Chapter 2: The GoodNight Sleep Method
2.1
Teaching your baby to sleep
There are dozens of references available on teaching your child to sleep through the
night. Fortunately, instead of reading them all, you can follow three simple steps:
(1 ) Decide what you want your child to associate with sleep.
(2) Follow the GoodNight Sleep Method: teach your child to fall asleep
with
the
new
sleep
associations
by
balancing
their
need
for
reassurance
with
their
need
for
independent
learning
and
growth.
(3) Track your progress over time.
2.2
Nobody sleeps through the night.
Even before you had a baby, you woke up about every 90 minutes during the night.
The
most
likely
reason
you
don’t
remember
this
is
that,
after
a
quick
check
on
our
surroundings,
we
fall
right
back
to
sleep.
(The
second
most
likely
reason
you
don’t
remember
is
that
it’s
been
that
long
since
you
actually
had
a
good
night
of
sleep).
Adults,
children,
and
babies
all
wake
up
several
times
per
night.
There
are
five
levels
of
sleep,
all
of
which
are
required
for
our
body
and
brain
to
function
properly.
We
cycle
between
the
four
stages
of
deep
sleep
and
a
light
rapid
eye
movement
(REM)
sleep.
At
the
end
of
the
REM
portion
of
our
sleep
cycle,
we
naturally
wake
up
briefly.
Around 3 months, most babies no longer need to eat during the night, though they
may
still
enjoy
a
midnight
(or
3am)
snack.
Once
your
pediatrician
has
advised
you
that
these
feedings
are
no
longer
necessary,
you
can
start
the
GoodNight
Sleep
Method.
2.3
Going to sleep is a learned behavior.
It’s
a
commonly
held
misconception
that
sleeping
is
like
breathing,
something
we
are
born
knowing
how
to
do.
As
a
new
parent,
nobody
needs
to
tell
you
that’s
not
true,
or
at
least,
not
the
whole
truth.
While
babies
instinctively
know
how
to
sleep,
they
need
to
learn
to
fall asleep.
Just
as
your
child
must
learn
to
master
skills
like
crawling
or
walking,
they
also
need
to
learn
to
sleep.
In
fact,
the
amount
of
effort
involved
in
learning
to
“fall”
asleep
is
one
of
the
ironies
of
the
English
language.
2.4
Sleep associations are how we learn to sleep
There
is
some
good
news
here.
While
there’s
not
much
you
can
do
to
teach
your
baby
to
crawl
or
walk,
you
can
teach your child to fall asleep. In fact, each and every
time
your
child
goes
to
sleep,
you
are
giving
a
lesson
in
what
is
necessary
for
falling
asleep.
Sleep
associations
are
all
the
things
your
child
associates
with
falling
asleep.
