Question about Sleep Training

masked_rose86

My twins are 2 weeks old....very obviously we will wait awhile to start any form of sleep training but I've been reading a little about it since friends have given us books/recommendations of methods.

Did you do any form of sleep training?  Was it recommended by your pediatrician?  How old were your babies? 

Just tonight as I was researching things, I came across some news reports and mentions of a study that showed sleep training might increase SIDs risk.....this has scared me a little too.  Enough to wonder whether sleep training is a bad thing.  Or at least thinking we should delay it till the girls are at least 6 months.

Any thoughts or experiences would be appreciated. 

macchiatto

There are so many different forms of sleep training--some backed by research, some not--that I would really want to know more specifically what was increasing the SIDS risk.

We followed Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child and it worked really well for us. Just from following his tips on drowsy cues and a rough idea of when to aim for naps and nighttime sleep, our boys started taking regular, consistent naps literally the day we started following it, when they were 7.5 weeks old. They started STTN at 4.5 months. Our pediatrician did say that at 4m it was OK to let them "cry a little" but there was really very little crying involved, as it turned out; they just started sleeping through that feeding.

Haven1

You're right that two weeks is way too early for any formal training. The best thing you can do at this age is have a bedtime routine and differentiate between day sleeping and night sleeping.

UsedToBeGoldie

sleep training can mean 100 different things depending on who you talk to.... so for any study to say "sleep training increases SIDS" makes no sense.

we followed babywise- which starts from day 1 (if your kids are born close to term at least).  It's a form of "training" which helps get their bodies on a schedule- which helps sleeping better.

they eat every 3 hours approx.... on a sleep/eat/play schedule (early on play is limited obviously).... it helps get their bodies on a routine and they (and you ) know what to expect when - we loved it... worked great with all 3 of my boys.  They were all STTN at 8 weeks- and are still great nappers and sleepers.

eyelovemascara

We used Babywise and also HSHHC---sort of incorporated ideas from both books because they both have some really good information about sleep for babies.

macchiatto

I should add, we also tried to follow the EASY routine (from Secrets of the Baby Whisperer) from the beginning and I think that helped, too.

MagPie08

We also did the EASY method from the beginning and it really helped us (and grandparents/nanny) stick to a schedule. When we were ready to sleep train, we followed the Baby Sleep Solution by Suzie Giordano.