Cry It Out for Naps: Does It Work or Is It a Sham?

If you’re getting ready to start sleep training your child, we are sure that you must be looking for the best method to do so.

You’ve probably heard of the cry-it-out method from your friends. However, have you thought to yourself if it is right for your baby? Cry it out is one of many sleep-training approaches that you can explore as a new parent.

Lucky for you, we already did the research to explain the procedure to you. Let’s dive into the cry it out for naps method for babies:

What Is the Cry It Out for Naps Method of Sleep Training?

The Cry it out for naps method, is a sleep training approach in which you place your infant in their crib fully awake and allow them to cry until the baby eventually falls asleep. That implies you won’t feed your kid, rock them, or use any other method to get them to sleep.

The purpose of sleep training methods isn’t to prevent a baby from waking up during the course of the night, nor is it to get a baby to sleep for an entire night without eating. The idea is merely to train the kid to sleep on their own, away from you.

Does the Cry It Out for Naps Method Work?

The cry it out approach is effective not only for nighttime but also for daytime. You can use this method of sleep training as long as you follow it consistently and maintain a consistent sleeping schedule for your baby.

If your infant naps excessively throughout the day, he or she will wake up frequently during the night. The ultimate objective here is to assist your child in falling asleep without your assistance, as softly as possible and with minimal or no screaming. Your infant will employ the self-soothing techniques he or she learns throughout sleep training for both nighttime and daytime sleep.

How Long Do You Need to Let Your Baby Cry?

• Put your baby in bed for approximately 15 minutes before you want them to go to sleep and then exit the room to let them fall asleep. This time range frequently allows babies to become restless and exhausted. When you first start sleeping training your child, they will cry most often when you lay them down. This crying should subside as sleep training progresses. Your baby, on the other hand, will learn to fall asleep through self-soothing. If your infant does not go to sleep within 15 minutes, try increasing the time to an hour.

• Because daytime naps normally do not include sleeping for an extended period of time, it is preferable not to enter the room during this time. If your baby sees you when sleeping, they may become stimulated and become less inclined to fall asleep. You can keep an eye on your little one from afar, making sure that he or she doesn’t notice you at any point.

• If your kid hasn’t fallen asleep after an hour and a half, take them out of his crib and resume your normal routine. Feed your baby and hold them if necessary, and wait 45 minutes before attempting to put them down again using the techniques outlined above. Allow your baby to fall asleep outside of their cot. If your little one exhibits indications of sleepiness, return them to his or her bed and let him or her fall asleep by self-soothing.

When Should You Begin and End the Cry It Out Cycle?

According to children’s health specialists, the best age to begin the cry it out technique varies from kid to kid but should not be sooner than 4 months. The goal of sleep training is to educate your child to fall asleep on their own, something newborns cannot accomplish since they are still developing a sleep regimen and responding to their natural sleep cycles.

The majority of babies sleep six to eight hours per night for three months. You’ll be interested in waiting for these longer duration to happen on a regular basis, which will take some time. Sleep training can begin when your infant is close to sleeping during the night on a continuous basis, which should happen around midway through their first year.

Here are a few indicators that your infant is ready for cry it out sleep training:

• Crying, fussiness, or appearing exhausted in the late afternoons
• Modifying nap schedules, such as eliminating the requirement for a third nap
• Having trouble falling asleep during the night

If you notice any one of the signs mentioned above, it means that your child is developing a new sleep pattern that necessitates fewer naps during the day, longer nighttime sleeps, and an earlier bedtime. All of these factors indicate that sleep training can begin soon.

Once your child learns how to fall asleep on their own, the cry-it-out strategy will naturally come to an end. However, it takes time to work. Use your best judgment to determine what is best for your child. You can also speak with your baby’s healthcare physician about trying a new strategy if your baby does not respond to the cry it out strategy.

What Are the Tips You Need to Follow When Letting Your Baby Cry It Out?

While it may appear difficult to believe, crying it out is most likely considerably more difficult on you than it is on your infant. Before you begin, make sure your baby isn’t sleeping too much or too little, as overtired babies have a more difficult time falling asleep.

You also need to establish a nightly routine that doesn’t include feeding or rocking. So, are you ready to get started?

Let’s begin:

• Always put your infant down when he or she is awake. The purpose of sleep training is to teach your little one how to sleep on their own, which needs them to remain awake and not rocked to slumber. Gently tap your baby and tell them that you love them before leaving the room before they fall asleep.

