Dr Sleep Training

04/10/2025

Pros and Cons of transitioning down naps

04/10/2025

Transitioning down naps:

How do I know when to go from 3 to 2 naps or from 1 to 0 naps?

This goes along with my nap opinion in general. You know best when your child is tired. Consistency is great for a child, but sometimes children aren't consistent nappers and that's ok. If some days they take 1 nap and other days they take 0 naps, that's perfectly ok. Use your parental insight to decide when your child would best benefit from a nap (as long as you leave a long enough wake window before nighttime sleep).

The in between period of transitioning naps downward is definitely frustrating!

If you allow your child to nap the extra time, they don't sleep well at night. If your LO doesn't nap, they become a terror from utter exhaustion. There is no right answer here. One of the many difficult parent decisions to make.

My choice is to cut down the naps and give my LO some grace as they are exhausted at the end of the day. Maybe take it easy on them if they have trouble getting into their pajamas or don't eat dinner nicely. But I prioritize nighttime sleep because my wife and I work. Perhaps, if you enjoy your child's nap time during the day, having that extra nap could be worth it.

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03/21/2025

What is Sleep Training and how do I do it???

Sleep training a baby involves teaching them how to fall asleep independently, which can lead to longer, more restful sleep for both the baby and parents. Try to establish a consistent bedtime routine, which signals to the baby that it's time to wind down. This might include a bath, a feeding, soft music, or reading a short story. The key is to make the routine calm and predictable, helping your baby feel secure. The routine should be  consistent every night, which helps your baby understand that it's time to sleep and builds positive associations with bedtime.

Remember, our goal is to teach our LO to self soothe while minimizing crying.

All sleep training methods involve putting the baby in their crib while they're drowsy but not fully asleep. This gives them the chance to learn how to self-soothe and fall asleep on their own.

My favorite method is a mixture of the "Ferber Method" and the "Chair Method". The baby will be fully prepared for bed with a clean diaper and clean clothing and will be placed into their bassinet swaddled (assuming they can't flip over by themselves yet) and awake. When the baby realizes it is time to go to sleep the baby will start to cry. We will be there to soothe the baby, either with a pacifier or by holding their hand, but we won't pick them up. Different children take different amounts of time but eventually they will learn how to put themself to sleep.

Generally the baby will cry from 10 minutes to an hour, averaging around 20-30 minutes the first night and shorter every night thereafter. If your baby is crying for more than an hour for more than 3 nights then you should probably adjust your method.

If you can't tolerate more than however many minutes of crying, then you can take your LO out of the crib, help them to calm down, and then place them back in the crib again drowsy but not asleep (Pick up put down method). Repeat as many times as necessary. The main idea is to leave the baby in the crib as long as your loved one needs to learn how to self soothe. You can check on your baby as much (or as little) as you want but try not to pick your LO up because that starts the process over again.

It is important to understand that every baby is different and, therefore, we need to be flexible in our strategy. Consistency is key. Stick with the routine, be patient, and know that it can take time for your baby to adjust to falling asleep independently.

This is straight from my block "Tips From The Trenches"

Within a few days of virtual or in person coaching you will learn how to sleep train your baby. 100% Satisfaction guaranteed!

03/18/2025

Is sleep training immoral unethical and completely evil?!?!?

Check out drsleeptraining’s video.

03/16/2025

BENEFITS OF SLEEP TRAINING

In my mind this article almost isn't necessary. Sleep training allowed everyone in our house to sleep again. It transformed our lives for the better. But with our first child, before we heard of sleep training, we were nearing the point of despair. We thought that parenting is impossible and we will never be able to be normal people again.

This article is to tell you that the misery ends. You can take control of your life again at 2-4 months. The first 2-4 months may be miserable but there is an end. When you go into the trenches keeping the end in mind, it gets significantly easier (which is why we felt comfortable having more crazy little beasts).

Sleep training provides significant benefits for both mothers and their babies. It leads to improved long-term sleep quality and fewer sleep disruptions for both baby and mother. This has been proven with randomized control trials to improve infant sleep problems and decrease maternal depression.

A well-rested baby is happier, more alert, and easier to engage with during the day, contributing to a more positive parent-child dynamic. For mothers, better baby sleep means more restful nights, allowing them to recharge and reduce the risk of fatigue, which can affect mood, energy, and overall health. Sleep training can create a balanced sleep routine, helping both mother and baby enjoy a more peaceful and restorative night’s sleep.

Sleep training can also help establish a sense of routine and predictability for babies. Babies thrive on consistency, and a structured sleep schedule can make them feel secure. Over time, this consistency will support your baby in developing healthy sleep habits that continue to serve them as they grow.

Moreover, sleep training helps reduce the chances of sleep associations that can be difficult to break later. If a baby is used to being rocked, fed, or held to sleep, they will come to expect these crutches EVERY time they wake up during the night. This can lead to frequent night wakings and, for mothers, exhaustion from having to comfort the baby back to sleep.

By teaching babies to self-soothe and fall asleep independently, sleep training helps prevent the development of these associations. This process allows babies to build self-soothing skills that help them transition through sleep cycles without needing external assistance, ultimately leading to fewer night wakings and a more restful sleep for everyone.

