Hi there!

I'm Tracy 

I'm the founder, writer and advocate behind the award-winning blog, Raised Good - a guide to natural parenting in the modern world.

Looking for your village?

SIGN UP

Discover the Lost Art of Natural Parenting

Sleep

Here’s How To Help Your Child Sleep (No Training Required!)

Is there a topic that occupies us more as new parents than how to get our children to sleep longer? Faster? Or earlier?

The craving to maximize the number of quiet night time moments we can spend recharging ourselves and our relationships unites us all. Because parenthood tests us like nothing else. At the end of a long day, we desperately need some me time.

“The days are long, but the years are short.” Gretchen Rubin

But, this longing is easily taken advantage of by non-responsive sleep trainers; promising quick fixes to sleep-challenged parents and selling sleep as if it is a commodity we can simply buy for our babies.

At a new mama’s talk I recently gave, a mother of a happy, perfectly normal four month old baby, asked what would happen if she didn’t sleep train? She wondered if it was better to do it now and get it over with, as if it was an inevitable ingredient of babyhood. Because this is the message new mothers are given, time and again.

Questions like, is he a good baby or is she sleeping through the night, serve to do nothing more than derail parents who are bravely and selflessly doing a phenomenal job at being the night time parent their baby needs.

The real issue that must be addressed is the unwillingness of society to accept the fact the babies are not designed to sleep through the night.

We resist and I wonder if it may be because, if we accepted an inconvenient truth, we’d feel compelled to actually help and support new families in the way they need, rather than in the way that’s easiest for us.

With that in mind, here are a handful of ways to help babies sleep in the way in which they are biologically designed to do. To help you block the white noise of society so you can trust ancient wisdom and see your child for who they truly are – not a sleep stealer, but a new soul who simply needs you, day and night.

1. Take Advantage of Natural Remedies

Sleep is more a state of being rather than a skill that can be learned. When the conditions are right sleep easily overcomes our babies, taking them to a restful place where their minds and bodies can grow and rejuvenate. Here are a few natural methods and remedies that can help make the process of falling to sleep a little easier:

Regulate the temperature: Melatonin, a hormone associated with sleep, naturally increases as core body temperature drops, thus triggering sleep. Research shows that babies (and adults) sleep best when the room temperature is between 68-70F or 20-21C. A lower room temperature is protective against SIDS.

So, open a window and welcome fresh air, dial the central heating back a notch and cool your bedroom as part of your baby’s bedtime rhythm. But, remember, this doesn’t mean your baby should be cold! It’s important to make sure that babies stay warm throughout the night. My son was, and still is, a ninja when it comes to kicking off the covers so as a baby we used superfine merino pajamas and sleep sacks – I can’t recommend them highly enough!

Tart Cherry Juice: this tip is more for toddlers and children rather than babies. Tart cherries contain naturally occurring melatonin which has been shown to improve sleep. The ruby red color is due to proanthocyanidins, which can help increase the availability of tryptophan, an important precursor to serotonin, which also encourages sleep.

The juice is also shown to inhibit an enzyme – indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase – that degrades tryptophan, a known predictor of insomnia. You can find tart cherry juice here and this is a super helpful article by Genevieve of Mama Natural for some practical tips on recipes for giving tart cherry juice to kids.

A touch of lavender: Lavender is well known for its ability to relieve anxiety, soothe restlessness and aid sleep. But, essential oils need to be used with care, especially with babies and young children and should NEVER be given orally.

For babies and young children, adding a couple of drops of lavender to an oil diffuser when you start your bedtime routine can be a great idea to ease into relaxation. Make sure to find a pure, therapeutic grade oil.

2. Listen to Nobody But Your Baby and Breastfeed to Sleep

As a new mother, I remember searching online (ironically after my son had nursed to sleep) about whether breastfeeding to sleep was a “bad” sleep association. I’d find countless articles condemning the practice; the claim being that babies must be put down “drowsy but awake”. Some “experts” went so far as to suggest that if a baby fell asleep at the breast, to wake him up and then expect him to fall asleep on his own.

Having nursed my son to sleep over five thousand times (and counting) I can honestly say that nursing is the most natural, relaxing and instinctive way to help our babies find sleep. It is normal, healthy and developmentally appropriate. It is a superpower that Mother Nature gave us to help our babies sleep.

Why we would consider squandering this or making our lives more difficult than they need to be is simply beyond me.

The truth is that breastfeeding and sleep go hand in hand. The sucking action of breastfeeding releases the hormone cholecystokinin, which results in feelings of sleepiness in both mother and baby. This is often misinterpreted as being physically draining for a mother, but it is in fact Mother Nature’s way of ensuring new mothers get the sleep they need too (rather than getting up to clean the house!).

Babies also don’t make their own melatonin (a sleep-inducing hormone) for much of their early life. But, nature is clever and guess what has plenty of melatonin in it? Your nighttime breastmilk. It naturally helps babies develop their own circadian rhythm.

