Transition 3 – 12 pounds

Make sure your baby is ready for Transition 3 of sleep training.

• My baby is at least 12 pounds
• My baby is NOT sick
• My baby has not had a vaccination within the last 48 hours
• My baby has successfully completed Transition 2

If you have checked all of these then you are ready to start Transition 3.

At 12 pounds, your baby is able to go one, 6 to 8-hour stretch of sleep in a 24-hour period.

Begin with your day time schedule and give it two full days before beginning nights.

Also, asses your nursery/sleep space to ensure you are promoting healthy sleep.

• Night 1
  • Assess the daytime for calories and total number of hours of daytime naps
  • Bring milk in case you need it, but the plan is to not use it until the designated feeding time. Try an assortment of soothing techniques to get the baby to go back to sleep without the feed.
  • If breastfeeding, you will not need to bring milk but need to make your breast inaccessible.
  • Once it is 4 am you will offer a full feed. This must be offered with a bottle so that you can measure the amount your little one is consuming at this feed and ensure it is a full feed. You can’t go past 4 am because it will affect your day time schedule. This may result in you waking your baby to feed.
  • Once its morning (6am) leave your nursery and start your day schedule

• Night 2
  • Assess the daytime for calories and total number of hours of daytime naps
  • Bring milk in case you need it, but the plan is to not use it until the designated feeding time. Try an assortment of soothing techniques to get the baby to go back to sleep without the feed.
  • Nights 2 and three are typically the most difficult nights and require extensive soothing.

The most important thing to remember with pushing a feed and soothing is that you get your baby back to sleep without food. If you soothe for 25 minutes and get tired and this results in feeding you will create a very negative association to food and crying for your baby.

• If breastfeeding, you will not need to bring milk but need to make your breast inaccessible.
• Once it is 4 am you will offer a full feed. This must be offered with a bottle so that you can measure the amount your little one is consuming at this feed and ensure it is a full feed. You can’t go past 4 am because it will affect your day time schedule. This may result in you waking your baby to feed.
• Once its morning (6am) leave your nursery and start your day schedule

• Night 3
  • Assess the daytime for calories and total number of hours of daytime naps
  • Bring milk in case you need it, but the plan is to not use it until the designated feeding time. Try an assortment of soothing techniques to get the baby to go back to sleep without the feed.
  • Nights 2 and three are typically the most difficult nights and require extensive soothing.

The most important thing to remember with pushing a feed and soothing is that you get your baby back to sleep without food. If you soothe for 25 minutes and get tired and this results in feeding you will create a very negative association to food and crying for your baby.

• If breastfeeding, you will not need to bring milk but need to make your breast inaccessible.
• Once it is 4 am you will offer a full feed. This must be offered with a bottle so that you can measure the amount your little one is consuming at this feed and ensure it is a full feed. You can’t go past 4 am because it will affect your day time schedule. This may result in you waking your baby to feed.
• Once its morning (6am) leave your nursery and start your day schedule

• Night 4
  • Assess the daytime for calories and total number of hours of daytime naps
  • Soothe as needed
  • Once it is 4 am you will offer a full feed. You can’t go past 4 am because it will affect your day time schedule. This may result in you waking your baby to feed.
  • Once its morning (6am) leave your nursery and start your day schedule

• Night 5
  • Assess the daytime for calories and total number of hours of daytime naps
  • Soothe as needed
  • Once it is 4 am you will offer a full feed. This must be offered with a bottle so that you can measure the amount your little one is consuming at this feed and ensure it is a full feed. You can’t go past 4 am because it will affect your day time schedule. This may result in you waking your baby to feed.
  • Once its morning (6am) leave your nursery and start your day schedule

The next transition will happen based on weight gain, but to maintain this progress you must stick with your day time schedule and forms of soothing at night as needed.