The concept of a baby sleep routine formation and training within 100 days of your baby’s birth is popular among parents in South Korea. It also known as the‘100 days miracle’ thanks to the sleep relief it provides to both the baby and their parents!

Infants up to 100 days old have very irregular feeding and sleeping patterns. At dawn and at night, regardless of the time, the guardian must wake up and feed the child. However, at around 100 days of age, the child’s day/night routines develop.

A baby in her Sunday Hug Mesh Swaddle sleeping peacefully in her mother’s arms. The face of the mother is not shown. She is wearing a cozy sweater and has a necklace. Click to see the Sunday Hug Daily Cream Mesh Swaddle product page.

To achieve this miracle within 100 days, it is necessary to make an effort to establish a sleep routine little by little from the time a child is born. Although there are differences depending on the development of the baby, on average, there is standard sleep training education available for parents with babies from the ages of 6 to 8 weeks.

What exactly does ‘sleep training’ refer to?

The ‘sleep education’ we are talking about is not the concept of forcing a child to go to sleep independently. In a nutshell, sleep training is establishing the child’s eating, sleeping, and play routine by training them to sleep at night after an energetic day of playtime. The sleep training also focuses on avoiding the formation of bad sleep patterns, such as suckling and sleeping outside designated hours.

To achieve the '100 days miracle', what are some good sleeping habits that first-time parents must prepare for? Sleep training tends to get easier the earlier you start, as you can catch bad habits before they become too ingrained. If you are prepared in advance, it will be more straightforward for you to continue with your baby’s sleep education!

1. Avoid letting your baby create the habit of sleeping while being breastfed, to prevent the formation of a sleep routine outside the ideal hours.

The easiest habit for babies to adopt within 100 days after birth is the habit of sleeping while being breastfed. The average adult has a sleep cycle that repeats once every 90 minutes while sleeping. At the end of each sleep cycle, we enter a state of vague awakening and sometimes even wake up. Think of when you find yourself changing pillows or tossing and turning while sleeping. However, babies have shorter sleep cycles (40-minute cycles) than adults, so they wake up much more often at night.

Babies who wake up from a light sleep need 'sleep associations' in order to fall back into a deep sleep. You have to repeat the actions you have done right before your baby went to sleep. Therefore, children who have a habit of sleeping in their mother's arms must be hugged, and children who have a habit of sleeping while being breastfed need to undergo the same process before they can fall into deep sleep again.

You may be able to survive the first few months, but if you have to wake up several times each night throughout the feeding period to breastfeed or hold your baby, it may become a difficult physical struggle. With limited sleep, it is understandably more challenging to maintain a positive mindset.

At this early stage, if you can prevent your baby from falling asleep while feeding, it will become easier for them to form a good sleep routine before your baby is 100 days old. If your baby falls asleep on their own, this will mean they can fall asleep again by themselves even if they wake up in the middle of the night, as their ‘sleep associations’ do not require your presence. It is for this reason that the order of play - eat - sleep is emphasized.

If a baby's day progresses in the order of playing, eating and sleeping, it will become natural for the baby to fall asleep after the other activities. Encourage your baby to breastfeed immediately after waking up. If you repeat this process from birth, your baby will develop a pattern of sleeping well, waking up, eating well, and playing hard.

TIP: If your child keeps falling asleep while being breastfed, wake them up gently and help them open their eyes, even for even a minute or two. If you are breastfeeding during the night, practice short sleep rituals, such as waking up your sleeping child and reading a storybook or singing a lullaby. The key to sleep education is for you to actively help your child learn how to sleep on their own while they is awake.

A baby girl wearing a Jade Green Sunday Hug Baby Bodysuit. She has a headband with a light pink ribbon and is lying on a Baby Pink Lounger. Click to visit the Sunday Hug Dual Baby Lounger product page.

