understanding how babies sleep

[nancy beyda]

One of the biggest concerns right now for new moms is dealing with pressure to sleep train their baby. We are told that babies need to be "taught" to fall asleep by themselves and that if we don't, they will never learn to sleep on their own. I can offer some advice on this topic from my own personal experience. I never let my babies cry it out when they were little because I personally was uncomfortable with the thought of leaving them to cry. I made the decision that I would rather tough it out myself - an adult - than expect a little baby to do so. I am happy to report that all of my children eventually learned to put themselves to sleep, to sleep through the night and to self comfort. All three of them did this at different times, depending partly on their personalities and whether or not they had a new sibling around or had other things going on in their lives. I can even promise you that if you choose to do nothing, your child will eventually learn to sleep through the night.
Babies' sleep is different than ours, young babies go in and out of deep sleep far more often than we do. When they are in light sleep they are more easily aroused, by cold, hunger, or just by reaching out and not feeling mommy there close. Think about it, there's a reason that newborns are programed to wake often, they need to be fed, to feel it if they're cold and to generally not be too easy to put down and walk away from. The human race would never have survived if newborns could be put down in the forest and left unattended for long periods, although it would have been much more convenient for us adults. All of this means that babies sleep patterns will eventually change and mature even if you do nothing!
Do not believe it when people tell you that you must "teach" your baby to sleep. People are making tons of money by playing on moms' fears that if they don't do something their babies will never learn to sleep on their own. Follow your own heart and instincts. Remember too that people sometimes will try to pressure you or convince you to do what they did because of their own need to justify to themselves the choices they have made. Sleep when the baby sleeps, take naps, put people before things, and only after you have done all these things make a decision that you must let your baby cry.