Are you a new parent who is suffering from sleeplessness nights? In this part of the CKNW Health Series, we discuss sleep training babies, specifically infants.
Sometimes it’s hard to get your baby to sleep. Desiree Cluff, the Director and owner of the sleep consultancy business “Rockababy” says it can be overwhelming for new parents to get information on getting their children to sleep with so much conflicting information available online.
“A lot of what we advocate for, and what I believe, is teaching sleep versus training it,” says Cluff.
Cluff says a lot of people still think their only option is letting their children ‘cry it out’ — the practice of leaving their baby to cry until they fall asleep.
One of the things they recommend is teaching your child to fall asleep where they’re supposed to — instead of a parent having to drive their baby around the block six or seven times.
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The strategy they recommend is called the “wiggle-down,” where the parent transitions from rocking their baby in their arms to wherever the baby is supposed to sleep while maintaining the hands-on movement.
Cliff says it takes practice but notes it’s worth it.
Another strategy is planning their naps and understanding their sleep patterns.
She said if a baby suddenly starts waking up at 5 in the morning, you may need to eliminate a daytime nap in order for them to sleep in more. But if the baby is too tired, they will also wake up too early.
Cluff also recommends using white noise to help the baby fall asleep, she says it will help them tune out the outside world.
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