Next, we are going to see what three experts recommend regarding baby's sleep. We will do so by responding to these 7 questions:
Eduard Estivill, specialist in Sleep Medicine and author of the book “go to sleep kid”. Creator of the well-known "Estivill Method".
Rosa Jové, Specialist psychologist in Child and Youth Clinical Psychology and defender of natural upbringing or respectful upbringing and author of the book "sleep without tears"
Tracy hogg (nicknamed the baby whisperer) nurse and author of the book “practical guide to having calm and happy babies".
1. If possible, the child should sleep in your own room. If this is not possible, for example because you only have one bedroom, you should have an area for him in his parents' bedroom.
2. The child little by little will gradually adapt to the nighttime sleep of adults and will keep your naps going during the day. Three naps at the beginning and as he grows he will go to two to end up taking only one nap during the afternoon.
3. Sleeping is a habit and can be taught.
“You learn to sleep, as well as to eat. Sleep is a habit and, as such, requires learning ".
4. The child should not sleep never in parents' bed.
5. His method is based on scientific studies on sleep.
6. To sleep the child we will provide external stimuli that later it is not necessary to remove such as a doll, a pacifier, a mobile (carousel), or a poster or some stickers on the wall next to his crib ... The child will associate these objects with the time to go to sleep and they will accompany him during the night.
After the corresponding intake and the expulsion of gases, we will dedicate a brief period to a quiet activity that we will do with them, such as reading a story, singing, caressing ...
After the relaxing activity we will accompany the child to the crib with the objects related to sleep and we will say the following phrase or similar with calm, sweet and safe voice: “My love, Mom and Dad are going to teach you to sleep alone. From today you will sleep here in your crib with the poster, the mobile and the doll (give the doll a name). "
Before leaving the room we will repeat several times a phrase like this: “We love you very much and that is why we teach you to sleep. We understand that you cry because you are learning, but nothing happens. Mom and Dad love you very much and don't abandon you, they are here by your side, taking care of you for everything you need, but now you are going to sleep alone in your crib with your new friends (stuffed animal, pacifier, mobile) ".
Then we turn off the light and we leave the room to come back in after a while that the author points out in his book. This time will increase. Every time we enter we will repeat the second sentence.
7. According to Dr Estivill “the child learns by repetition, associating some external elements to the habit that we are teaching him ".
1. The child must sleep with his mother.
2. The adult must adapt their schedules of sleep to those of the child to satisfy the needs of this.
3. Sleep is an evolutionary process and cannot be taught
“No one can teach a child to sleep. Babies already know how to sleep before they are born. They don't depend on anyone teaching them. Sleep is a vital necessity. That is why nature prepares us to do it even before we are born. "
4. The child must sleep in bed with your parents until he himself decides to sleep in his own bed.
5. Base your reasoning on the evolution, in how things were done when the human being lived in the middle of nature and in the cultures that currently live in community.
6. To put the child to sleep, he proposes:
7. The child sleeps according to his rhythm with the help of breastfeeding and co-sleeping.
1. The child he sleeps in his room.
2. The child follow a routine (three hours and then four), adapted to your needs. It is intended that at night the dream is longer so that parents can rest better.
3. We can teach a routine to the child of feeding- activity- sleep that will allow us to anticipate your needs and give parents a little time.
4. The child must not sleep in parents' bed.
5. She bases her guidelines on habits and in his personal experience.
6. Following an established routine will make it easier for us to know when the baby needs to sleep..
7. We must be watch out for the first signs of sleep according to their age (yawn, rub their eyes ...) and then proceed.
If the child is overstimulated at that time, we should take him to a quiet place with few stimuli until he calms down. Once calm we will take you to your room. The environment The room should invite you to rest: dim light, soft music (optional), comfortable temperature, etc..
We will put the child in his crib while we whisper a long shhhhhh and we gently pat his back to be in contact with him. We will repeat until he falls asleep.
It is advisable swaddle the baby on a muslin or blanket to increase your sense of security and prevent you from waking up to your involuntary movements.
We will not leave your room until you are sound asleep so don't feel abandoned. Likewise, we will go back in as many times as necessary and repeat the whispers and pats until he falls asleep again..
If the baby is more than three months old, when he cries, we will use the method Pick up / put down”. It consists of holding the baby until he calms down and then putting him back in the crib. We will repeat as many times as necessary.
If the method does not work, the author offers us 6 possible causes:
8. The child learn by association and establishment of habits. Both parents and baby can anticipate the next step by establishing a routine.
We have already seen an overview of three different methods related to baby sleep. From what I have been able to verify, there are currently many followers of Rosa Jové and Dr Estivill. The Tracy Hogg method is between the two extremes, however it is not well known in our country.
If another works for you, I encourage you to share it in the comments.
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