Thank you to our Sleep Guru and birthED Teacher, Becky Bormann, for this great post. We know sleep is at the forefront of your minds - let us help.

With Baby Sleep Training being a multi-million dollar industry (1), it can be overwhelming to decipher what is the “right” way to approach sleep. What new parents realize pretty early on is that the tools needed to help your baby sleep are not a one size fits all method. Each family’s approach to sleep is different; what worked for your sister’s family or your best friend’s children, etc., may or may not match your family values and that is okay!

With so much information coming at you in parenting books and classes, on blogs and in parenting boards online, here are six tips to get you started:

Don’t expect your baby to sleep through the night. Fact of the matter is, Only 16% of babies sleep through the night (defined as 5 consecutive hours) at 6 months of age (2.)
Create a strategy around your health and wellbeing for nighttime parenting. It won’t feel like it in the moment, but you will survive this stage!
Don’t believe the hype around sleep training! Sleep training doesn’t usually work long term (3.)
Don’t put pillows, bumpers, etc. in baby’s crib.
Do create a safe space for nighttime nursing.
Don’t stress if things are different than you imagined or were told.

We’ll dig deeper into these six tips and cover so much more in our Gentle Sleep Education class on January 14th at BirthED. Please join us in preparation to get the best start possible with your baby!

Register Here

1. Ockwell-Smith, S. (2016, January 17). The epidemic of baby sleep training. Retrieved January 1, 2019, from Sarah Okwell-Smith.

2. Sadler, S. Sleep: what is normal at six months? Prof Care Mother Child. 1994 Aug-Sep; 4(6): 166-7. PubMed PMID: 8680184

3. Hadfield, B. (2013). Sleep: A Brief History. Retrieved January 1, 2019, from Dream With Me.

birthEDucated - Sleep Tips