Finally, a word on Baby Sleep Program
Sleep programs are managed the trial and error way.
As every pair of child-parent is different, you have
to work instinctively on your child to suit your stamina
and his temperament. All children are born with different
sleep capacities but the goal is to get them to enjoy
uninterrupted sleep. Few babies sleep perfectly from
birth but most wake up a bit and yet others become night
terrors. As mentioned, crying it out doesn't always
work and you don't have to walk that road.
The aim is to let your child cry for a short while but
not long enough to get them upset. The parent should
step in and offer basic comfort by patting them without
lifting and cuddling (unless you really have to). Once
the crying ebbs to sniffles, you leave. If the crying
turns to loud sobbing, don't immediately run to her
aid. Instead allow the crying to go on for a slightly
longer period before returning to comfort. So from 5
minutes, extend it to 8 minutes. Each time you go in,
make sure it is just to comfort your baby until the
cry subsides.
Do not feed or offer comfort cuddles as this will defeat
the purpose. Eventually your baby will get the message
that 'My parents are out there, ready to come in when
I want them but it is too much work - maybe I can manage
on my own without the hassle'. The bottom line is to
be resolute if you want to fix the problem. Adjust the
method or time-frame to suit your style and agenda but
do not give up, no matter how difficult it gets in the
initial days.
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