Kim West: My method, which my publisher and the public fondly call "The Footie Shuffle," is basically a gentle, more gradual method of sleep coaching for parents who feel either that they personally can't follow through with crying out, or they feel that it's not a good match for their baby's temperament or their own parenting philosophy. Or perhaps they tried it and it didn't work.
You know, there are so many times that parents hear about other parents who sleep coach their child and "Oh, we let him cry it out and he only cried for three minutes, and it only took one day" . . . and [it's like] they're miraculously cured. So, for those parents that didn't happen for, or they can't muster up the confidence to do that because it is too challenging, I've created a more gentle method. You stay with your baby. Like everybody else, I'm going to recommend to put your baby into their crib drowsy but awake. More awake than drowsy so that they're aware that they're being put down after a good day of naps (anyway they can get them!), so they're not overtired. Then I have the parents stay with them, sitting next to the crib or bed and offering physical and verbal reassurance until they're asleep, and then slowly moving away every few days as their child begins to incorporate the skill of putting themselves to sleep.
