Sleep train or not?

Some babies sleep easily, some don’t. I have an almost 4yo and a 7mo. Both were sleep trained but both were different. And neither of them were natural sleepers #1 was carried/rocked till she fell asleep then placed in the bed.. till she had severe sleep regression at 18 months, and was too heavy to carry for like 2 hrs. We tried various methods and they all failed (she got even more worked up with the various no tears methods), so we did cry-it-out. She learnt to sleep on her own very quickly (by the end of week 1, she would cry for at most 15min), and by the end of 2 weeks, there were no tears at all for every bedtime. #2 couldn’t be carried to sleep. She was even more alert than #1 as a newborn.. never thought that would be possible 😂 she latched to sleep first the first 2 months. We learnt the patting method at 2 months, which worked till 4 months. Then she started rolling and flipping and being a danger to herself. Again, no gentle method worked. So after 4.5 months, we had no choice (very painful for me) but to do cry-it-out. Because she’s a lot younger and has no fixed sleeping time yet, and her awake intervals are still gradually extending, it’s a bit more tricky for her. She sleeps on her own by the way, just that how long it takes and how much crying is involved depends on how spot on we are in putting her down at the correct timing. So my husband charts down every single timing.. what time we put her down, what time she falls asleep, what time she wakes up. He’s brilliant at being consistent with that 😂 I, on the other hand, am better at looking at her for cues. So we match the best timing and cues for each nap and bedtime, and so far.. 2 months + on since we did nap training, things are getting better and better. Night times are also much easier because she self soothes very well and in the middle of the night, she falls asleep almost immediately after I put her down after a feed, and can sleep for a much longer stretch than before (my case is probably one of the more horrific ones.. hahaha.. like waking up 7-8x in 1 night - might as well don’t sleep) As for psychological impact, my #1 has absolutely no recollection of the training at 18 months. Lol. Even when we told her about it again recently. And she definitely feels loved and secure. We even make her bedtime routine so fun for her, now that she’s older. #2 usually has a bright smile for me when I enter her room to pick her up after her nap/sleep. Sometimes she’s fretful when I put her down (only the bedtime one, for some reason), but that usually settles shortly after I leave the room. Again, I don’t think this has any longterm issues.. because everytime she’s up, she’s a happy baby again.

Tbh I don’t know and don’t really care. Back in our parents days I don’t think they know what is sleep train. They probably just follow their instinct and baby’s cue to raise them up. We all grow up well isn’t it. My point is if baby is not ready, then how to force train them to follow what you want. If it’s not anything that is bad or causing a concern, then just follow their cue. Don’t stress over sleep training and if you fail to do so.

Yes I do, but not in the early weeks as their stomach have yet to build up the capacity to sustain them throughout the night. Most babies attune without sleep training by 3-4 months old without training.

I don't believe in sleep training - still carrying/rocking/latching my 9mo to sleep, and she still wakes every 2-3 hours for feeds. Yea, it's tiring but she's just a baby after all 😄

Didnt do sleep training but my boy learnt how to fall asleep with his favourite pillow. He still cries for milk hungrily middle of the night though

Can sleep Train when they older. So far my baby is getting used to routine from 5 to 6 months