It's very important for all family members and caregivers to be on the same page when it comes to sleep training. This can appear to be an overwhelming process when sleep deprivation is already an issue and without a proper support system in place. Please take the time to review the entire sleep plan with everyone who will be involved in the process.
It's also important to keep a calm, confident and positive attitude. Your baby will feel and sense any frustration, insecurity or stress you are emitting.
This sleep plan requires a two-week commitment. With sleep training, deviating from the plan in any way will cause set backs and can undo progress. For you to achieve your sleep goals, every piece of this plan must be followed to the letter, every single day, for a minimum of 2 weeks.
Please pick a two-week time period without vacations, social outings during nap times, and any other distractions. It is imperative for sleep to occur in the same place during training, please plan accordingly. While the occasional change won't ruin the entire process, be aware that deviations will cause setbacks in seeing results and expect the process to take more time.
When you begin, expect things to get chaotic or seemingly worse before they get better. This is to be expected, whatever prior sleep habits your child has, took months to solidify and are now being completely changed in a matter of weeks. It is not uncommon for certain sleep issues to take upwards of 3 weeks to solve and to see consistently great sleep for both days and nights. For the first few weeks in particular you will see a fluctuation between days/nights with great sleep and others with more fragmented sleep. Do not become discouraged, stay the course and follow the plan. Your goals and success are entirely dependent on following the sleep plan to the letter, every single day.