With this series of blog posts, I will be giving a brief background on a specific method of sleep training and share some pros and cons of each. My aim is to educate and inform, not to throw criticism towards any parent who may choose a specific method. I just want to be clear that there are many forms of sleep training methods (many I won’t be covering) so you need to choose the best strategy for your specific child.

 

 

What is the No Cry Method?

The No Cry Method is an attachment parent philosophy of changing sleep habits whilst ensuring your baby does not cry at all. American Paediatrician, William Sears, author of many attachment parenting books including The Baby Book; Elizabeth Pantley The No Cry Sleep Solution and Pinky McKay Sleeping Like a Baby are all attachment parenting advocates who do write about baby sleep.

Interestingly the No Cry Method isn’t a specific approach like The Extinction Method, Ferber Method or Camp Out Method because attachment parenting often shies away from any sort of sleep training at all.

I have not personally used this method so I will give a brief overview and if you would like to know more, I recommend purchasing the books from the experts above.

What does the No Cry Method aim to achieve?

The goal is for the baby to have lots of assistance to fall asleep through feeding, rocking, cuddling and most importantly the emphasis is to continue to co-sleep. The aim is to reduce the help offered by the parent but to not fade it out completely. Many parents who choose this method wish to continue to co-sleep but want their baby sleep for longer stretches at night.

So how does the No Cry Method work?

1. Your baby’s wants are put first at all times. If the baby wants to be fed, rocked, cuddled to sleep, then it is offered.
2. By sleeping with and attending to your baby’s cry, the sacred bond is secure.

If your baby comfort sucks during the night, and you want to reduce this, you slowly try and unlatch your baby. If your baby reattaches, you try to gently unlatch them again. Repeat. You can also try to fade out rocking and patting in the same way. Over time you very slowly reduce the amount you offer this. If your baby begins to cry, you keep rocking, patting, then try again to stop the help. Repeat.

This method can make many months to see any change to your baby’s sleep.

Cons of the No Cry Method

• It is a very, very, very slow approach to change. You may become frustrated and “give up” as progress takes many, many months.
• Your baby may not respond to this very gentle method and some babies do not make any progress at all.
• Your relationship with your partner may become strained if one parent does not want co-sleeping to occur.
• You cannot 100% confirm that there will be no crying at all.
• This method can be very fluid so you may become frustrated at the lack of step-by-step guidelines.

Pros of the No Cry Method

• You can continue to bed share.
• You can continue to night-feed.
• You are able to offer physical and verbal comfort so it’s a very hands-on approach.
• It is a very gentle approach to change.
• It is inline with the attachment parent philosophy.

Final thoughts from me…

When choosing a method of sleep training it is important to remember that the approach is only one piece of the puzzle. Finding the cause of the difficult sleep comes first. Next you need to establish positive sleep cues for your baby. Lastly comes the sleep training method. With any sleep training method, it is really important to listen to your baby. When families work with me, quite often the method changes and evolves depending on how the baby is coping and the signs he is giving me.

The forms of sleep training methods that will be covered in this 4 part series are: The Extinction Method, The Ferber Method, The Camp Out Method and the No Cry Method.