Most experts agree that the sooner you begin the routine, the better. Though an infant's sleep schedule is erratic, a set routine will start getting your baby to recognize earlier the stages of going to bed. Gary Ezzo, the author On Becoming Babywise and Executive Director of Growing Families International is one of the most aggressive proponents of starting your baby on a sleep schedule and sleeping through the night early. He believes children can start to sleep on their own between 7 and 9 weeks of age (after implementing a proper routine).

The majority of the other experts in the field would probably shoot for a set schedule and better sleep habits starting between 2 and 5 months of age. Regardless, starting a nighttime routine early (even in pregnancy as Hollyer and Smith propose), is the best way to get your child directed toward better sleep habits and might help you actually sleep through the night before your last child's high school graduation.

Hollyer and Smith came up with some good guidelines about what to expect from your baby and when to introduce a nighttime routine:

•  The first two weeks of your baby's life is chaos! You're all trying to get used to each other. Imagine the shock a baby goes through leaving a dark, safe, womb to enter a world of light, noise, and strange faces! Babies have a lot of adjusting to do as well (perhaps that's why they spend have their time sleeping, too!)

•  After the initial two-week shock is over, the second two weeks serve to build confidence and trust.

•  When your baby sleeps through the night the first time (remember the core night), it shows her ability to sleep. She can start to adjust to the parents' rhythms and sleep schedule. At this time a sleep schedule should be introduced.

Many people introduce a nighttime routine from the start. I think it's not unreasonable because it gets you used to the routine and the baby as well.

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