FAQ

ABSOLUTELY! At The Early Weeks, we are fully supportive of your desire to breastfeed your baby. During the sleep learning or training process, we take a comphrensive look at all the important factors needed for your child to be able to sleep. Breast feeding, bottle feeding and solids included! Sometimes, this means calling on some trusted co-support, with lactation or feeding therapists.

We will balance your desire to breastfeed your baby with your sleep goals and make the plan a win, win for baby, mama and the whole family!

The answer to this question varies depending on several factors. A few being, your baby’s age and what sleep foundations are already established.

Our Client’s goals are our goals and the plan of action will reflect these goals. If a family is happy with one-night feeding until their baby is 9 months of age or older, that is the goal. If a family would like their baby sleeping through the night without any night feeds, as soon as possible, the expectation is we work to facilitate that by 5-6 months of age, if appropriate for their baby. Sometimes goals change during the sleep learning process and that is okay with us!

Generally speaking, we are looking for stretches of sleep in the following tiers:

• 3 weeks old - 2-3 hour stretches at night.
• 5 weeks old - (1) 4+ hour stretch of sleep and several shorter stretches of 2-3 hours.
• 8 weeks old - (1) 6-8 hour stretch of sleep and several shorter stretches of 3-4 hours.
• 12 weeks old - (1) 8+ hour stretch of sleep and (1) shorter stretch of sleep.
• 16 weeks old - holding 1-2 night feeds. Breastfed babies will generally feed at least 2x per night at this age.
• 5-6 months - some babies will sleep through the night. At 5 months of age night sleep really starts to integrate. 6 months is when the sleep is typically more stabilized.

A quick Google search will yield a lot of varying opinions and information about what is considered sleeping through the night. Here is what we, at The Early Weeks, consider “sleeping through the night”:

• Your baby or child will sleep 11-12 hours at night.
• Your baby or child will have normal wakings periodically throughout the night, (we all do), and will be able to return to sleep unassisted when these wakings happen.
• Your baby or child will not require any food or feeds during the 11-12 hours at night.

We have a very high success rate and are very invested in our Client’s success. Keep in mind that you as parents have to take action, trusting the process and the plan we have laid out for you. If either of these things doesn’t happen, your baby or child will not be as successful during the process.

Occasionally there are some babies that are not quite ready to formally sleep train. In these instances, we work to build better sleep habits and focus on sleep learning. Any forward progression with your baby's sleep will ultimately help your entire family sleep better!

We believe that every parent and their baby or young child can learn to sleep better and will be successful during the process, if they commit and follow the guidance we provide. There are no “bad sleepers”, “difficult babies” or babies and children that can’t be helped. 

We use many different methods, based on the family’s needs and goals, to facilitate better sleep for the entire family. The chosen method will be a joint decision between your Sleep Consultant and you, the parents.

Our philosophy on sleep? Meet Needs -> Teach Sleep! It is only when the needs of your child are fully met that sleep can truly onboard in a consistent manner. Who is the one being taught during the sleep implementation process? Truthfully, it's you, the parents!