If you take a look around my site, you will see lots of mentions of sleep props or sleep associations. You may be wondering, “What IS a sleep prop?”
A sleep prop (also known as a sleep association, crutch, or assist to sleep) can be anything that your baby depends on to fall asleep. All sleep props are not created equal either! Some are extremely helpful for your baby’s sleep while others tend to be less helpful.
First thing I want to mention is that no sleep prop is across-the-board bad. I prefer the terms helpful and unhelpful that I used above. The word bad leads parents to think they’ve done something wrong or that something they are currently doing is an issue. This is not always the case!
I cannot stress this enough
If you’re currently using any of the unhelpful props that I mention below but sleep is going just fine for your family, then no need to change it! This post is meant to help families who are struggling get to the root cause of their sleep issues, not to make other families worry unnecessarily! If it’s not broken, don’t fix it!
Here are some signs that you might be using an unhelpful sleep prop:
♥Short naps, rarely longer than 30-45 minutes unless you help them back to sleep
♥Frequent night wakings, typically every couple of hours but could even be one or two wakings per night in an older baby
♥Daytime crankiness
♥Fighting going to sleep
♥Often waking within an hour of falling asleep at bedtime and difficult to get back down
♥Trying to start their day early in the morning (before 6am)
♥Unpredictable daytime schedule
So what can be considered an unhelpful sleep prop:
♥Nursing to sleep
♥Bottle feeding to sleep
♥Rocking to sleep
♥Holding to sleep
♥Laying with to fall asleep
♥Pacifier use (particularly if your baby cannot reinsert it themselves)
In and of themselves, these things aren’t inherently bad. But if you’re struggling with sleep, here’s what you need to understand. Your baby has the potential to wake up each and every sleep cycle throughout the night and during naps. That’s about every 40-50 minutes! So what your baby needs to fall asleep at bedtime, is exactly what they’ll need to fall back asleep at these wakings.
You have to ask yourself, am I willing to continue offering this sleep prop all throughout the night or after each short little nap in order to get them back to sleep? If that doesn’t sound too enticing then that’s where sleep coaching comes into play!
The goal of sleep coaching is to teach your baby to fall asleep independently. This means that when your baby is laid down in the crib, they should still be awake!
This is where the rule “drowsy but awake” comes into play. Personally, I prefer the phrase “awake and calm” because there can be some confusion about the word drowsy.
Every time you lay your baby down for sleep (naps and nighttime), ideally they would be awake and calm. Not asleep. Not drifting off. Fully awake.
They should also be calm and primed for sleep (i.e. proper timing, calming bedtime routine, ideal sleep environment). By doing this each and every time you lay your baby down, you are teaching them this important sleep skill, one that they will need to have for the rest of their life!
Using the awake and calm rule is so key that, if a newborn is taught good sleep habits and the awake and calm rule is used gradually from the very beginning, they might never have to go through any sleep coaching! How amazing would that be? I have an entire Newborn Sleep Course all about how to do this and it’s producing amazing results with my mamas!
Now that we’ve gone through all that info, let’s talk about helpful sleep props. These should be things that your child either has some control over or that are always available to them throughout the night/nap so that they aren’t disrupted when they briefly wake.
What is considered a helpful sleep prop?
♥Dark sleep environment
♥Sleep sack
♥Predictable bedtime routine
♥Lovey- if over 12 months of age
♥Pacifier if you little one can reinsert it themselves- although I still recommend getting rid of it sooner rather than later
These are all things that will aid your baby in getting the most restorative sleep possible, without causing unnecessary wakings or helplessness for them that you will need to attend to.
So how do you get rid of unhelpful sleep props?
If you’ve realized after reading this post that you have a big sleep prop issue and you’re ready to make the steps to resolve it, be sure to check out my different services. ⇓
⇒If you feel like you just need someone to tell you what changes to make and how, you may be interested in my Classic Consultation.
⇒If you know this will be a big transition for your family and you’d like my constant support and guidance along the way, my Ultimate Consultation is the way to go!
∗You can always Apply to Work with Me and we can talk through the best option for your unique situation.