Sleep Shaping/Training
Sleep is an important part of life, and the quality and timing of it are essential to healthy growth and development, learning abilities, and brain maturation. When babies don’t get enough sleep or if their sleep is disturbed, they will become very agitated, fussy, nervous, and difficult to manage or soothe. Unfortunately, over 40% of all babies are sleep deprived! A Newborn Care Specialist will be able to recognize the “sleepy signs” and will lay the baby down in their crib as soon as they start getting drowsy, but slightly awake. This teaches them to self-soothe and makes them more able to put themselves back to sleep when they awake during the night.
A Newborn Care Specialist does not just fix the immediate problems, but also teaches the parents about sleep. At Hush A Bye Newborns, I like to focus on what happens during the day, getting baby on a great routine, so that they naturally start sleeping longer stretches at night, without having to sleep train! This is what we call sleep-shaping, which is the gentlest process.
For older babies, you might have tried methods like controlled crying or gradual withdrawal, but have found it hard to follow through without advice and assistance. We will work with you side-by-side, learning your problems, teaching you practical solutions, and demonstrating for you the most effective ways to get your baby sleeping soundly.
It is very important for parents to establish a bedtime routine every night to prevent over-stimulation and/or melt downs before bed. Babies as young as a few weeks respond very well to bedtime routines. It also helps signal the transition from “wake time” to “sleep time” for them. This routine can include, bath, massage, swaddle, feeding and bed! I highly recommend swaddling your newborn till around 4 months of age or when they start rolling from back to belly to give them that deep, uninterrupted sleep and the feeling of security. I have 3-4 swaddles that I highly recommend without the annoying Velcro at night, one of them is the Miracle Blanket.
Since babies are born with that “sucking reflux”, we do use pacifiers, however, we will encourage the parents not to rely on them to get them to sleep every time and to try and use them as a last resort. Babies can quickly become pacifier-dependent, so to help avoid problems later on, we start the weaning process between 3-6 months.
Some parents unfortunately find it very easy to fall into the habit of taking responsibility for putting their babies to sleep for them, whether it be rocking, swinging, soothing or even feeding them to sleep. Unfortunately, these ways only develop into negative sleep associations and form bad habits that are hard to break later on. Learning to sleep well can seem simple and we believe in teaching sleeping habits that promote your baby to find his or her own way to the land of nod with very little assistance from us.
The most important kind of sleep all babies need is good, quality nighttime sleep, but they need to have regular and adequate naps throughout the day or they will not sleep well at night. By ensuring that your baby is eating every 3 hours and getting those regular and complete naps in throughout the day, they are physically capable of sleeping through the night (12 hours) by the time they are 12 weeks old.
Basically, there are a LOT of books on sleep-training, but there are only 3-5 main ways to sleep-train and I go over all and let the parents choose which one they are comfortable starting with and I then become their guide from start to finish!
If your baby is over 3 months and have tried everything but feel that you need some extra guidance choosing the right method for you and your family, fill out my Sleep Training Form to set up a consultation!
Remember, the best gift you can give your baby
is a good night’s sleep!!
Sleep-training your baby successfully will depend on how well the family follows the guidelines and commits to the schedule that the Newborn Care Specialist has created for your baby.
Offering 2 to 3 Hour Sleep-Training Consults
Offering 2 to 3 Hour Sleep-Training Consults
My Partners
About Kris
As a Certified Advanced Newborn Care Specialist & Infant/Toddler Sleep Consultant, I bring over 40 years of knowledge, experience, and passion to each family I serve. Based in Parker, Colorado, I'm dedicated to enhancing the wellbeing of newborns and their families.
303-854-7745
Parker, CO 80134