Why is Self Soothing Important?

When you hear the words self soothing, what comes to mind?
At Sleep Baby, when we say self soothing, we mean baby going into their crib fully awake (not drowsy) and putting themselves totally to sleep without any help from a caregiver.

Why do we make such a big deal about this skill? The ability to self soothe is the foundational sleep skill that sets your baby up for success with all of their other sleep "tasks." Just like babies crawl, then walk, then run, they start with putting themselves to sleep at the beginning of a nap or nighttime and that impacts the rest of their sleep.

The next skill is connecting sleep cycles which is what babies need to do in order to take those amazing long naps and sleep all night. The 45 minute intruder is a real thing and connecting sleep cycles is how you get past it. Often at nighttime, their bodies help out a lot with this but it can be more difficult at naptime! This is why you may have a baby who sleeps all night after being rocked to sleep but can't break out of the cycle of short naps.

Once baby has mastered those two skills, they can start to work on the top of the pyramid - waking up calmly. This is the dream, right? A baby who wakes up and waits in their crib quietly for you to come get them! This is completely possible and something that babies can learn how to do. But, we've got to start at the beginning.

Each of these skills take time to master so don’t get discouraged!

If you’re looking for help with teaching your baby to self soothe, extend their naps, or stop early wakeups, we are here to help! Email us to learn how we can get your baby sleeping better!