Getting my infant daughter to sleep through the night was one of the more challenging aspects of parenthood for me. While I had friends who struggled with this for years, I was able to get my three-month-old to sleep through the night (well, she would wake up to eat once) fairly consistently using this method. Anyone can do this, I did this while my husband was deployed just so I could get some sleep, and my daughter has been on a great schedule ever since.
1. Wait until the baby begins to get sleepy. At the beginning of this process it’s hard to get a baby on your schedule, so try to work with hers. Before starting, make sure the baby has been nursed, changed, and bathed (in whatever order works best for you and your child).
2. Tell everyone in the house that you’re going to put the baby to sleep, and they need to be quiet for a while. Having the TV on is OK (your child cannot come to expect absolute quiet or you’ll be tiptoeing through your house until she’s in high school) but shouting is not. Pick up the baby, go into the baby’s room, and turn off the lights.
3. Sit in a chair and talk quietly to the baby. Some parents like to read a book, some like to sing, some like to just talk. Tell her that now she’s going to go in her crib and sleep. Young babies won’t understand the words, but it’s important that you establish a routine.
4. Once the baby starts to get sleepy, gently put her in the crib. Waiting until she falls asleep in your arms is very time consuming, and I’ve never met anyone who could get out of a chair and place the baby in a crib without waking her up. Doing this usually seems to scare a kid more; they learn that once they fall asleep something is going to happen. Expect the baby to complain (allright, scream like a banshee) the first several times you do this. Some kids will complain for months. It’s OK.
5. Now comes the worst part. Tell your baby you love her and she has to go to sleep, then LEAVE THE ROOM. Every good parent hates this part. No one likes to hear their child scream. Immediately set a stopwatch for 5 minutes, then distract yourself. Watch TV, read a book, take out the trash, anything so that you aren’t focusing on the baby.
6. When the timer goes off, calmly walk into the room, pick up the baby, and tell her that you love her and she has to go to sleep. Place her back down, then set a timer for ten minutes. Repeat this cycle, adding five minutes to the timer every time. I have never met anyone who has had a little baby (3 months or younger) go past 15 minutes. Older children will take longer.
7. Remember that she is not in pain, she’s not in danger, and she’s not even scared. She just doesn’t like change. Remember that over the next several years of your child’s life there will be a lot of things she won’t want to do, and she’ll pitch a fit about them, and you’ll make her do them anyway.
