Frequently Asked Questions

No. Sleep training is the process of teaching your baby to fall asleep independently with little or no dependence on any sleep props such as comfort nursing, a pacifier, rocking, or swinging. Effective sleep training should include safe sleep environment guidelines, age-suitable bedtimes, daily routines, and proper methods and techniques to help babies to fall asleep on their own.

E.A.S.Y, on the other hand, is the “structured routine” suggested by Tracy Hogg that consists of 4 components: Eat, Activity, Sleep, and Your time when the baby sleeps. Therefore E.A.S.Y is only one version of one of the components of sleep training.

Yes. Short naps or catnaps are naps that last for less than 1 hour, most often 30-45 minutes in duration. For developmental reasons, it’s very common for babies less than 3 months old to have short naps. Beyond 3 months of age, though, it’s possible to extend short naps by having a baby go through sleep training. When babies learn to eliminate their dependence on sleep props and to transition between sleep cycles, they will be able to nap longer.

The best person to evaluate whether a mom should continue or stop night feeding is a nutrition doctor, not a sleep consultant. Each child has their own unique condition and developmental status, therefore some might still need to night feed and some might not. However, Sleeping Bee can help parents to understand if your baby is asking for night feeding due to hunger or just for comfort. Sleeping Bee will also provide parents with proper methods to build healthy sleeping habits for the baby, and once they are established, the baby will decide by themselves if they are ready to stop night feeding.

Yes. One of the key rules in all sleep training methods is that parents should always put the child down drowsy but awake. This is because children panic when they wake up in a different environment than the one they fell asleep in, so a baby who fell asleep in a parent’s arms will get upset if it wakes up in a crib. Keeping the baby awake during night feeding is not only important for improving the quality of the feeding but also for making sure the baby will not associate feeding or being held with falling asleep. And, since the baby is put down awake after the night feed, when they wake in the night, they will see a familiar environment, allowing them to have a smooth transition between sleep cycles.

No. Many researches have shown that crying will not affect a baby emotionally or physically. Even the “cry-it-out” method has been proven to be safe for babies and poses no psychological effects on the baby, the mom, or their bond. Depending on parents’ acceptance level of their baby crying, Sleeping Bee will select a few sleep training methods to fit their preference. However, no matter what method we are using, there will always be some tears. Babies cry during sleep training sessions simply because they want to tell us how they feel when we are changing their current sleeping routine. It’s usually short-lived and the amount of crying lessens over the course of the process.  Once new habits are established, the baby learns to accept them, and the crying goes away. In the end, sleep training is for the purpose of helping the baby to improve their sleep quality so that they no longer have to cry for help to put them back to sleep. Babies' sleep troubles do not solve themselves and can become more challenging to resolve as they get older. A moderate increase in crying at the beginning of the sleep training period more than pays off in the long run as the baby ultimately gets much better quality sleep for years afterward.

An ideal wakeup time is between 6 and 8 a.m. If the baby sleeps for a total of less than 10 hours at night and wakes up before 6 in the morning, it’s considered early waking or night waking, solutions for which will be addressed in Sleeping Bee’s sleep plan. Generally, by establishing a concrete bedtime routine, adjusting the baby’s sleep schedule, and encouraging independent sleep, early rising will improve over time.

An ideal bedtime is between 6:30 and 8 pm. Depending on each family’s preferred schedule, while keeping in mind age-appropriate wake time hours, parents should target one specific time within this range for bedtime. By going to bed at a consistent hour each night, with flexibility for +-30 mins, babies will start to develop their wake-sleep internal clock that helps them to fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. 

Sleep training is considered to be safe and is recommended starting when babies are 3 months or older. Prior to 3 months of age, Sleeping Bee suggests parents consider establishing a consistent daily routine and bedtime routine, establishing a safe sleeping environment, and applying calming techniques to help the baby to learn to self-soothe. By 3 months old, when babies’ bodies start to produce hormones that assist them to sleep more consistently for longer stretches at night, sleep training can be started by applying a few gentle approaches. Beyond 3 months, the older the babies are, the more resistance parents should expect during sleep training, as they become increasingly set in their way of sleeping. That being said, even with an older child, parents still have options for gentle sleep training methods to minimize tears if they prefer, though they might take a bit longer. 

The only time that it’s not appropriate to start sleep training is when the baby is either sick or in pain. The baby will go through many developmental milestones in their early life, so it is unrealistic to expect that you will find an extended period of time during which they have no other issues such as teething, regressions, or growth spurts.

During the first year, babies will go through many developmental stages such as growth spurts, regressions, teething, rolling, crawling, sitting, and sometimes even walking. These stages might slow down the sleep training progress but they are usually short-lived and it’s important that parents continue to follow the training “rules” and stick with the plan. Sleep training success depends greatly on parents’ consistency and discipline in following the plan. Sleeping Bee will provide parents with tips to handle these bumps in the road so that parents can still be on track to achieve their goals.

Since the baby has higher sleep pressure and hence has a greater need to sleep at night, Sleeping Bee recommends parents to start training for sleep first at night. While daytime naps are shorter, nighttime sleep offers the baby more time to successfully fall asleep. It is admittedly very difficult and time consuming, especially during the first night, but it is temporary and will be less challenging over time once the baby gets used to the new routine.

