(Part One here)
So what types of sleep training work for a newly arrived child?

The name that is most often heard is Ferber. People talk about 'Ferberizing' their babies. That is, they put them to bed and let them cry for a few minutes, checking on them now and then, and then gradually increasing the time away until the child decides the parent isn't coming and goes to sleep.

There are many ardent proponenets of Ferberizing including some adoptive parents. But to me it sounds way too close to what babies have already experienced in orphanages- response only when it is convenient.

It may indeed work for some adopted babies. But it has the potential to be very damaging to a child predisposed to attachment difficulties. In the first 6 months, you simply cannot yet know if your child is going to have attachment problems. Though it may be a reasonable approach for some families after a child is securely attached, I personally think that the Ferber is not the best route to go in the first 6 months home. Bonding really should come first.

Another approach is espoused by pediatrician and adoptive father Dr. William Sears. His is an attachment-parenting approach. He considers it very important to meet all a child's needs, even at night. This is the approach I have taken with my infants. It personally felt right to me to respond to my child's cries, no matter what the clock said. I found it very successful, and my kids all sleep well.

However, some people simply do not have it in them to do attachment parenting for the long term. They get desperate on lack of sleep, and very quickly want to DO SOMETHING to help their babies hurry into better sleeping patterns.

For these people, there's a wonderful book called,"The No-Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley. She incorporates some aspects of active child training with a really nice sensitivity towards a child' needs. Her book is not specifically geared towards adopted kids, but they jive with the best of what I have read about helping kids become attached. Her solutions are not instant, but have the potential over a few weeks time to improve a baby's sleep.

Reading the book, I was pleased that her solutions were so excellent for building attachment while still giving parents some level of control over the sleep situation. I think her approach is an excellent middle road for parents who would like to train their children to sleep better.