HOW TO GET YOUR INFANT TO SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT ACCORDING TO THE FRENCH. THE PAUSE

When my first son was about 3 months old he was sleeping in 8 hour spans. I never had too sleep train him - and I felt like I hit the sleep lottery with that child! In fact my husband and I were so amazed that we immediately planned our second child thinking they could very well be similar in regards to sleep patterns... and that makes this whole parenting thing sooo much easier. Well fast forward 15 months baby number 2 arrived and we didn't get more than a couple hours sleep for almost a year. It took forever to get him to sleep through the night, I truly understood the meaning of "you'll never sleep again" cause we felt like our days of getting a good night sleep were far behind us.

Its true that around the 3 month mark your child's sleep patterns will typically change on their own, even if its not in 8-10 hour spans you'll likely be on a different routine. But this doesn't necessarily mean your baby will have the ability to go to sleep on their own - there still may be a significant amount of routine involved to soothe your child back to sleep. Unfortunately, every child is different in their needs so there isn't a one size fits all approach to sleep training, you'll have to determine what works best foryour child. Once you get the swing of things, good sleep training teaches your baby to self soothe and fall asleep all on their own.

All in all, babies need some form of sleep training - and the French believe this needs to start right from the start. let me introduce the French way of getting your baby to sleep through the night.

The Pause

French parenting is having a moment. Maybe its the fact that French kids seem so well adjusted and independent. Maybe because French infants sleep in longer spans and earlier than American babies - or maybe because the French like to create an organized system for almost everything! Whatever it is French parenting is getting a lot of attention.

Sleep training the French way? Its simple just pause. Well maybe it's not all that simple it just takes consistency and fighting the motherly urge to intervene, which is easier said than done. The French pause technique is very different than the self soothing techniques popular in the U.S. that have gotten some negative attention, which is more typically the 'cry it out' method. Using the French pause is actually a more delicate technique.

Once you put your baby down and want them to sleep you step away, leave the room and let them fuss if they need to - the key is knowing if your baby is in true need of you and needs to be calmed, fed, soothed, or if they are just being well... a baby... and being fussy. So give it a couple minutes every time you put your child down to sleep increasing how long you stay away on a regular basis, every couple days or weekly. Starting maybe with 2 minutes of crying before you walk in then increasing it a minute to 3 minutes a week later...etc. Before long your infant will soon learn intuitively that you won't come running in at every little cry and begin to self smooth and fall asleep on their own.

I'm also going to go a step further and commend the concept of the pause technique through toddlerhood - but not for a sleep aid, for a technique that teaches our kids there is no instant gratification. If my kids want something I don't get up and get it right away - unless its a bandaid or a call to the doctor! My kids have developed much independence and met their own needs many times because I didn't not jump at every command.

Do you have any sleep training techniques you use on your littles? let me know in the comments!

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