Blog: Tips From The Trenches

Within a few days of virtual or in person coaching you will learn how to sleep train your baby. 100% Satisfaction guaranteed!

03/14/2025

HOW MANY NAPS?

A question I get a lot is how often and how many naps should my child take? I find every child to be different in this regard. Newborns without much of a night routine can sleep throughout the day and that is completely normal. As children start to sleep more at night (around 1-2 months) there's more control of when to best put your LO down for naps.

My general response is do what works best for your child. If your child wants 3 short naps that's great. If your child wants one long nap that's great. If your child wants one long nap one day, and the next day two naps, that's also great. As a parent you can generally sense when your child is tired or not (often based on facial expressions, increase of crying, or the way they are acting). Once you teach your child how to self soothe there's really only one nap rule that's most important.

Allow for an appropriate awake period of time before nighttime.

For every child this will be different. Around 4 months your child probably shouldn't be napping past 4-5 PM. Around 1 year they probably shouldn't be napping past 2-3 PM. It's not illegal if they do nap past these times, it just makes it more likely they will have difficulty falling asleep at night or sleeping throughout the night. Sometimes your child may be falling on their face at 5 PM. You then have 2 choices. Do everything in your power to keep them awake until an appropriate early bedtime (perhaps 6:15 PM) or let them nap recognizing it may be late bedtime tonight. Whatever works best for you and your LO!

Tips From The Trenches:

Within a few days of virtual or in person coaching you will learn how to sleep train your baby. 100% Satisfaction guaranteed!

03/13/2025

If you've never sleep trained a baby before it probably sounds like an extremely daunting task. Babies need up to 17 hours of sleep, which means you will have to go through the misery of having your beautiful LO cry many times a day.

This is not true!!!

There is one trick to sleep training which is not discussed enough. You only need to sleep train your baby once a night.

"But don't babies need consistency?" "Will my baby really be sleep trained if I only do it one of the many times my baby is going to sleep throughout the day?"

This really works! Your baby will be sleep trained with just one sleep training session a night. In the beginning, this session should be between 7-10 PM and as your LO gets better at sleeping, you can adjust it to between 6:30-7:30 PM.

When you start sleep training, the baby may wake up after a few hours and you may want to comfort him. This is OK! As long as you complete one session a night of sleep training your LO will learn and improve their sleep hygiene within 2 weeks.

Many children fall asleep with less than 5 minutes of crying and sleep a lot better each time they are put to sleep awake but drowsy. These children you may be happy to sleep train more than once a night. But if it takes lots of crying every time you put your baby to bed, it is totally reasonable to only sleep train once a night and then shower your LO with love and affection (and milk) the rest of the night.

This is from my Blog "TIps From The Trenches"

Within a few days of in person/virtual coaching you will learn how to sleep train your baby. Satisfaction guaranteed!

03/11/2025

For all of you sleep training fanatics out there, I can understand why you would want to sleep train as soon as possible. But newborns just aren't able to soothe themselves, and also need to eat literally all the time, so sleep training right away just won't work.

"So when can I start?"

"Experts" recommend waiting until 4 months. If you ask your pediatrician, most would only recommend considering sleep training between 4-6 months. But all babies are different so there's no one time fits all.

I have 3 children and I sleep trained each child at a different time. My first was sleep trained at 4 months. My second, sleep trained at 3 months. My third sleep trained at 10 weeks.
I have 2 general recommendations for how to know when your LO is ready:
1) Did my LO ever sleep through the night by accident? If your baby ever magically gave you a full nights rest, without sleep training then they are probably at the age where they are capable of being trained to sleep through the night.

2) If you are brave enough to try for a short period of time. With my 3rd child I assumed I would wait to sleep train at 3-4 months. But then life happened, and we were both working in the hospital at 10 weeks so we decided to try a very gentle method at 10 weeks. Lucky for us it worked! Nearly every night, he falls asleep within 5 minutes of crying (often without crying) and sleeps 10-12 hours a night.

If you are not confident in these 2 recommendations, it is reasonable to wait and start sleep training at 4 months.

This is from my blog "Tips From The Trenches."

Within a few days of in person/virtual coaching you will learn how to sleep train your baby. Satisfaction guaranteed!

02/27/2025

Free sleep consulting for the next 2 weeks. Anyone who is having any trouble getting their children to sleep just reach out to us at 201-321-8619 anytime in the next 2 weeks and you will get the entire package of sleep training your loved one completely free. (It's a new brand and the team is looking for growth and feedback)

02/25/2025

Our new blog "Tips from the Trenches" will teach you everything you need to know about sleep training and more. Truly a must read!

Within a few days of in person and zoom coaching you will learn how to sleep train your baby. Satisfaction guaranteed!

02/20/2025

My wife and I started medical school together when our firstborn was just 3 months old, and we quickly realized that sleepless nights with a newborn made it impossible to function at our best. After four months of exhausting, sleepless nights and one month of struggling to keep up with medical school, we discovered the life-changing power of sleep training. It transformed our lives, helping us regain our energy, focus, and conquer our medical training. We have sleep trained our 3 beautiful children all within 4 months of being born. Now, we're passionate about sharing the benefits of sleep training with other parents who are facing similar challenges.

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