There are countless reasons, backed by science, that demonstrate that nursing to sleep and throughout the night is what nature intended. So, nurse your baby to sleep mama and enjoy every moment.

3. Permission to Be as Silly as You Can

Does your child love to be silly before bed? To run around, rough house and laugh? But, have you been told that you need to discourage the behavior? To quieten them down and ease into bedtime. It makes sense to do that, but what if I told you that laughter has been clinically proven to induce melatonin production; every giggle is bringing your child closer to sleep.

Kate Orson, author of Tears Heal, has some wonderful suggestions that we love using in our home, “If your child runs a mile when you suggest it’s bedtime, then perhaps have a fun game of chase, letting them escape so they take on the more powerful role. Or try to dress them in their pyjamas but ‘dress’ the pillow. Read their bedtime stories in a silly language, or have the book upside down, and wonder why the words are coming out all wrong. Put yourself to bed instead of your child. Each time you make a ‘mistake’ exclaim to your child about your confusion at how you just can’t seem to get it right.”

Kate also suggests that most sleep advice fails to address one of the major causes of sleep issues: the emotional struggles that our children go through. Big emotions that haven’t been processed can make it difficult for babies, children (and adults) to fall asleep, wake during the night or early in the morning. Providing a safe environment full of warmth, connection and laughter can help children release or discuss unresolved feelings so that they can find sleep more easily.

4. Follow Your Instincts and Lean In, Not Away

A study of 600 parents, by Gentle Parenting Advocate, Sarah Ockwell-Smith, revealed that 46 per cent of parents lied to a doctor, midwife or health visitor about bedsharing for fear of being judged. I understand why. Mainstream media preaches that bedsharing parents are endangering their babies lives. But, nothing could be further from the truth.

Sharing sleep promises untold benefits for both our children and ourselves. It promotes breastfeeding and increases the odds of a successful breastfeeding relationship. It offers natural protections against SIDS. And, bed sharing mothers enjoy more sleep. Dr. Stephanie Quillin and Dr. Lee Glenn published a study in 2004 in the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing, in which they found breastfeeding and co-sleeping mothers enjoyed significantly more sleep than mothers who bottle fed or slept alone.

Another study reported breastfeeding parents got 40-45 minutes more sleep per night on average during the first 3 months postpartum. Many co-sleeping mothers also perceive they’re getting more sleep and thus have a more positive outlook on their babies’ sleep and their role as a mother.

So share your bed with your baby, do it with pride and find a way to make it work for you. If you’re a new mother, go to sleep with your baby and bank some much needed extra rest. If your baby is older but wakes as soon as you leave the room, watch Netflix in bed with your partner or read an eBook. Or if you’re worried about your child falling out of bed find a practical solution that works for your family like putting the mattress on the floor or using a bedrail or under the cover bumper.

And, I promise you, before you know it, you’ll easily be slipping out of the bedroom after your child easily falls asleep and like me, you’ll be missing the excuse to snuggle a while longer in the dark, black stillness.

5. Find Your Tribe (Where You Can Come As You Are)

Facing judgement as a parent is inevitable – no matter what choices we make, someone is likely to take issue with it. But, the only critic that matters is YOUR child.

But, sometimes, simply knowing that you are not alone can make all the difference. So, I’d love to invite you to come and join the Raised Good Natural Parents Group; a newly created Facebook group that offers support and guidance in a judgment free space. Just make sure to answer the three simple questions so that our wonderful admin team can approve your join request quickly. I’m excited to see you there!

What would you add to this list? I had to stop there or I’d be writing a book! Let’s blow up the comments below and share tips and ideas as we support each other to follow a path to gentle sleep.

Hi there!

I'm Tracy

Hi there! I’m Tracy - the founder, writer and advocate behind the award-winning blog, Raised Good - a guide to natural parenting in the modern world. Based in Vancouver and originally launched in 2016, I’ve been overwhelmed by the positive response and the global community that’s developed. 

read MORE

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  1. Catherine says:

    Thanks for this post, it makes me feel better about nursing my 6-month-old daughter to sleep. I’ve been reading and reading about sleep training but have been pushing it off because it just doesn’t sit right with me. I love co-sleeping with her but my issue is that she wakes up the INSTANT I leave the bed, even just to use the bathroom. I’m happy to spend the night next to her, but I’d like a few hours between her bedtime (around 7pm) and my own (around 9-10 pm) to shower, get some chores done, or have some one-on-one time with my husband. Any advice? (Sorry, I’m not on Facebook, otherwise I’d post there 🙂

    • Jess says:

      This is the same thing that happens to me with my six month old. I have zero issue cosleeping and feeding to sleep but I cannot put her down or leave the bed without her waking. Have you gotten any replies or feedback with suggestions?

  2. Naomi says:

    This is exactly what I needed to be reminded of today! Thank you so much!

  3. Alexandra says:

    This post is so very timely. Ah! Thank you so so much. I had just been seeking an online group for sleep support and some answers! I would love to hear your advice for Catherine whom commented above.

