by Caroline Sadlowski

Created on: February 21, 2011   Last Updated: February 24, 2011

Helping Your Baby To Sleep Alone At Night

If you've been sleeping with your baby, especially since it has been born, it will be more difficult to teach him/her to sleep alone at night. It will take a lot of patience and time to get your child to get used to sleeping without you. Never feel guilty in wanting your alone time in your own bed.

The first thing to do when teaching your baby to sleep alone is to make sure that you have the baby's sleeping area somewhere close to you, in the same room. You can have the baby's room seperately and keep a special sleeping area near you during the training or even have the sleeping area in your room. As long as baby knows that he/she is close to you and that you are at least in the same room, it is fine.

Remember to keep all of your baby's things in the same room or area, so that he/she can get used to being there. Go through your nightly routine with your family same as always. Keeping a designated baby area, even for play-time and toys, is very important.

The first week of training your baby to sleep alone, put him/her to bed as usual, making sure the baby falls into a deep sleep. If he/she has a favorite stuffed animal and it's not too small to cause a choking hazard, place it in the crib with the baby. Something with your scent will also help him sleep. When the baby wakes up and cries for the first time, bring him/her into your bed. Continue this process for a week.

For the second week, when baby wakes up during the night, pick him/her up and gently rock or cradle baby to sleep. Put him/her back into their sleeping area and make sure that he/she falls asleep deeply. If he/she wakes up crying, bring the baby back to bed with you. 

Continue this process through the following weeks, extending the amount of time the baby stays in the crib every night. For the third week, let baby wake up and cry three times before bringing him/her back to bed with you. For the fourth week, let him/her wake up four times before bringing baby back to bed and so forth.

Make sure that everytime your baby wakes up, you comfort him/her to let them know that you will always be there for them. Doing this training will help your baby understand that it's ok to let them sleep alone, but that you will always be there to keep them safe and that they are always loved.

Learn more about this author, Caroline Sadlowski.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.