Sleep training can be TOUGH. It typically involves some level of crying, and no one enjoys that part. BUT, we do it for the good of our children (they need the sleep!) and for our own sanity (we need the sleep AND the breaks!), and after 2-3 weeks of sleep training, things are feeling GOOD.
But unfortunately, sleep training is usually not a one-and-done thing — there are tons of reasons why you might need to do touch-up sleep training. This post is all about what might make touch-up training necessary and how to do it.
Reasons you might need to do touch-up sleep training
Here are a few of the things that might cause sleep troubles with an already-sleep-trained child.
New sibling
Vacations (before and/or during!)
Time changes (Daylight Savings Time or travel across time zones)
New skill developments
Moving
Teething
Starting daycare
Changing bedrooms/room-sharing with a sibling
Eliminating binky- or thumb-sucking
Celebrations/late nights
Clearly there are many things that can disrupt sleep! You can use touch-up sleep training anytime Baby gets out of his routine and/or starts fighting sleep for any reason — whether a reason from above or something different!
How to do touch-up sleep training
While initial sleep training is a very involved, usually 2- to 3-week process, potentially with a lot of crying for the first 3-5 days, touch-up training is much lower-key. It usually only takes 1-3 days, and there is typically much less crying. In order to do touch-up training, you’ll need to get back to the basics.
Consistent Routine
Baby can more consistently sleep well if he’s given a more consistent routine. Refocus on consistent daily routines and consistent pre-sleep routines. If you’ve fallen into routines you don’t want to continue, decide what you do want to do, and do that moving forward.
Independent sleep
If you’ve reverted to helping your child fall asleep, whether by rocking them, lying in their bed while they fall asleep, or any other method, you’ll again need to prioritize independent sleep using a sleep training method you’re comfortable with.
If they’re still a baby, you can use the same method you originally used, but if they’ve become a toddler or a preschooler, you may need to add on some other methods, like toddler checks or sleep rules/sticker chart!
Age-appropriate schedule
As you can see with the many reasons I listed above, most of them throw off the schedule in some way — Baby stays up later than usual or skips more naps than usual. Or there’s simply a life change that makes it more difficult to maintain the schedule. That’s why, when doing touch-up training, you’ll need to re-prioritize the schedule.
Many times, touch-up sleep training is necessary when Baby’s schedule needs adjustment, so keep in mind the common times for nap transitions, as well as what schedule changes those nap transitions entail. Grab my free scheduling guide to help with this!
Our kids all get out of good sleep habits for one reason or another, and touch-up sleep training is simply about reminding your child of the skills he is capable of, so that everyone can get back to getting the sleep they need.
Have you ever needed to do touch-up sleep training? Tell me your stories in the comments!