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Weaning Your Sleeping Baby Off the 5 “S’s”
All children eventually must learn to fall asleep on their own and to
put themselves back to sleep when they wake during the night. In my
experience, by three months most babies are ready to learn how to do
this and should be placed in the crib sleepy but semi-awake.
I know that the parents of infants under three months are warned by
some baby book authors that using nighttime sleep aids like the 5 “S’s”
will spoil their babies and make them abnormally dependent. I couldn’t
disagree more! For nine months before your baby was born, your womb
surrounded him with sensations like the 5 “S’s” every second of every
day. That’s why all babies sleep better and longer with a couple of “S’s”
to keep them company during the long night. But don’t worry—by the
time your little one is four months old, you can start weaning him off
them without difficulty.
The first “S” you’ll wean is swinging. Usually, by two to three months,
you can reduce the swing speed to the slowest setting. (Only use a fully
reclined bed swing during the baby’s first month.) A few days later, if

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your baby is still sleeping well, let him sleep in the nonmoving swing.
Finally, a few days later, if he still is sleeping soundly, move him to the
bassinet.
The next “S” for you to phase out is sucking, usually between four to
six months (although some love to suck for more than a year). Babies
love to suck on the breast, and once they are nursing well you can
introduce a nighttime pacifier. Doctors have noticed that babies who fall
asleep sucking on pacifiers—even if the baby drops it soon after sleep
begins—have a lower risk of SIDS!
Every once in a while, sensitive babies may wake and cry when the
pacifier falls from their mouths. If that happens to your little one, you
can help her learn how to keep the pacifier in the mouth more securely
by following the “reverse psychology” advice on
this page
.
Next, many parents wean the swaddling. After around four months,
try wrapping your baby snuggly—but with one arm out. He should be
able to suck his fingers and soothe himself. If he sleeps just as well that
way try putting him to bed with no bundling. However, if he starts
waking up more, take a step back and return to wrapping both arms
down for another month. Try the one-armed wrap every month until
your baby shows you he can sleep well unswaddled.
The very last “S” you’ll wean is rumbling, white noise sound. Over a
period of two weeks you can gradually lower the volume of your womb
sound CD until it is so low you can simply turn it off.
In general, my little patients are out of their swings by three to four
months, out of the swaddle by four to seven months (a handful have
continued until ten months) and sleeping in a quiet room sometime after
twelve months. (The shhhh noise is the last “S” to be dropped because it
is so easy, effective, and simple to control.)
When your sweet baby goes all night without any of the “S’s,” give
him a diploma. Finally, he has fully graduated from the fourth trimester
and is ready to really get going on his life adventure!