Elizabeth Pantley, a Canadian parenting coach, has developed a method and advice to help babies sleep. This method is based on the observation of the biological rhythms of the child. This method has been adopted by many Anglo-Saxon parents and is starting to gain popularity in France. It is divided into several phases:
1- The observation phase
It consists in observing your baby during his sleep and to note the position in which he falls asleep, if he cries just before, if he sucks his thumb or his pacifier, if he needs his doudou, when does he wake up during the night... In short, observe all his little habits.
2- The sleep schedule
Following these observations, the method recommends setting up a sleep schedule in accordance with the biological rhythms observed: nap, meal, bath, a sort of bedtime schedule, but personally adapted to each baby. This schedule should be put in place for several months and, in the long run, will facilitate sleep.
3- The bedtime ritual
The method advises the establishment of a bedtime ritual through the introduction of soothing rituals aimed at reassuring baby. This ritual can include listening to soothing music, a song, a story (with a happy ending!), a cuddle. The repetition of these gestures night after night, always in the same order, allows toddlers to stop dreading bedtime.
4- No feeding just before bedtime
The Pantley method also recommends that you get your child out of the habit of sucking just before going to sleep. This consists in avoiding that the child falls asleep at the breast or with his pacifier. Indeed, if he systematically falls asleep with his comforter or pacifier in his mouth, he will tend to wake up during the night, as soon as he has nothing in his mouth. The method therefore advises to remove the pacifier just before the child falls asleep and to gently close his mouth.
A method based on common sense and listening to your child, to try!
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