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Baby Sleep Problems: Getting Your Baby to Sleep Through the Night

Getting your baby to sleep can be one of the most frustrating and exhausting tasks of parenthood. Most moms and dads look forward to the night they can lay their baby down and get some uninterrupted sleep for themselves. Unfortunately, the reality is that getting your baby to sleep isn't usually easy and some baby sleep training is required. Here are some of the most popular sleep training methods.

Getting Baby to Sleep: The Ferber Sleep Method

One of the best-known baby sleep training techniques is the Ferber sleep method, named after Richard Ferber, MD. Ferber is director of the Center for Pediatric Sleep Disorders at Children's Hospital Boston and author of Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems.

On day one using the Ferber sleep method, put your baby to bed while she is still awake but tired and ready to sleep. Then leave her room. She will most likely not fall asleep on her own and will cry. Wait five minutes, and then re-enter your baby's room. Try to console your baby, but do not pick her up or stay for more than a short time -- about two or three minutes.

The second time the baby cries, wait a little longer -- 10 minutes -- before re-entering the room to console her. Again, do not pick her up or stay more than a short time.

The third time the baby cries, wait 15 minutes before going into the room and offering the basic comfort used the first two times.

Repeat the process as long as needed on the first night, waiting 15 minutes between intervals. Eventually, the baby will fall asleep on her own during one of those time periods. If she awakens during the night after falling asleep, begin the schedule again, starting with the minimum wait time for that day and working up to the maximum wait time.

On the second night, use the same procedure but start at 10 minutes for the first time interval. Then progress to 15 and then 20 minutes. For every night after, extend the intervals by five minutes. In time, the baby will learn to fall asleep on her own.

If you want to try the Ferber sleep method be sure you are well-rested before you start sleep training. That's because, in the early days especially, you will be spending a lot of time over the course of the night listening for your baby's cries, checking your watch, and entering and exiting your baby's room.

It's easy to become frustrated getting your baby to sleep, particularly if progress isn't immediate. But avoid picking your baby up or taking her back to your room because that will undo any progress made to that point.

Getting Baby to Sleep: The Gradual Parent Removal Method

If you don't want to leave your baby while she is still awake, you may opt for the gradual removal method. With this technique, you sit in a chair next to your baby's bed and wait there until she falls asleep. Do this for two nights. Then move your chair two feet away on the third and fourth nights and five feet away from the bed on the fifth and sixth nights. By the seventh night, sit in the doorway, and on the ninth night, stay in the hallway. Shortly after this, by the 10th night or by the end of the second week, your baby should be able to fall asleep by herself.

This method can be particularly useful if your baby is a little older when you start sleep training and won't tolerate the Ferber method as well as a younger baby.

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