Recommended age for technique:
Three months and up.

Description of technique:
During the first few months, your baby will sleep and eat often. As your baby gets older, she will be more alert for a greater part of the day and can go longer between feedings. By three months, most likely your baby will fall into a daily schedule making it easier for you to anticipate when your baby will wake, eat and want to sleep. Not all babies require the same amount of sleep, so it's important for you to take note of how long your baby usually sleeps each night and at what time she generally wakes ready to begin the day. Once you have a sense of your child's sleep patterns and biological rhythm, you can establish an appropriate bedtime.

Other comments or suggestions:
While it's hard not to compare your child to others her age, remember that each baby is different. Though it may be normal for one infant to sleep nine hours from evening until morning, another baby may be satisfied with only five to seven hours sleep each night. Clearly, you'll want to establish a later bedtime for a baby who usually only sleeps seven hours a night compared to another child who may sleep for ten hours or more. Keep in mind that as babies grow, they may begin to require more sleep. While it's good to establish a routine, bedtimes should be flexible depending on the changing needs of your baby day to day and month to month. When changing your child's bedtime, you may want to do this in 15-minute increments so that she can ease into her new schedule.