What’s the secret to a good night’s sleep for the whole family?

Your baby learning how

to go to sleep without your help. This approach is for dealing with persistent sleep
problems in children six months or older.
 A new sleep pattern: in a nutshell
 Four steps to better sleep
 Older siblings
 Sharing your room or bed with your baby
 Looking after yourself
 Relapses and other difficulties
 Recapping on baby sleep

A new sleep pattern: in a nutshell

The first step to an uninterrupted night’s sleep is to help your baby learn to fall asleep
independently at bedtime. This means creating a new sleep pattern.

 Put your baby into the cot awake. This way, he can begin to learn self-
soothing skills and how to fall asleep independently. Babies won’t learn to fall
asleep by themselves if you do it for them.
 Usually, when your baby has learned to fall asleep independently at the start
of the night, he can get back to sleep without your help during the night.
 It takes 3-14 days to change a baby’s sleep patterns, just as it takes a few
days for grown-ups to get over changes to their sleep patterns (for example,
when suffering from jet lag).
 You can change your baby’s sleep pattern, but expect your baby to protest
for the first few nights, until he gets used to the change. Sleep will then
improve for everyone.

To learn more about the causes of common sleep problems, you might like to read
these articles: Concerned about your baby’s sleep? and What causes sleep problems?

Four steps to better sleep

The key is to change habits associated with going to sleep, and to allow your baby to
develop the ability to settle independently. Here are the steps:

1. Identify the habit associated with the sleep problem.

2. Gradually phase out this habit.
3. Establish a positive bedtime routine.
4. Teach your baby to settle to sleep independently.
5.
The support of a trusted child health professional can make all the difference to
successfully changing your baby’s sleep pattern. Talk to your maternal and child health
nurse or contact an early parenting centre in your area. You can also read more
about getting help with settling babies.

Step 1: Identifying your baby’s sleep habits

Usually, the way your baby falls asleep at the start of the night is the way she’ll expect
to go back to sleep after waking during the night – so if she’s rocked or fed to sleep at
the start of the night, she’ll expect to be rocked or fed back to sleep later. This can
become a problem when you have to interrupt your own sleep to help your baby
resettle.

The first thing to do is work out what habits your baby is associating with going to sleep.
The following table has some tips to help think through your baby’s sleep habits over
the last 24 hours.

Sleep habits Your child

Is this the same place where baby wakes during the

night? If your baby is in the habit of falling asleep in the
Where is your baby family room, or in your arms, he might need this to get
normally put down to back to sleep after waking during the night.
sleep?
Possible habit: falling asleep in a different place

If you’re in the habit of picking up, cuddling or rocking

your baby to sleep, he might have developed the habit of
If your baby cries needing your presence to get to sleep. He’s likely to need
when put in the cot, this during the night as well as at bedtime.
what do you do?
Possible habit: being held or rocked to sleep
 If your baby is awake, how do you settle him? The things
you do when you settle him for the night are the things
Is your baby put into he’ll want after waking later.
the cot asleep or
awake? Possible habit: being rocked, fed, patted or cuddled to
sleep

Can your baby replace the dummy without your help

during the night? If not, he might call out to you for help.
Is a dummy used?
Possible habit: falling asleep with a dummy that gets lost
when it falls out

Do you have to turn music on again when your baby

wakes in the night? If so, it’s likely he’s developed the
Is a mobile or music habit of needing it to settle.
used?
Possible habit: needing music to fall asleep

Some other things to consider

 Does your baby have a predictable bedtime routine? Do you do similar things
together every night before bedtime? If not, introducing a routine will help your
baby get ready for sleep.
 Is your baby getting enough sleep during the day? If she’s not having regular
daytime sleeps, she could be overtired – and overtired babies are more difficult
to settle at night. That might sound strange, but settling is a learned behaviour.
Like anything learned, settling is harder for your baby to do when exhausted.
You might like to consider re-introducing daytime sleeps.

Step 2: Phasing out sleep habits associated with night waking

If your baby is falling asleep in another room, or you’re rocking, holding or cuddling him
to sleep, you could try to develop a new habit of putting your baby in the cot drowsy
but awake. This helps him learn a new sleep habit that doesn’t require you to be there.
In rare circumstances, this might do the trick.

The following table includes tips to help you phase out existing sleep habits.

Sleep
How to phase it out
habit

If your baby routinely falls asleep at the breast or with the bottle,
she might now depend on feeding to help her get to sleep. Try to
change this habit by:

 trying to finish the last feed at least 20 minutes before

bedtime
 feeding her the last feed outside the bedroom – this
Night helps weaken the link between feeding and sleeping
feeding  fading out night feeds altogether – this is an important
step if you’re trying to consolidate your baby’s sleep during
the night.

Babies six months and older who are developing well and
putting on weight as expected can be taught to re-settle
overnight without a feed.

If a dummy is causing problems (for example, your baby needs

you to find and replace it overnight), you can try to help your
Dummies
younger baby give up the dummy. You can teach older babies to
manage their own dummies during the night.

Music and In general, if your baby is having problems resettling overnight, it’s
mobiles probably best to stop playing music at bedtime. This is especially
the case if resettling means you have to get out of bed to turn the
 music back on during the night.

In general, you won’t need to use a baby monitor when carrying

Baby out settling techniques. If your baby is a long way from your room,
monitor a monitor can be used. But avoid responding when your baby is
only grizzling.

