A month ago, all my family got together for the New Years and my cousin who has a year old brought her baby who has been Ferberized. They had a strict sleep schedule, and when it was time for the little one to take a nap or sleep she would just bring him upstairs lay him on the crib and he would toss and turn for a little while but would fall asleep on his own. That NEVER happens to me. I have to either walk around singing to my little one, or she needs to nurse before she can fall asleep. I am sick as a dog from a cold and my 14 months old woke me up 4 times last night to nurse. When I woke up this morning I started thinking should I have sleep trained my baby??

On babycenter Ferber method is described as:

Ferber says you can teach your baby to soothe himself to sleep when he’s physically and emotionally ready, usually sometime between 4 and 6 months of age. He recommends following a warm, loving bedtime routine and then putting your baby in bed awake and leaving him (even if he cries) for gradually longer periods of time. Putting a child to bed awake, says Ferber, is crucial to successfully teaching him to go to sleep on his own.

Parents are instructed to pat and comfort their baby after each predetermined period of time, but not to pick up or feed their baby. This routine is called “progressive waiting.” The suggested waiting time, which Ferber charts in his book, is based on how comfortable you are with the technique, how many days you’ve been using it, and how many times you’ve already checked on your child that night.

After a few days to a week of gradually increasing the waiting time, the theory goes, most babies learn to fall asleep on their own, having discovered that crying earns nothing more than a brief check from you.

There are several other methods of sleep training your baby as well.

If you are interested in the topic here are some books you might want to read.
Solve Your Child’s Sleep Problems by Richard Ferber
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth
The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers: Gentle Ways to Stop Bedtime Battles and Improve Your Child’s Sleep
The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night
Secrets of the Baby Whisperer: How to Calm, Connect, and Communicate with Your Baby

So it made me wonder, how do you give an infant massage and what are things you should be careful about?

There are many websites and books available showing you how to give a proper infant massage. I personally liked this video from a Korean site.

List of things to consider are:

1. Clean hands and nails. (remove rings, watch or any other type of jewelry. It also recommends to have short nails)

2. Check room temperature and humidity.

3. Avoid giving massage right before or after feeding.

4. Keep massage on a regular schedule.

5. Put a clean and thick cotton towel under the baby-sprout.

6. Warm up the massage oil. (“baby oils” are not recommended. Use Olive, Almond, Sunflower, or Lavender Oil)

7. If baby-sprout is fussy or crying, stop giving the massage

8. Be mindful of your breath when giving the massage and try to concentrate your thoughts on the massage.

9. Don’t be too focused on giving the entire massage in one session.

10. Relax.

11. Don’t over do it, and don’t do it too hard.

I hope this helps.

For Westside moms who want to take classes, there are plenty out there. Some of the places where you can learn are:

Culver City
Caroline Hanna H: 310-836-2118

Venice
Kate Chance 310-866-1340

Los Angeles
Neelofer (Nina) Tayyib H: 310-592-8119
Shelley Reicher-Lawrence H: 310-836-6671
Seva-Simran-Siri Kaur Khalsa W: 310-271-3950
Julie Skehan H: 310-397-2714
Nicole Sekeres H: 310-696-9678
Rashelle Reading W: 310-704-2114
Kelly Meehan H: 310-390-9621

Please let us know your experiences of if any of the information above is out of date. Thanks and Happy Bonding!