9 Common Baby Sleep Myths
Want to know the top 9 common baby sleep myths? You’re in the right place!
Hi there! Welcome to Sleep and the City where it’s our mission to teach you gentle, hands-on, no cry-it-out sleep methods that work in real life.
We’re a top-rated baby and toddler sleep agency in Portland, Oregon. We are official Disney expert toddler sleep advisors with 5 years of sleep consulting & thousands of happy sleeping families!
I just love helping families with their baby’s sleep.
Or, if you’re ready to do it on your own – you can take my new online sleep training course here.
So, let’s hop into the top 9 common baby sleep myths
Myth # 1 - Keep the nursery completely quiet
If you’ve followed Sleep and the City for any bit of time, you definitely know that we’re big fans of white noise! Specifically, a sound machine that works and aesthetically compliments baby’s nursery because #nurserygoals!
When it comes to baby sleep, baby may need silence to fall asleep. However, most newborn babies actually need and love soothing noise in the background. Having this background noise is familiar for them – it’s comforting – it’s similar to the noise they heard when they were in mama’s belly!
We recommend the 5-1 Hatch Rest Plus.
Myth #2 - Pull the pacifier whenever you think it’s the right time
The pacifier, also known as the wubby – wubanub – pacie – or. . . what does your family call it?
It’s a great tool for soothing a baby who needs it. Baby sleep myth #2 is that you can take away a pacifier from baby whenever you think it’s the right time. The reason this is a myth is because there is a recommended age to wean baby from the pacifier – it’s between 4 to 6 months. After that and between 6 months to 2.5 years, it becomes extremely difficult to wean the pacifier.
This is due to extreme spikes in separation anxiety, stranger danger, and developmental leaps. Read more about pacifier weaning for baby, here.
Myth #3 - Cry it out is the only option
Cry it out has a negative stigma because this method is promoting the idea of leaving a child alone in their crib for hours on end without any parental interaction – and this is really scary for most parents – and for good reason. If you are finding yourself in this position where your 5-18 month baby is one or all of these: constantly crying, waking up every 2-3 hours, requires co-sleeping, refuses bottles, or other things . . . we recommend to enroll in the Baby Sleep Academy self-paced sleep training class here, or my newest class NO-CRY class for Newborns here!
This class will really help those mamas with 5-18 month old babies struggling with sleep to develop improved sleep habits. And cry it out is definitely not your only option. There are ways to gently help baby improve their sleep where baby never has be alone, even co-sleeping babies can sleep all night!
Myth #4 – Baby will sleep in later if put down later at night
It’s actually the opposite. Babies who are put down earlier in the evening are babies who will be more on track to sleep better, longer, and cry less. There are so many other different variables that go into healthy baby sleep – but it is a myth to think putting baby down later will result in sleeping in later. In fact, babies will feel over tired when put down later in the evening. Baby sleep signals will show when they are tired. So, when you see eye rubbing, yawning, and a general slowing down – these are good sleep signals to start your bedtime routine, which might happen as early as 6:00 to 7:00 pm for some older babies. Newborn babies under 4 months will typically need a catnap between 6-8pm to bridge the gap until their later bedtime of 9-11pm.
Myth #5 – The dog can sleep in the nursery
This one might be a tough one to hear for all you pet loving parents! And the bond of baby and pet can be such a cute one, too!
But, did you know that the AAP – American Academy of Pediatrics actually recommends to not leave your baby alone with your pet? And even though it is rare for a dog to attack your baby while sleeping – we always recommend to be on the safer side and follow the AAP in these type of situations.
Myth #6 – Longer sleep is a result of babies on solid foods
The research does not support this – it’s a myth. The research does discourage feeding babies solid foods if under 4 months old. This is because under 4 month old babies lack the digestive systems and oral-motor skills… and an early introduction to solid foods can trigger food allergies. Younger babies will be well fed on a liquid diet (formula or breastfeeding) without needing any supplemental solid foods such as cereal.
