Getting baby to sleep through the night

Learn about: Getting baby to sleep through the night from Lawrence Kagan, MD,...
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Getting baby to sleep through the night

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I actually do not believe in sleep training. I think that that is not the right word to use. I also do not believe in having children cry it out. I do not think that a child under six months of age should ever feel abandoned. I think there are three main tools that a child needs to sleep through the night. I think the first being that they need to establish a good diernal hormonal pattern. And the best way to teach them that is to let their daytime naps be warm, be somewhat bright, be noisy, have some ambient noise in the background. Maybe the tv or the radio is on. Something that stimulates them. They come from an underwater environment when they are gestating in mom and it is noisy. They hear mom´s hearbeat. They hear her intestines gurgling. And I do not think you need to tiptoe around a child during the day. The second tool that they need to learn is how to self soothe, which is a process of teaching a child that you do not have to rock them to sleep every time they go to bed. And then finally, at three months of age and 12 pounds, then they are physiologically ready to go 10 to 12 hours without eating. They will not drop their blood sugar. And so, all you have to do is stop feeding them. Really if you do that with 100% consistency and they have a melatonin secretion and they know how to self-soothe, they are going to sleep through the night quite easily.

Learn about: Getting baby to sleep through the night from Lawrence Kagan, MD,...

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Lawrence Kagan, MD

Pediatrician

Lawrence Kagan, MD, FAAP, is a UCLA honors graduate, with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry. He received medical training at USC Keck School of Medicine, and completed his internship and residency in Pediatrics at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. In addition to passionately studying neonatal, general pediatric and adolescent medicine at CHLA, he had the opportunity to train under some of the greatest minds in subspecialty pediatrics, diagnosing and managing the rarest and most complicated childhood ailments. Prior to opening Westside Pediatrics, he worked as an attending physician at the CHLA Emergency Department as well as at Cedars Sinai Urgent Care. Dr. Kagan is a native of Los Angeles and is happily married with two children.

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