- 6 steps to teach baby to sleep alone in crib
- 1. Respect the sleep routine
- 2. Put the baby in the crib
- 3. Consoling if he cries, but not taking it out of the cradle
- 4. Get away little by little
- 5. Show security and firmness
- 6. Stay in the room until he falls asleep
At around 8 or 9 months of age the baby can start sleeping in the crib, without having to stay on his lap to fall asleep. However, to achieve this goal it is necessary to accustom the baby to sleep in this way, reaching one step at a time, because it is not suddenly that the child will learn to sleep alone, without being surprised or crying.
These steps can be followed one each week, but there are babies who need more time to get used to it, so parents should ideally see when they feel safe to move on to the next step. There is no need to reach all steps in one month, but it is important to be consistent and not to return to square one.
6 steps to teach baby to sleep alone in crib
Here are 6 steps you can take to teach your baby to sleep alone:
1. Respect the sleep routine
The first step is to respect the sleep routine, creating habits that must be maintained at the same time, daily, for at least 10 days. For example: The baby can bathe at 7:30 pm, dine at 8:00 pm, breastfeed or take the bottle at 10:00 pm, then the father or mother can go to the room with him, keeping a low light, of presence, in a calm and peaceful environment that favors sleep and changing the diaper and putting on pajamas.
You must be very calm and centered and talk to the baby always in a low voice so that he is not too stimulated and becomes more sleepy. If the baby is used to the lap, you can initially follow this routine and put the baby to sleep on the lap.
2. Put the baby in the crib
After the sleep time routine, instead of having the baby on your lap for him to sleep, you should put the baby in the crib and stand beside him, looking at him, singing and cradling the baby so that he is calm and peaceful. You can even put a small pillow or stuffed animal to sleep with your baby.
It is important to resist and not hold the baby if he starts to grumble and cry, but if he cries too hard for more than 1 minute, you can rethink whether it is time for him to sleep alone or if he will try later. If this is your option, keep the sleep routine so that he will always get used to it because that way he will feel safer in the room and go to sleep more quickly.
3. Consoling if he cries, but not taking it out of the cradle
If the baby is just mumbling and doesn't cry for more than 1 minute, you can try to resist not picking him up but he should be very close, stroking his back or his head, saying 'xiiiiii', for example. Thus, the child can calm down and can feel safe and stop crying. However, it is not yet time to leave the room and you should reach this step in approximately 2 weeks.
4. Get away little by little
If you no longer need to pick up the baby and if he calms down while lying in the crib, just with your presence close by, you can now proceed to the 4th step, which consists of slowly moving away. Each day you should move further away from the crib, but that does not mean that you are going to put the baby to sleep already in that 4th step, but that each day you will follow steps 1 to 4.
You can sit in the breastfeeding chair, on the bed next to you or even sit on the floor. The important thing is that the baby realizes your presence in the room and if he raises his head he will find you looking at him, and ready to assist you, if necessary. Thus the child learns to have more confidence and feels safer to sleep without the lap.
5. Show security and firmness
With the 4th step, the baby realizes that you are close, but distant from your touch and in the 5th step, it is important that he realizes that you are there ready to comfort him, but that he will not pick you up whenever he grumbles. or threaten to cry. So, if he still starts to mumble in his cradle, still far away you can very calmly just do 'xiiiiiii' and go talking to him very quietly and calmly so that he feels safe.
6. Stay in the room until he falls asleep
You should initially stay in the room until the baby is asleep, making it a routine that should be followed for a few weeks. Gradually you should be moving away and one day you should be 3 steps away, the next 6 steps until you can lean against the door of the baby's room. After he falls asleep, you can leave the room, quietly so he doesn't wake up.
You should not suddenly leave the room, put the baby in the crib and turn your back on him or try not to comfort the baby when he cries and shows that he needs attention. Babies do not know how to speak and their greatest form of communication is crying and therefore when the child cries and no one answers, he tends to become more insecure and scaring, causing him to cry even more.
So if it is not possible to carry out these steps each week, you do not need to feel defeated or be angry with the baby. Each child develops in a different way and sometimes what works for one does not work for another. There are babies who are very fond of laps and if their parents see no problem with holding the child in their laps, there is no reason to try this separation if everyone is happy.
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