by Barbara Webber

Created on: May 29, 2009   Last Updated: June 03, 2009

Ah, the joys of a new baby - doting eyes, cooing voice, quiet moments in a rocking chair. Yeah right! Most new parents, even those who are relatively prepared, dream about those sweet bonding moments between parent and baby in those first few precious months of life. Of course those moments exist and the bonding is beautiful, but the truth of the matter is, the intense lack of sleep new parents must endure makes those moments few and far between as well as difficult to enjoy thoroughly. However, it does not have to be this way throughout the first few years of your child's life. Sleep can be achieved and it can been achieved fairly early on and with few tears.

The 5 - 10 - 15 sleep method is also called the Ferber Method, after Dr. Richard Ferber, who was the first to outline the technique, and has been referred to by some as the Cry-It-Out method, which is misleading, because while your baby may cry a little, with this method, you will be comforting him and letting him know you are near. At no time during this technique will you be expected to leave your precious new baby to cry alone in the dark for long periods of time, but instead, you will be teaching your child that even though you are not with him all night, he is safe and loved. Just as you must teach your baby to eat, walk, and share, you will have to teach him to sleep as well.

WHY THIS METHOD?

Are there other methods for teaching your baby to sleep? Of course! So why choose this technique? Well, I can only speak from my own experience. I did not know about sleep training, much less this method, when I had my first baby a year and a half ago. Subsequently, he did not sleep through the night until he was a year old! And that meant I did not sleep through the night either! It was when he was about 10 months old that I started reading about sleep training methods, and by the time I came across the 5 - 10 - 15 method, I was willing to try just about anything! It worked in less than 2 weeks, and now, 7 months later, he is still a wonderful sleeper! With my next baby, I will be starting much earlier, which brings up the next main point;

WHEN IS IT APPROPRIATE TO START THIS METHOD?

From birth to 3 months babies are simply adjusting to the world and trying to make sense of life outside the womb. They are incapable of manipulation and cannot be spoiled by too much holding. They will likely have sporadic sleep patterns and little or no set schedule.

By the time they are 3 months old, some sleep training

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