Myth # 7 - 4+ month old babies still need feedings every 2-3 hours
Baby sleep myth #7 is that 4+ month old babies still need feedings every 2-3 hours. Even though, some babies may wake up every 2-3 hours – babies 4+ months old do not need to feed as often. If your baby is over 4 months, they will be able to go 4-6 hours straight without a feed!
It’s important that baby gets plenty to eat during the day. And depending on how old baby is will determine how often feedings will need to be or how much formula baby will need. It’s also important to feed baby in the evening and before bedtime. Click here to grab the 3-4M Regression class, complete with online videos, a DIY guide for on-the-go, and plenty of information surrounding that drowsy put down in the crib.
One main thing is to start weaning slowly and gradually. The goal here would be to assist baby to learn how to fall asleep on their own instead of us parents jumping straight into feeding or rocking. With any transition like weaning, it’s a learning process that takes some time, patience, and flexibility. But after a week or so, you’ll get in the swing of things. Want to read more on how to wean baby off night feedings, click here.
Myth #8 - Typically, there’s one common reason why your baby isn’t sleeping
Another baby sleep myth is that there’s one common reason why baby isn’t sleeping well. This is a myth because there are different reasons why baby might not be sleeping well and these reasons also depend on how old baby is. Let’s dive a bit deeper into this.
The baby sleep myth that there’s one common reason baby isn’t sleeping is untrue because there are different reasons at different ages. When baby is 0 – 3 months old, age and hunger are the real reasons why baby is waking up every 2-3 hours, and slowly but surely, baby will begin to drop these feeds (see how in our Newborn class!) . At 4 months old, the main reason baby is having sleep issues is due to the 4 month sleep regression.
Between 5-12 months, other reasons can be attributed to your baby’s struggling sleep. Reasons like “sleep associations”. Even though baby is past the 4 month sleep regression, sleep associations (such as the need to be rocked back to sleep) may trickle back in resulting in baby crying. There are positive sleep associations that will help baby fall asleep without parental assistance like white noise. But, it’s those negative sleep associations that make baby feel like they need your help to fall back to sleep like feeding, rocking, or nursing.
Other reasons for interrupted sleep with babies 5-12 months could be feeling overtired, hunger, missed naps, oversized wake windows, and other situations that may need to be explored. Over 18+ months, disrupted nights are typically caused by new siblings, change in lifestyle/school/babysitter, family change (death, divorce), illnesses, nightmares, or moving to the toddler bed too early.
Babies of @this.little.wandering , @saliharrison, & @mrs_engstrom
Myth #9 - My baby can’t be sleep trained and will eventually sleep better
Every baby and family can improve sleep with the right education, practice, and determination.
And it’s possible that baby might – eventually – fall asleep. But again, cry it out isn’t a gentle way and doesn’t help baby in the long term.
What is most important is having the knowledge to help your baby the best way you can. At Sleep and the City – we give you all the tools, knowledge, and support to best help your baby learn to sleep and use the learned sleep techniques to stay asleep on their own. It’s these healthy sleep habits that your baby will learn and develop over time that will help them as they grow into a toddler.
Ok, I give up. My baby won’t sleep, takes horrible naps, and nothing I’ve tried is working!
What am I doing wrong??
It’s not what you’re necessarily doing wrong, but maybe what you yet don’t realize— babies actually WANT to sleep! Is your baby struggling at put down, fights naps religiously, or just refuses to sleep longer than 1-3 hour stretches at night? You deserve better sleep, and so does your babe, and I have the answer for you right here!! As quick as you can sip a can of wine or two cups of tea, you could have that “ah-ha” moment you’ve been searching for just by enrolling in the Sleep Academy sleep training class, right now. Inside you’ll find not only my modern “Wink-a-Sleep” program (no cry it out tactics or messy pop-ins), but a wealth of information from night weanings, regressions, or how to get baby back to sleep without needing the breast or bottle. I think you’ll be surprised at how ready baby actually is!