Babies begin developing regular sleep cycles at around 6 months old. Newborns may sleep as much as 16 hours a day, but they sleep for only 1 to 2 hours at one time. Different babies need different amounts of sleep, and no sleep method will work for every child. You may need to try different methods until you find one that works for your baby.
Multiple Sleep Associations
If a baby associates an action, such as rocking or nursing, with going to sleep, she will expect that action every time she goes to sleep. This may become inconvenient if for some reason you can't rock her to sleep that night. To prevent this association and make bedtime easier, switch around the actions you use to get your baby to sleep each night. Nurse her to sleep on some nights and rock or sing her to sleep on other nights. Trade off bedtime rituals with your spouse so your child gets used to going to sleep with either parent.
Consistent Bedtimes and Rituals
Once you find a bedtime routine that works for your baby, stick to it. Put your baby to sleep at the same time every night and use a routine with which he's familiar. For example, at the same time every night you can start by giving your baby a warm bath, then nurse, rock or sing him to sleep. Babies who have these consistent rituals tend to fall asleep more quickly and sleep for longer periods of time.
Parent-Soothing Method
In the parent-soothing sleep method, a parent or other caregiver nurses, sings or rocks the baby to help comfort her to sleep. According to Dr. William Sears, this method has some advantages. First, the baby learns that sleep is a pleasant activity. This method also gives the child fond memories of bedtime rituals with parents. Dr. Sears says one possible disadvantage to this method is that the baby starts to rely on a parent to get to sleep. This means that when the baby wakes up during the night she will expect a parent to help her go back to sleep instead of falling back to sleep on her own.
Self-Soothing Method
In the self-soothing method, a parent puts the baby in his crib while he's still awake and lets him fall asleep by himself, giving him comfort now and then if needed. This method helps the baby learn to fall asleep without an outside stimulus, which may make bedtime easier and cut down on the number of times a parent has to get up in the night to get the baby back to sleep. This method may be hard on the baby at first, but once he learns to fall asleep on his own, his parents will be less exhausted. A drawback to this method, says Dr. Sears, is that it involves letting the baby cry himself to sleep for the first few nights, which may cause him to lose some trust in his parents. High-needs, persistent babies will likely not respond well to this method.
Cosleeping
Cosleeping refers to allowing the baby to sleep in her parents' bed. This method may help the baby fall asleep easier and improve the bond between the parents and the child, but it can be dangerous. A parent could roll over onto the baby in the night, or the baby can be suffocated in heavy bedding or fall between the mattress and headboard. The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages cosleeping for these reasons, and offers some guidelines for parents who do choose to use this sleep method for babies. First, always put the baby to sleep on her back and never cosleep on a couch because it does not provide enough room. Parents should make sure the mattress fits tightly into the bed frame so the baby can't get trapped. Don't use heavy bedding or big fluffy pillows. If you take nighttime cold medication, sleep aids or drink alcohol, don't allow your baby to sleep in your bed that night. These drugs may cause you to be groggy and not respond as quickly to your baby's distress if something should happen.
