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Hi Anastasia,
I am not quite sure what your doula was referring to when she said their ‘learning center’ isn’t mature until 5 – 6 months. Usually when people refer to the ‘learning center’ in the brain they are referring to executive functioning and this isn’t mature until people are in their early 20s.
She might have been referring to their circadian rhythm, which is more likely. But again circadian rhythm doesn’t teach a baby how to fall asleep. What it does is promote wakefulness during the day and sleep overnight.
Using the settling pyramid teaches your baby how to self-soothe and fall asleep independently – this is something they need to learn through lots of practice. Once they master this skill, they’ll likely continue to apply it unless there are changes in how we interact with them. Consistency in your approach, such as maintaining a stable bedtime routine, is crucial for reinforcing these behaviours.
However, like any behaviour, if we change our response, they may become accustomed to this new method and expect it moving forward. For example, if your little one previously fell asleep on their own but got sick and you started rocking them to sleep, they may get used to that and continue to seek it to fall asleep.
If this does happen, you may need to guide them back to independent sleep, but the good news is that retraining often goes more smoothly the second time around.
But in my experience and with other children I’ve worked with, the settling pyramid has been effective and stuck.
The key is being consistent and predictable.
I hope this helps!
Emma