This week he read an article in the New York Times about the theory of a famous pediatrician from New York, owner of one of the most expensive children's clinics in the country, in which he proposed to his patients a 'training' of sleep when they arrived sold out at your inquiry asking for some method to help their children (and in passing themselves), to sleep better. It does not differ much from well-known postulates like the Estivill, although This seems to be even a little harder than I thought.
His famous technique consists of take the hungry baby to his crib at 7:00 pm, close the door and return at 7:00 am, nothing more and nothing less ... no exceptions, no comfort and definitely no food. He says the baby will cry for hours, but in about three nights it would be clear that no one would come to his rescue and start sleeping all night.
I suspect that the vast majority of you will have just the same expression I had: speechless. I don't understand how these types of 'tips' can succeed with people and can even think of leave your baby barely 2 months for 12 hours without eating and without being aware of them.
The most amazing thing of all is that the article gathers experiences of parents who have carried it out very successfully; phrases are read like "it's amazing" or "it works like a charm", although it costs a little to believe it.
This 'training method' has not changed in his proposal since it was invented, although when the pediatrician in question began to propose it to the parents of his small patients, he recommended it for 4-month-old babies. However, seeing that the model worked, it began to cut time until it reached 2 months. According to him a month could be done, but at that young age neither the parents nor the baby are prepared to 'detach'.
Of course, the doctor acknowledges that this torture instrument (excuse me, but I can't find a better way to describe it), is not made for all parents: cases of failure occur when the parents have not had enough "guts" to withstand the crying of the baby and they go running to the second night to comfort the child (I recognize that I would be in those statistics because I would not endure an hour).
Honestly, when I read about these issues, I think that the doctors who propose all these theories do not put themselves in the skin of children: would they not be stressed if they needed something that depended on another person and they did not pay attention (even being adults) ? A baby of few months does not have to understand that there are rules and that you have to be strict with them: he only obeys his instinct and his needs.
Is it possible to help them sleep better?
Of course yes: a baby quickly gets used to routines and in a few days you can identify the signs that indicate it is time to go to sleep. It is clear that when he is newborn he alone marks his own times, but little by little he becomes familiar with the concept day and night and of course with the time to go to sleep.
The most important thing is that the child arrives at bedtime in a relaxed and calm state because it will cost less. If we bathe you before bed, you will gradually identify that this is the previous step to go to the crib, although as we explained recently, it is important not to fall into extremes and get too involved in a process that should end up being natural.
What to do if the baby sleeps badly?
The first thing is to try to identify what happens to him: it may be that he has been hungry, or that he has colic, that he is cold, hot or that he always needs the attention of his parents ... let's not forget that the world of a baby at that age is us And he needs us. I remember the article published by our partner Armando recently titled 'Do you think he is hungry or sleeping fatally? Maybe he just needs arms' and I think it's one of the most successful things I've read on the subject.
Establishing a routine is one of the best things we can do for them., although it is important to keep in mind that this should be done in a calm and relaxed way: babies perceive the mood of their parents, and if they arrive in a hurry from work to bathe him, to feed him and immediately to the cradle, the child may feel and reproduce his anxiety level.
Going through the transition period of waking up every two hours (or sometimes less), can be hard and exhausting for parents, but It is necessary to understand and accept that each baby has its own rhythm and that they also want and need to rest. That is why providing you with the optimal conditions to do it and giving you love and security should always be the basic premise of any 'sleep training'.
What do you think of this pediatrician's theory? Do you have any 'tricks' that worked for you when it came to helping your children sleep?
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