What is the Estivill Method to put babies to sleep
Parents should gradually move the baby’s crib and place it in his room so that he can sleep alone.
When parents know that they are going to have a baby, it is normal that there are many doubts that assail them . Each child is different, so even if they have more children they will always learn new things with each newborn. Thus, from the moment of birth until the rest of their childhood and adolescence, parents may have to face situations that perhaps they had never imagined, but that they will be able to solve adequately if they give their child attention, affection , understanding and proper respect to achieve it.
There are several ways to achieve these goals, either through your own experience or by enlisting the help of a professional or a family member, friend or acquaintance. The experts in the field will be the ones who can best advise us , since the rest will only be able to talk about what they have lived or have read or heard, being the health professional or the equation the one who specializes in the matter and who will have a scientific basis in their arguments.
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THE DIFFERENCES OF BABY TO BABY SLEEP
The fact that each baby is different makes parents face unfamiliar situations in many cases and if it is the first child they have, each behavior that differs from what they have read or heard as normal may worry them greatly. For this reason, some child health professionals have written books and created different methods to redirect behaviors, assimilate them or learn to live with them depending on each of the behaviors or pathologies.
One of the most common problems in parents , especially new ones, is not being able to fall asleep at night or not being able to sleep more than a certain number of hours a day . Some babies cry more than others and some have a harder time falling asleep, which is why specialized doctors such as the American Richard Febrer created a book in 1985 to treat sleep disorders in pediatrics. In our country, Eduard Estivill was the doctor in charge of transmitting the knowledge of this method and making it reach all parents who wanted to know in detail what it consists of and how it could help them get their babies to sleep more and better.
WHAT IS THE ESTIVILL METHOD ABOUT?
Many parents believe that it is good for babies to sleep with them from the beginning of their life, either in the same bed (there are those who consider it dangerous) or in a crib adapted to their age, the most recommended , in the same bedroom. In this way it is also easier for them to feed you when it is midnight or comfort you if you are crying in the middle of the night.
However, there are other parents and professionals who advise, as in the Estivill method, that after certain months, between three and six months specifically, parents should gradually move the baby’s crib and place it in their room, so that little gradually get used to sleeping alone, without being so dependent on the presence of the parents at night and letting them sleep longer.
This change cannot be made from one day to the next and a series of routines must also be created so that the baby can gradually get used to this change of sleeping place and not having their parents literally by their side all night. For this, it will be appropriate for the same actions to be repeated night after night , such as putting him to bed after having given him dinner and having spent time with both parents. The fact of having received your love and affection will help you calm down and even fall asleep more easily, due to the caresses received and the warmth of your arms.
When he goes to bed it will be recommended, according to the Estivill method, to let him settle in the crib, but without caressing or rocking him as has been done before going to bed. Inside the crib the baby must recognize as this his space of solitude, but also of tranquility and sleep . The parents can be by his side while he falls asleep, but it is important that they do not take him out of the crib if he starts to cry, as this is probably a way of asking them that he wants to be with them again and that he does not want to be left alone for the night.
As it is a gradual process, it is likely that he will cry during the first nights . According to the Estivill method, the baby will have to be allowed to cry when left alone in the crib, but the time will have to increase progressively. Thus, during the first night the parents should let him cry for half a minute, one minute the next and thus increase the time, so that a day may come when the baby gets used to falling asleep alone, getting used to the routine of going to sleep in the crib of his room and without having the presence of his parents constantly by his side.
It should be taken into account that babies cannot communicate in any way other than crying, so parents must learn to distinguish the types of crying to know if they really do not want to stay alone in the crib or are hungry or not he is okay. Therefore, not everyone agrees with the Estivill method and you should be the ones who determine the best way to help your baby sleep, so that he can rest as he deserves and can be safe in your home, as I would be sleeping next to you in the same room.
Dr. Tabriella Perivolaris, Sara's mother and fan of fashion, beauty, motherhood, among others, about the female universe. Since 2018 she has been working as a copywriter, always bringing to her articles a little of her experience and experience as a mother and woman.