Consistency is a quality of being unchanging and dependable.

It has definitely helped me in my life. I like to know what I am doing and where I am going. Change seems to be consistently scary to me (see what I did there?!). Don't get me wrong, I will deal with change if and when I need to, but I wont invite it to solve a problem, especially if I have already decided on how I should fix the problem.

If you feel overwhelmed, as we all get from time to time or if you are unsure what to do then make a decision and stick to it. Be consistent. Be diligent. 

Too many people are give up too early without giving it a good shot. They aren't confident in the decision they have made so they decide to swap without giving it a good old fashioned go.

So I ask you to be consistent. In the way you decide to parent. Or the way you decide to sleep train (or not sleep train) your baby. How you decide to fix a problem you might be having. 

Be true to yourself and stay the course. Of course, if things don't improve eventually then you need to change your approach. But make sure you give it your best before you change.

Ok. Here it is. The truth about the different sleep training methods. Ready for it?... 

All babies cry. 

Yes, some more than others. But I am yet to hear of a baby who doesn't cry. Ever. 

If you are a first time mum (FTM) looking to sleep train your baby then let me tell you what I have learnt about "No cry" sleep training methods. They should be called "sometimes may cry" sleep training. Your baby will cry. And it is probably overwhelming to hear. Every cry literally pulls at your heart stings. But as a second time mum I can tell you it gets easier, because you learn the different types of cries. Now, I don't mean "Hungry" vs "Tired" cries. I mean "Hard" vs "Soft" cries. Let me explain. 

Imagine scenario 1. It is 12am. Your baby is about 5 months old and sleeps from 10:30pm to 6:30am every day. Great! But today at 12am you hear a "WAHHHHHHH" you rush in STRAIGHT AWAY to see what is wrong. You pick baby up and check her from head to toe. She stops crying after some soothing, she smiles at you and you know she is happy to see you. You give her a kiss and put her back down only to hear her protest sleep. This repeats for 3 days. What do you do? You keep going in? If you do you worry that you might encourage her behaviour. 

Now imagine scenario 2. It is 12am. Your baby is about 5 months and sleeps from 10:30 to 6:30am every day. Great! But today at 12am you hear a "WAHHHHHH" you decide to wait 5 mins. It is completely out of character for your baby to cry out, and you are concerned, but you know that she just had a feed and nappy change an hour and a half ago and she is perfectly safe. After 1 min of "hard crying" she does 2 mins of "soft crying" then she stops. You go in to check a few minutes after she stopped crying and she is fast alseep. Maybe a baby dream woke her? Or maybe a pesky tooth is moving. Oh well, she is sleeping now and you can now drift off to sleep too.

Hard cries are cries that usually don't die down. They get worse. They can be from pain (e.g. immunisations jabs) or hunger if it isn't addressed soon enough or from lack of sleep if it isn't provided soon enough. 

Soft cries are little cries. They tell us something is up. I am getting hungry, I am getting tired, I am getting uncomfortable. Also, these cries or whimpers can be sounds of babies putting themselves to sleep.

Now FTM, I know, all cries are cries and it is hard to tell the difference. But you will soon be able to tell the difference. I don't get so worked up when I hear bubba #2 cry when I know he is OK. If he cries in the middle ofthe night or 45 mins into a nap I usually 'give it a minute' then he just stops.

If you are looking for "No cry" sleep methods just be prepared for some crying, hopefully just soft crying. Maybe think of these methods as "sometimes may cry" methods. Remember that you've go this. You can do what you set out to achieve with your baby, they will be thankful for it and you will be doing the best thing for yourself too.