As a parent of four children I have experienced all kinds of sleeping issues. I have been up with a child far past the time a child should be sleeping through the night. I have been up with a child experiencing nightmares. I have been invaded in my bed by a child who could not sleep alone. I have had the luxury of having a child who slept 12 hours from the time she was 8 weeks old. In addition, I have dealt with issues of night waking and putting a child to bed who resisted until sleep finally took over. I am familiar with rocking, cuddling, reading, and holding a baby until she falls asleep. I have allowed a baby to sleep in her car seat, swing, and clothing in an attempt to get some rest. Crying it out was done by both baby and parents. Yes, I’ve been there. Through it all, what have I learned?
Consistency is key.
As with any parenting the old adage that consistency is key rings true from discipline to a nighttime routine. In my experience, I would adjust and change my routine each time it appeared it was not working. While that seems logical and there are times flexibility is required most of the time it only added to the problem. Babies go through many phases of awareness and each phase brings a different reaction to the same routine. However, in some instances the reaction should not dictate a change in routine. For instance, you could have been rocking your baby to sleep for months with no issues and then one night your baby starts to turn her head with every sound and resists going to sleep. What is going on? Likely your baby is entering a new phase of awareness. At first your baby needs to be held and cuddled to go to sleep. You tiptoe out of the room only to be called by in by a cry. Soon, your baby learns bedtime is time for sleeping and accepts the routine. Once your baby becomes more aware of her surroundings and realizes that bedtime is not the end of the night just the end of the night for her she may resist. When this happens I would continue with my normal routine and allow her to see that her reaction did not change the routine or that fact that bedtime was bedtime. Soon bedtime is accepted once again. There will be several times through development that bedtime is challenged. If you change your routine each time then you will likely experience more challenges and less consistency. So consider before changing a routine what the source of the problem is for your baby. Remain calm. Remain firm and loving. Remain flexible if the need arises. My advice is to not be quick to change routines but realize that establishing a routine may not be a smooth ride. In the end, a child will learn consistency and not present as many challenges.