Don't let them cry!

A common fear among parents is the impact sleep coaching will have on the relationship between them and their child. For a lot of people the term "sleep coaching" means leaving baby crying at night but Gentle Sleep Coaching is NOT a cry-it-out method. 

There is nothing worse than when your baby is not sleeping and you're being told to "just let them cry."  As a parent, it is heartbreaking to hear. Despite your exhaustion, all you want to know is how to calm baby crying and how to stop baby crying.  Parent's should also consider the impact of their mental health due to sleep-deprivation. With the RIGHT sleep training methodology, it is possible to solve your child's sleep struggles gently and effectively.

Gentle Sleep Coaching Method

Here is a great article that offers some insight on the impact of different sleep coaching methods. This article shows the science behind the efficacy of the Gentle Sleep Coaching method while also proving to be less stressful on mothers because they are allowed to attend to their baby crying at night. 

Baby Crying Sounds

It is important to know crying is a form of communication for babies and there is a difference between baby crying sounds. If you listen to your baby you can distinguish whimpering out of slight unhappiness from crying from distress. Learn more about different baby crying sounds from well-known pediatrician Dr. Harvey Karp.

Crying in the presence of a loving supportive parent is fundamentally different. It's important to remember that it's "unmodulated" crying that is the problem...this is where a child gets hysterical and the parents are told not to help. Babies are going to cry for a ton of reasons, but when parents are "emotionally and physically available," it makes a huge difference to co-regulate with your child and thus minimize the tears and frustration for both parent and child.

Douglas Teti, Professor of Human Development and Family Studies, did a lot of research on "emotional availability at bedtime". He found that the emotional connection between a child and their parent and the appropriate response to cues was very important in a child knowing that they are in a safe environment and this helped children sleep better.

Many families had a fear of all sleep coaching methods because of the concern of "Cry-it-out" tactics. However, with Gentle Sleep Coaching, now these families are raving about how sleep coaching has increased the bond between them and their child and they are experiencing loads of benefits beyond sleep. Here is what Desiree had to say! 

Watch Desiree's story here! 

Resources:

Do responsive sleep interventions impact mental health in mother/infant dyads compared to extinction interventions? A pilot study. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 25(3), 621–631. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-022-01224-w