What Is Sleep Training?

Right now, nights feel endless. You rock, feed, and soothe, only to be up again an hour later. The cycle repeats until you’re running on fumes. But imagine this instead: you lay your baby down at bedtime, they drift off on their own, and when they wake in the middle of the night, they resettle without needing you. That’s what sleep training really is.

Sleep training is the process of helping your baby learn to fall asleep independently. It’s not a harsh formula. It’s a skill—a system—that gives your baby confidence to sleep soundly and gives you the freedom of real rest.

What Sleep Training Is Not

    •    It’s not leaving your baby to cry endlessly.

    •    It’s not cutting night feeds before they’re ready.

    •    It’s not one rigid method that works for every child.

Instead, sleep training is a gradual, supportive process. Step by step, your baby gains the ability to self-soothe and connect sleep cycles on their own.

Why The Daytime Rhythm Comes First

Here’s where many parents go wrong: they try to fix nights without fixing days. Nights and days are linked. A predictable feeding rhythm, age-appropriate nap schedule, and consistent wake windows during the day set the stage for long stretches of night sleep. That’s why I view the daytime routine as the very first step of sleep training. When your baby’s body clock is in rhythm during the day, nighttime sleep almost always improves naturally.

A Gentle Approach

Yes, sleep training in the traditional sense means teaching self-soothing. But how you do it matters. My approach is gentle, supportive, and designed to build trust.

    •    Respond with intention. You don’t rush in at every sound, but you also don’t leave your baby endlessly upset.

    •    Focus on steady progress. Every small step builds confidence in falling asleep independently.

    •    Balance comfort with consistency. The goal is a baby who feels secure while learning to self-soothe, not one who feels abandoned.

The Bottom Line

So, what is sleep training? It’s the process of teaching your baby to self-soothe—so they can fall asleep at bedtime and settle back to sleep on their own during night wakings. When done gently and consistently, sleep training transforms exhausted nights into peaceful ones, creates predictable days, and gives your baby the lifelong skill of independent sleep. The result? Freedom. For you, for your baby, and for your whole family.