7 Tips for Sleep Training

After spending a day reading about a lot of different sleep training methods, I found myself wildly overwhelmed and not sure how to attack the task of sleep training. Not all methods work for all babies, and that is something to remember. I knew we had a lot of bad habits to break and I decided that it would be best for my little guy to attack one or two at a time. And guess what? It's working! The first night we had a lot of flailing and crying screaming, but the little guy put himself to sleep. If you're wondering what method I used, I call it the "Jackson method" because it's what works for Jackson.  Our biggest hurdle was to not nurse to sleep. Now we nurse then sleep. The first few nights I had to hold him while he slowly put himself to sleep, but now I can nurse then lay him in his bed and he will do the rest (even if it takes forever because crawling/walking in bed is oh-so-fun). I use the "fade away" method now and it's working. We also have eliminated white noise from our routine, I found it to be distracting at this age instead of helpful (I do not recommend waiting until your child is eleven months old to start sleep training). At this point I can say it is all worth it-- little guy is only waking up 1-2 times at night and he is eating better during the day!

1. Trim your baby's finger nails. I have many a scratch on my face from my darling. So did he.
2. Go to the restroom before putting your little one down. Nothing is worse than being thirty minutes into getting your kiddo to sleep when your bladder strikes.
3. Eliminate distractions on you, i.e. jewelry, shirts with "fun" details, drawstrings, buttons, etc. My little guy will sit and play with my rings or flowers on my shirt and it distracts him from putting himself to sleep.
4. Put your hair up. Do you like having your hair ripped out? Me neither. I also pin back my bangs and put my hair in a bun so little fella can't get a hold of loose ends.
5. Find effective distractions for others in your home. I have a two year-old and we have "quiet time" when I put my little guy down. She gets the iPad and her sippy cup and snuggles up in the recliner. My husband also needs to be distracted so that he doesn't sit and listen to the baby cry and then walk in to offer "help" which ends up making things worse.This goes for animals, too. My dog would be in there at my feet if I let him. 
6. Don't feel like you have to stick to one method. Every baby is different and will respond differently to different methods. I've run through several methods and I use bits and pieces from several. Be flexible...Rome wasn't built in a day.
7. Breath. You may not get the results you want overnight. It may take several nights to get your baby to sleep better. You're doing a great job and even though it may feel overwhelming, you will get results soon enough.