For a new parent, getting your child to sleep is the Holy Grail. After months of waking one to three times per night, a full eight hours of rest can dramatically improve your physical and emotional well-being. According to Ari Brown, M.D., author of Baby 411, newborns typically do not sleep more than four hours at one stretch. On average, babies do not develop normal sleep patterns until four months of age, and even at that point, "sleeping through the night" is considered a six-hour period of uninterrupted sleep at one time.
Ferber Method
The Ferber Method, created by the director of the sleep lab at Boston Children's Hospital, recommends that parents put their children down to sleep while they are still awake. Parent should establish a consistent routine for both naps and bedtime and always put the baby in the same place for naps and bedtime. The baby should not have a sleep crutch like a pacifier or rocking, and if the baby protests, parents should go in to reassure him at increasing intervals---beginning at five minutes and increasing each interval by five minutes until the baby falls asleep.
Weissbluth Method
The Weissbluth Method is similar to the Ferber Method and was also created by a children's sleep disorder specialist from Children's Memorial Hospital. Weissbluth also recommends putting the child down before she has fallen asleep. He advocates preserving naptime at all costs and putting the child to sleep before she is overtired. According to Weissbluth, putting the baby to sleep when already overtired creates a vicious cycle. If the baby protests being put down, Weissbluth says to let the baby cry it out, choosing either Plan A, in which the baby cries until she falls asleep, or Plan B, a more gradual version of Plan A.
Sears Method
The Dr. Sears Method is dramatically different from the Ferber and Weissbluth methods. Sears is adamantly opposed to letting children "cry it out." According to Ferber, babies cry for a reason. He recommends that parents go in to their child's room and look for the root cause of their child's cries. Sears cites room temperature, teething, hunger or a wet diaper as the most frequent reason babies cry and suggests that parents remedy the situation that makes their baby upset to help their child sleep through the night.
References
- "Baby 411"; Ari Brown, M.D.; 2004
- "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child"; Marc Weissbluth, M.D.; 1999
- "The Baby Book"; William Sears, M.D.; 2003