Swaddling is proven to help calm and soothe babies at young age because it recreates a similar environment as when the baby was still inside their mother’s womb. It also helps to reduce newborns’ strong startle reflex, keep them sleep tighter, and less likely to scratch their face during sleeping. It’s common for babies to “dislike swaddling” but ultimately have better sleep when swaddled. It’s important for parents to understand the reason their baby fights swaddling to make the correct adjustment. The trouble could be due to the improper choice of swaddle size (too big/ too small), swaddle fabric (too warm) or the swaddle method (often too loose or too high up so the fabric keeps scratching the baby’s cheeks). However, swaddling is only safe and recommended for young infants who have no signs of rolling, which usually begins between 3 and 6 months of age. Once a baby shows signs of rolling, a properly fitting sleep sack can be used to replace a swaddle.

Many parents find that pacifiers are helpful to soothe their baby in order to fall asleep faster. However, babies having complete dependence on pacifiers to fall asleep often have trouble sleeping for a long stretch and wake up more often when their pacifier falls out. For those parents who want to continue using pacifiers, Sleeping Bee will suggest some activities to teach your child to hold on to his pacifier and learn to put back pacifiers on their own without depending on parents’ help. For those parents who want to stop using pacifiers, there will also be some techniques and tips to help to eliminate pacifiers completely so that the child can learn to sleep independently without any sleep props.

The ideal situation is when parents understand their baby’s awake windows and sleeping cues so that they get the right timing of putting their child down when the baby is sleepy enough to sleep, but has not yet entered the first stage of sleep (when the baby’ eyes are heavy and starting to close and flutter). For many babies, it is not as simple as it sounds to get this timing right. In fact, the younger the babies are, the more difficult it is to execute. If, even after practicing, parents still find it difficult to put their baby down when still awake, parents can assist the baby to sleep, then gently rouse them back awake before putting them down. This could take the form of a firm back rub, a quick diaper change, or a short burp. Gradually, parents reduce the level of assistance, put the baby in bed more and more awake each night.

It’s not necessary to change diapers frequently during the night if there are no signs of poopy, soaked, or leaking diapers. When a baby wakes up in the middle of the night, parents can check on the diaper situation instead of immediately changing. Sleeping Bee also suggests parents to change diapers for their baby before night feedings to help them be more awake for the feeding and to make it easier for them to fall asleep right after. To minimize the disturbance of your baby's sleep while changing diapers, parents can use dim light, warm wipes, have changing materials prepared ahead of time, and avoid unnecessary conversation that lengthens the process. If a baby has difficulty falling back to sleep after a night diaper change, it might be even more helpful to have them undergo sleep training so that they will learn to fall back asleep more easily.

There are many different sleep training techniques but they can generally be categorized into 2 main types: gentle techniques (those involving less crying) and the cry-it-out technique. Sleeping Bee will often recommend more gentle methods in our sleep training plans. That doesn’t mean there will be no tears at all, but we do not advocate for leaving your child crying until they can fall asleep. Sleeping Bee also believes that there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all technique that works for everyone. In our opinion, the best technique is the one that fits both the baby and the family’s situation. With proper techniques and step-by-step guidance, parents who follow the plan strictly will see faster progress and less protest from their child along the way.

Since each baby and family conditions are unique, there will not be any standard length for a sleep training session. In my experience of helping out various families, it could take anywhere from 4 days to 2-3 weeks depending on the child’s temperament, your preferred methods, how consistent the parents are, and how strictly they follow the plan. Generally, parents will be successful through the sleep training process as long as they don’t give up.

The most common reason for unsuccessful sleep training is parental inconsistency. This could be because parents don’t strictly follow the rules of their child’s sleep training plan, or because different caretakers apply the sleep training methods differently. Either of these issues can make it difficult and confusing for a baby to form new sleep habits.

Some other common problems that can prevent success in sleep training are:

• A lack of parental motivation because the baby’s sleep problems don’t seem “that bad” or because they assume that the problems will resolve themselves

• Inappropriate sleep training methods that don’t match the temperament or age of the baby, or the family’s situation or parenting style

• The baby has other issues that are affecting their nighttime sleep, such as an inappropriate daytime schedule

Sleeping Bee will walk parents through all different aspects of sleep, and provide tips and solutions to tackle all different troubles the baby may have, rather than just focusing on the sleep training methods.

Sleeping Bee will provide parents with the most up-to-date, science-backed knowledge and information about their baby’s sleep. We will provide parents with a personalized sleep plan that fits their baby and parenting styles. In our sleep plan we include 2 options for sleep training methods, recommended daily routines (both daytime and nighttime), and solutions to other common sleep/nap-related issues. Sleeping Bee was born, with the hope of being a companion for parents to answer all questions and put aside all doubts about their child’s sleep so that they can have the confidence to enjoy every moment with them.

Yes, certainly. No matter what part of the world you are in, Sleeping Bee will always be ready to help. Our service is mainly online-based via text messages, emails, or any other online communication means of your preference. Even though Sleeping Bee's home base is Vietnam, we have flexible working hours to support parents in different time zones.