Step 3: Establishing a positive bedtime routine

A positive bedtime routine helps prepare a baby for sleep. This means organising
bedtime around a series of consistent activities and tasks, done roughly in the same
order and at the same time each night. A positive routine is predictable and includes
calming and soothing activities.

In addition, you need to make sure that your baby is getting enough sleep during the
day. Babies who get overtired during the day can find it harder to settle to sleep at night.

A daytime bed routine and the two strategies described below can help you improve
daytime sleeps for your baby.

Step 4: Teaching your baby to settle back to sleep

A good bedtime routine sets your baby up for success. But you’ll need a strategy for
managing crying out at bedtime or during the night when your baby wakes.

If you’re confident you’re giving your baby enough attention throughout the day, but you
feel he’s become dependent on you to fall asleep, you can use a behaviour
management technique, such as controlled comforting or camping out.

Research has shown that behaviour management techniques are the most effective in
solving sleep problems. These techniques are based on the observation that babies
who cry when waking overnight haven’t learned to self-soothe and fall asleep by
themselves. These techniques aim to teach babies to fall asleep without the help of an
adult.
Choose the approach you’re most comfortable with and try to use it consistently for a
period of time:

 Controlled comforting: Sometimes called ‘controlled crying’, controlled

comforting has been practised since the 1970s. It’s a systematic way of
gradually reducing your attention to crying and calling out.

 Camping out: this is based on the idea that parental presence is reassuring
to a baby. It involves the parent staying in the room, gradually reducing the
amount of help the baby needs to settle. It’s a good option for a parent who
wants to stay near, but might not be the best idea for a parent who is easily
upset or frustrated when their baby cries. Research suggests that the process
involves less crying than the controlled comforting strategy.

Research suggests that these two approaches are successful in 80% of cases. You can
read more in our guides to controlled comforting and camping out.

Things to consider

 Consider your timing before you begin. Both approaches can be demanding
and tiring. If your child is ill or you’re going through a major upheaval, such as
moving house, wait until later.
 Stop using a behaviour management strategy if you or your child becomes ill
during the program.
 If you can’t take any time during the day to have a rest and catch up on some
sleep, you might be better off waiting until you can.
 Choose the approach you’re most comfortable with, and that fits best with
your family and situation. We know this is an important part of success.
Although we know that these approaches are successful 80% of the time, we
don’t know why they don’t work with every baby.

Are sleep behaviour techniques harmful?

Studies have shown that babies who have undergone controlled comforting are more
likely to sleep better in the short term – and are as well adjusted as their peers when it
comes to behaviour and sleep in the long term. Despite some people’s concerns, no
studies have shown any psychological or physical harm from using the
techniques described here.
Older siblings
Parents are often concerned that a baby’s crying might wake a sibling during the
night. There are a couple of possible approaches to this problem:

For settling

 Tell your older child that you’re going to settle the baby five minutes before
you do it. Make it clear to the sibling that they either need to stay out of the
baby’s room or remain quiet if they’re going to go in.
 Find something to keep the older child interested in while settling the baby.
For example, give her a different toy or book, a snack or drink, or ask her to
‘settle’ a toy baby (these are all best done outside the baby’s room).
 Reward the older child for staying out of the room or for remaining quiet in
the baby’s room.

For waking overnight

 Keep in mind that crying babies rarely wake older children overnight. If you’re
concerned, you can pre-warn the older child that the baby might wake and
cry. Tell your older child not to worry because mummy and/or daddy are taking
care of it.
 If crying does cause problems, it might be helpful for the older child to sleep
in a room further from the baby (if possible), or to spend the night at a family or
friend’s house.

Sharing your room or bed with your baby

If you share a bed with your baby, you can pat him briefly to encourage settling. Turn
away when your baby is quiet to allow him to settle to sleep.

Putting a screen up between your bed and the cot can be a good idea if you’re sharing
your room with your baby and you want to use controlled comforting. This means she
won’t be able to see you directly, and might not be as upset when you don’t offer a
cuddle. Cardboard or a sheet will do for the screen.

Looking after yourself

Changing a baby’s sleep patterns is a challenging and tiring task. You need to look after
yourself as you see it through:

 Rest at least once a day. Even if you don’t go to sleep, resting can help
restore your energy and ward off fatigue.
 Go to bed at night soon after your baby has gone to sleep. This is to ensure
at least 2-3 hours of unbroken sleep for yourself.
 Accept offers of help.

Relapses and other difficulties

About 20% of babies who learn to resettle during the night will begin to wake again for
no apparent reason. If your baby is otherwise well, persist with your settling
program. Usually babies will go back to their good habits after a couple of nights. A
burst of night waking usually occurs two weeks after babies have learned to
resettle during the night.

If you’re still having problems after seven days of controlled comforting or two
weeks of camping out, talk to your doctor or child health nurse. These health
professionals might be able to help you tailor a program that will work better for your
baby. You might also like to contact an early parenting centre in your state or territory
where you can receive more support and help.

Contact a child health professional if at any time you feel things aren’t working, or you’re
anxious, distressed or don’t know what to do next.

Recapping on baby sleep

Here’s what you need to know about your baby’s sleep before starting out on a change
program (for babies six months and over):

 Your baby usually needs the same amount of sleep from one day to the next.
 Babies differ in their sleep needs.
 Both adults and babies cycle through ‘quiet’ and ‘active’ sleep during the
night.
 The first few hours of your baby’s sleep is usually quiet (deep) sleep. The
rest of the night has more active (lighter) sleep – this is when babies usually
wake up.
 Waking during the night is normal, but it can cause problems if your baby
can’t get back to sleep without your help.