• Expect some backlash. Your infant will most likely cry, possibly a lot. Whatever length of time you leave the infant alone, it will feel much longer.

• Look for signs that tell you that your infant is tired. For example, your baby might get droopy eyes, get cranky or suck their thumb at the same time every single night. It is very important for you to know when your baby needs to sleep because it is critical for the cry it out method to be successful. This way you can get your little one in bed before they become overtired and overstimulated.

• Make sure that whenever your baby falls asleep he or she is in their crib. Instead of using a stroller or a swing a crib can help promote sleep and aid in the establishment of a routine be it bedtime or daytime naps.

• Do not respond to your baby’s cries once you have started the cry it out method. This is where things are going to become difficult. The full cry it out approach requires parents to let their baby cry without any form of comfort until the baby becomes weary and falls asleep.

• Set your baby’s bedtime ritual 30 to 40 minutes before their sleep time. This will help your baby in winding down and preparing for sleep. Some really effective components of a good nighttime routine for a baby include a massage, lullabies, final feeding, a bath, or a book.

In conclusion, you will have a few difficult nights listening to your baby cry. But keep this in mind as you sit outside their door, convinced that you’re the worst parent in the world: weeping won’t harm your baby in the long run. In the end, you’re doing your kid a favor by teaching them to fall asleep on their own.

The Dos and Don’ts of the Cry It Out for Naps Method

Let’s take a look at what you need to do and what you need to avoid at all costs:

The Dos of Cry It Out for Naps Method

• Be careful and check up on your infant every 5-10 minutes. You want your baby to learn to put themselves to sleep, but you also want to ensure his or her safety.

• When doing the cry it out training, stick to a schedule. Routines and timetables are essential for your baby’s internal clock to recognize when it’s time to sleep and when it’s time to wake up. Always put your baby to sleep in his or her crib, so your baby can learn that sleeping takes place only in the crib.

• More importantly, your mental health matters as well. You can let yourself cry if necessary. Listening to a newborn cry for solace can be devastating at times and cause caregivers to fail. Stick to the routine, and you will soon have a happy baby who goes to sleep on their own without your assistance.

The Don’ts of Cry It Out for Naps

• Letting your baby cry means not picking them up out of bed, feeding them, or turning on the light. If you need to comfort your baby while you are there, you can talk softly to them from the door where they are unable to see you. After soothing the infant with the sound of your voice, leave the area and return 5-10 minutes later to make sure everything is okay with them.

• Don’t be erratic about your sleep training. You must respond in the same manner every time your kid goes to sleep, whether for an afternoon nap or at bedtime. If you cave into your baby’s cries and cuddle them as he or she falls asleep one night, you will destroy the sleep training gains you have achieved with your kid. Your kid will learn that if he or she screams and fusses long enough, they will be soothed by you and will not learn to self-soothe.

Is the Cry It Out Approach to Sleep Training Detrimental?

A research paper published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry in 2020 discovered that utilizing the cry it out sleep exercise technique had minimal effect on the growth of a child at 18 months. However, crying it out goes against a core evolutionary impulse. It can also go against your purpose of assisting your child in developing self-confidence.

When Can You Try the Cry It Out Method?

As far as sleep training is concerned, there is no universally applicable solution. However, between the ages of 4 and 6 months, infants are usually mentally prepared for sleep training. At this stage, your baby hasn’t gotten acclimated to being rocked or fed to sleep, and it’s around this time when the 3 to 4 month sleep regression kicks in, making it a good opportunity to start sleep training. Yet, before you start, you need to have a clear idea of what you can reasonably anticipate from your little one. For example, at around 6 months of age, sleeping during the night frequently refers to dozing for five to six hours without having to be fed.

What Are the Best Approaches to the Cry It Out for Naps Training Method?

There are several approaches to this. The first step is to feed your baby, then lay them in their crib tired but awake, say goodnight, and leave.

Alternatively, you can do all of the aforementioned but take a more gradual approach by monitoring the time between looking out for your baby and gently comforting them.

Conclusion

While the cry it out for nap technique can be useful in training a baby to sleep on their own, parents must maintain consistency in how they respond and act to their infant’s behavior. Only then may parents hope to observe positive changes in their infant’s sleeping patterns.

However, always remember that since every infant is unique, it is critical to pay attention to your baby’s cues.