2. Create a sleep ritual and repeat it, so that your baby adopts good sleep association habits.

If you have managed to avoid creating bad sleep associations, now try to create good sleep associations for your child. ‘Sleep consciousness' is the natural process of letting your baby know that it's time to sleep. If you practice repeated sleep rituals every day, your child will be able to naturally yawn just after the first sleep ritual begins. When it comes to 'sleep time', this will encourage your baby’s body to react naturally to the cues you are providing that signal ‘bedtime’. The development of sleep consciousness can be done through various acts. Any quiet activity that will make your baby fall asleep is fine. You can try massaging your baby or giving them an attachment doll. If you are doing a sleep ritual before bedtime, you can repeatedly practice the sequence of taking a bath, massaging their gums, reading a book, or singing. Instead of creating the nighttime atmosphere and simply turning off the lights just before going to bed, try lowering the light 30 minutes to an hour before bedtime to create an ideal environment for sleeping.

3. Try and help your baby to sleep earlier than an adult’s standard bedtime.

If you sleep late, it might be more difficult for your child to fall asleep. Sleep experts say that putting your baby to bed before 9 P.M. will help them to sleep better. Is it difficult for your baby to go to sleep every time? Do they whine to keep you from sleeping too? If so, put your child in the bedroom a little earlier than you would normally. It is better to lay your baby in their cot or in their bedroom before they start giving you sleepy signals, such as yawning or opening their eyes.

TIP: Wondering what time you should put your child in the bedroom? Monitor their sleep schedule and check what time they tend to sleep easily. It can take 1-2 weeks for you to see a pattern and, from there, determine the best time for your child to fall asleep.

4. Try and match sleep training with your periods of lactation.

During your lactation period, when you are producing more milk at a time, your baby may be able to sleep continuously without feeding during the night. The length of their uninterrupted sleep varies according to the age of your baby, as younger babies tend to feed more often. It is difficult to create a regular lactation period while your baby is still a newborn. After 1 month of age, try increasing the amount of food that your child can eat at a time and observe the size of their stomach. It isn’t possible to overfeed a breastfed baby. Sleep training can be attempted only when there is a regular period of at least 4 hours between each feeding. Otherwise, your child may wake up hungry and cry continuously, preventing a sleep routine from being established.

Try the Sunday Hug Baby Swaddle for Better Sleep!

A baby sleeping soundly. He has a pacifier and is dressed in an Oat Beige Sunday Hug Baby Swaddle. There is a furry moon design hanging from the pacifier. The baby is lying on a Daily Cream Pillow. He is in a bedroom and there are two pillows in the background.

Swaddling a baby can help them sleep better. When babies are swaddled, they fall asleep more easily and stay asleep longer than when they aren’t swaddled. That’s because being wrapped up makes them feel safe and secure.

If you're looking for a way to get back to the days when getting forty winks was as simple as closing your eyes, try swaddling your baby! Babies are warm and safe in the womb, so it's no wonder they get stressed out when they're suddenly pushed out into a cool, unfamiliar place. But when you wrap them up in a blanket and make them feel like they're back in the womb, they feel secure enough to fall asleep again. Your little one will love the experience of being wrapped up, and you'll love being able to get some much-needed shut-eye yourself.

The Sunday Hug Baby Swaddle is great for sleep and a wonderful alternative to the traditional swaddling blanket!

Its stretchy and durable fabric makes it perfect for infants to adjust to life outside of the womb.

The swaddle mimics a mother’s embrace by applying gentle pressure around the baby’s entire body, including the arms and legs. The soft fabric creates a womb-like environment for infants to sleep soundly, as it prevents the occurrence of the Moro or startle reflex.

The Sunday Hug Baby Swaddle hugs your newborn snugly and tightly, helping calm your baby and keep them feeling cozy, warm, and safe. It's perfect for nursing babies.

Make your little one all cozy in this ultra-soft and breathable cotton sleep sack. The fabric is not treated with any chemicals or flame retardants, making it safe for your baby’s sensitive skin.

The main factors that you need to consider when creating a sleep routine are your baby's daily schedule and needs. Bear in mind that sleep training is just reinforcing the positive habits your baby already has, but training them to conduct these habits at specific times. If you plan out your 100 days miracle properly, time with your precious angel will be more fun for all concerned!

Baby Sleep Training Tips – The Experts Guide to Helping Your Baby Sleep Through The Night