Potential problems with sleep associations
Sleep associations are physical interactions, routines or sounds that may be used in isolation, or in combination as a ritual to help your baby 'wind-down' and relax, therefore sending them the message that it is 'time for sleep'. The difference between a 'cue' and a 'sleep association' is that the sleep association ritual usually stops
BEFORE the baby falls asleep.
Sleep associations need to be started when you think your baby is 'getting ready' for sleep, or just starting to become tired. They generally end with the baby being put in their bed when relaxed, but still awake, so they can drift off to sleep on their own. After a while, the association becomes an accepted routine that the baby usually responds to more favourably over time. This approach is aimed at teaching your baby how to get to sleep on their own, so that they do not rely on any 'cues' to sleep. As they grow older, if they do rouse briefly at the end of short a
sleep cycle, they can usually get themselves off to sleep again without disturbing their parents.
Some parents will incorporate simple sleep associations in the early weeks by taking their baby off the breast (or the bottle away) just before they go to sleep. They then do something like wrapping their baby snugly and placing them into bed awake, leaving them to see if they will relax and drift off to sleep by themselves. Some other sleep associations can include: