleep Associations – Is Rocking Your Baby Harmful?
Is it a bad idea to rock your baby? It depends. It is never a bad idea to cuddle your baby and give him/her lots of love and affection! It's only when rocking your baby becomes something you can't keep up with that it is a problem. Let's take a step back and let me explain what a sleep association is. What is your sleep association? How do you fall asleep? What kind of routine do you do before you go to sleep each night? Do you watch TV? Talk to your partner? Do you read a book? Do you sleep
Is Sleep Training Cry It Out?
In today's article, The Baby Sleep Site® founder and expert sleep coach Nicole Johnson answer this common question: Is there a difference between sleep training and cry it out? ~~~ I thought I should first talk about my philosophy on helping your child learn healthy sleep habits. Sleep Training I don't define "sleep training " as cry-it-out (CIO). You don't have to let your child cry to teach healthy sleep habits. Some people seem to think they are synonymous and I disagree.