What Is The Tracy Hogg Sleep Method?

The first few weeks (and months) with a newborn can push you to the edge. Babies don't have much sense of time and they really don't care if you're running on an hour of sleep when they need to be fed, changed, or held. Some moms and dads look to impose order on the chaos by following the advice of parenting books. One that some swear by is Secrets of the Baby Whisperer: How to Calm, Connect, and Communicate with Your Baby by Tracy Hogg. So exactly what is the Tracy Hogg method? Well, there are two important components.

Hogg encourages parents to get baby on a routine, according to Baby Sleep Advice. She calls this "E.A.S.Y.", which stands for Eat, Activity, Sleep, and You Time. Your baby should eat first, then play or do an activity before going to sleep. When they're asleep, you get to indulge in some time to yourself. Baby Center noted that Hogg is clear that this should be a flexible routine for your baby that you can start from birth, rather than a set in stone schedule (because again, babies don't care about time).

The Baby Sleep Site also noted that Hogg's method requires spacing out feedings to at least two hours, and then gradually increasing the amount of time until the next one. The hope is that your baby will then eat more per sitting and be full enough to sleep for longer and longer stretches on the way toward sleeping through the night.

Hogg also has a game plan for how to get your baby to sleep called the pick up/put down method, according to Health Line. You should put your baby down to sleep while they're drowsy, but still awake. You can pick them up to comfort them if they cry, but you're aiming to teach your baby to fall asleep on their own (without needing to be fed or nursed or rocked or sung to or given any other help from you). Baby Sleep 101 noted that you start the pick up/put down method between four and eight months old.

Tracy Hogg's method may or may not work for you and your child, but if you're hoping to bring some order to your days (and nights) it may be worth trying out.