Grab a bottle of wine and stuff your face, it sucks but it’s worth it!

My 5 year-old sleeps 11 hours a night to this day, my 21-month old sleeps 10-11 and my 3-month old is sleeping 12 hours per night. I used a modified version of Dr. Weissbluth’s sleep training methods to sleep train all three boys: my first at 13 weeks, my second at 9 weeks and my third at 8 weeks. Each child responded differently, but they are all “good sleepers” now. The process is quick but excruciating. You have to let your baby cry (my first cried for 2 hours and 15 minutes the first night). You are filled with anxiety the whole time, questioning whether you should be doing this and if you even deserve to live, the whole bit. But if you can manage it, within a week or so (depending on what age you do it) your baby will be sleeping through the night and you will too. I “manage it” by drinking a glass of wine and stuffing my face. Grab your (legal) vice of choice, and get to work.

NOTE: Do not attempt this when your baby is sick. If your baby gets sick during the process, stop and start again when baby is well. For other circumstances such as premature and/ or underweight babies, consult Dr. Weissbluth’s book and your pediatrician.

My Routine

I start between 6:00 and 6:30 pm; Benicio doesn’t have a set schedule, it’s more of a program we flow through during the day, but it’s never father off than 30 min or so.

1. Bathe baby
2. Dress baby
3. Offer bottle/ breast & burp
4. Put on a sleep sack
5. Put baby to bed – I put Benicio to bed in his crib in a dark room with a white noise machine on. I make sure it’s dark and white noise is on before I take him in. I use a yoga ball to bounce him and sing him three lullabies (always the same three, in the same order). Then I kiss him and lay him in bed. He is awake but ready. I leave the room as soon as I lay him down.

I start this routine the first night of sleep training and do the same routine until about 18 months. The first night each boy cried for around 2 hours before falling asleep. The next night 60-90 minutes, then about 30 and finally maximum five minutes if at all. As I update this post, my 10-week old has fallen asleep without crying. It seems like a lot, but it only takes 20-30 minutes then my baby is down from 6:30 pm to 7:00 am. Occasionally he cries a little around 10:00 pm but it is only for a couple of minutes and he is half asleep. I am just careful to do all the same steps prior to bed time every night. Occasionally I make a mistake, like forgetting to put on his sleep sack, but I do my best am consistent most of the time. After my baby is falling asleep on his own with just a few minutes of crying or none at all, I use the same sleep training routine (minus the bath) for nap times. I start with the first nap and let him cry himself to sleep for that nap only, using any methods I have to for all other naps (rocking, bouncing, car ride, whatever it has taken up to that point). Once he is falling asleep on his own for that first nap, I start on the next one until he can fall asleep on his own for all of his naps as well. This has worked for all three of my boys and for all of my friends who have used this method as well. I hope it works for you!

Common Questions

Do I have to let my baby cry?

There are different approaches in the book, I do full extinction which is letting them cry it out completely. There is a graduated version in which you let them cry a little longer each night before you console or put them to sleep yourself. Full extinction seemed best for me and for my kids, a rip-off-the-bandaid kind of thing. But the gradual version may be better to your family.

Can I sleep train in a bassinet or family bed?

According to the book, yes and there are addition al suggestions in the book for those situations. I have always sleep trained in the crib. Both times I trained and transitioned from the SNOO at the same time. You start sleep training nights, then once he has that down, you start on naps one at a time so he doesn’t become sleep deprived. While night training, I do night in the crib and naps still in the SNOO. Each time I sleep train a nap, he goes into the crib for that nap until eventually he is no longer in the SNOO for any naps either.

Sleep Training Must Haves

Baby Monitor I like 2 cameras because my kids sleep in different places for naps and nighttime when sleep training. Also, I prefer monitors that do not connect to your phone because I don’t want weirdos hacking them and talking to or looking at my kids. GROSS! But you can use any monitor. I HIGHLY suggest it have a video screen so you can turn the sound off and still look to make sure your baby is ok.

Sleep Sacks All three boys were rolling over when I started sleep training, so for safety, I stopped swaddling them. You want your baby to be warm but safe. These are perfect. I buy them in a jersey/t-shirt material for spring/summer and fleece for fall/winter.

Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child I use Dr. Weissbluth’s methods for sleep training and beyond.

The Happiest Baby on the Block I use these principles birth to sleep training.

YogaSleep Hussh White Noise Machine I have 3 of these, the kids rooms and the diaper bag. Helps baby sleep through transitions from home to car to restaurant or wherever you are going. I buy the portable ones because they are CRITICAL for travel. My first of these machines I have had for over 5 years, still works.

Blackout Curtains They need to be good ones! And some parts of the year, as I said above, I tack up a dark-colored sheet over the top of the curtains/rod to block out all light.

Amazon Basics Portable Blackout Curtain I use the same nighttime routine when I travel and need to transform whatever room I am using. This is perfect for staying with friends and in-laws. Too small for hotel rooms, but they usually have good room darkening situations.

Yoga Ball I use this to bounce the baby on, especially during the early days when I am using the Happiest Baby methods to put my baby to sleep. Plus, I can use it on days I am working from home to stretch and do ab workouts, and the older boys chase it around as an indoor sport. Worth every penny.

Stay tuned next week for tips on c-section recovery. I’ve had three!