    Thank you again
    ABUNDANT LOVE!

  4. Carley says:

    We breastfeed to sleep, bed share, and use essential oils – but I’ve always felt a little guilty about our nightly pre-bedtime dance party and fits of laughter. Was I getting them wound up? But we never curtailed because it just felt right in my soul and it’s always such a joy filled time in our house. I love my kids drifting off to sleep with love & laughter. So reassuring to hear your opinion on the matter. As always it resonates deeply.

    x Carley

  5. Anisa says:

    I’ve been bedsharing with my almost 4 week old and have been averaging 7-8 hours of sleep every night! Everyone is shocked that I’m so well-rested but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m able to wake to my baby’s sounds before they become full cries and it feels so good.

  6. Sally says:

    Great article. I have been following a certain program which is great but I have been feeding to sleep which of course they say you shouldn’t do. I am an older mother and I do honestly think that helps in that it allows me to take things with a pinch of salt and trust in my own worldly experience and instinct in what feels right. I have found lots of their suggestions to be helpful but at the end of the day I have discovered what works for my child and it isn’t always “by the book”. My baby likes a bit of fun and play before bed too and there’s no way I will be changing that (or the feeding to sleep).

  7. Georgina says:

    My 3 aren’t newborns anymore, but when they were I would nurse them to sleep. As they got a bit older, we would cuddle and sing until they fell asleep in my arms, and then older again we would read countless stories until they drifted off. I was always anticipating some terrible sleep issues to arise as promised for not making them learn to fall asleep on their own, but nothing ever has. My 2yr old sleeps in her favourite dress, the pyjama struggle just isn’t worth it. I love the night time routine with my kids, so many beautiful stories to read, songs to sing, cuddles and kisses to share. It also helps me to relax and detach from the busy day. Your post is so reassuring, I always felt alone when everyone around me was sleep training their kids.

  8. Emmy says:

    Nice read. I love that you offer a lot of different perspectives. It would have been great to have seen something like this back when my kids were babies.

  9. CHERI werner says:

    I have a 21 month old that we co-sleep with. Any advice on decreasing the amount of nighttime feeds? My son still wakes every couples hours to nurse and it’s often more frequent than that! After almost 2 years of very poor sleep, I feel completely exhausted and unhealthy.

  10. Liv says:

    Thank you for your post! Finding my tribe really changed things for me 🙂

  11. Liv says:

    I would add “lots of physical contact during the day”, just carry your baby and hold her as much as you can during the day, and also “embrace what the day brings”, don’t fight it, it only leads to frustration and negative feelings. My day used to beautifully start at 5, with lots of smiles from a gorgeous baby happy to see me! (I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone so happy to see me at 5am). Now it beautifully starts closer to 6. It’s all wonderful. She’ll have her first nap of the day at some point and so will I 😉

  12. Joelle says:

    This is great! I have no issues getting up in the night with my son, he’s a baby and he needs me.
    My little guy is almost 18 months and we have been struggling with “sleep training” since May! Babies have different personalities and he is a cuddle bug and I love it. I give in because he is stubborn. He still seems restless sometimes when i pull him into bed with me. He goes to bed in his crib then eventually ends up in our bed. Which I am fine with. But he’s also a light sleeper… at what age did you eventually transition your children to their own bed? I just don’t think he is ready and it’s not worth the fight of forcing him to cry it out… plus it hurts my heart and they are only little for so long….

  13. Brittany says:

    Thank you for this article, warms my heart and makes me feel better as a new mom! I am in total agreement that there is no “right” or “wrong” thing to do, but as long as you are cuddling and loving your little being that is all that matters.

  14. Caylee says:

    Thank you so much for this post! As a first time mother I often feel like I am failing, especially with sleep. I know in my guy that what I am doing is right for my child. It’s really amazing to read such a positive post! THANK YOU

  15. Nikola says:

    Great article! I would like to add one more thing. Babywearing! It saved my life when my son was born. He is 6mo now and I still use to wrap him in a sling to fall asleep when nursing to sleep fails. Until he was 5mo, I was the only place where he could sleep during the day 🙂

  16. Lyza says:

    This article was so timely.
    I co sleep and breast feed my 10 month old to sleep, and I absolutely love it. However society does make you feel bad for doing so! but for me it just feels so right. I get mad when people say “oh your getting your child into bad sleeping habits” its not bad, its just different parenting styles and I prefer this way thank you very much!
    Thank you for such a reassuring read!

fantastic freebies

Help yourself to our

5 Natural Parenting Secrets

That Make Kids Want to Cooperate - No Timeouts, Threats or Punishments Required!

GET IT NOW

5 Myths Surrounding Infant Sleep

That You Can Safely Ignore As a New (or Not So New) Parent

GET IT NOW

4 Practical Tips to Simplify Childhood

& Protect Your Child's Mental Health

GET IT NOW

A Dozen Things Kids Need to Hear More Often

GET IT NOW

@RAISEDGOOD