6 Most Popular Baby Sleep-Training Methods Explained

The idea behind extinction, also called full extinction to distinguish it from graduated extinction, is to stop the crying behaviour by not responding to it. As with the check-and-console method, go through your bedtime routine, put them in their crib awake, say goodnight and walk out.

This is certainly the most controversial sleep-training method, and even experts disagree on what to do next—it all depends on what stage your baby is at developmentally and what works for the parents.

• McGinn, for example, suggests leaving your baby until the morning, unless you’ve predetermined that they still need a feed during the night. “That first night can be rough,” says McGinn. “They could be up every hour crying.”
• Mitelman, on the other hand, recommends that parents wait for at least one or two wake-ups before going into the room.
• Then, if the baby wakes up after midnight, she believes it’s OK to go back in, comfort your baby for a few minutes and then leave again. She also supports scheduling regular nighttime feeds if your baby still needs them.

Parents are often hesitant to go this route, worried about how much crying will be involved. While McGinn doesn’t deny it can be difficult at first, she finds parents are often surprised by how quickly it works. “Yes, there is a lot of crying, but it’s short-term,” she says. “You might get a lot of crying for two to three nights, but then every night is less and less.”

She says you should see significant improvement with this method by night three or four, but adds that it’s important to try it for a week before determining that it’s not working.