How we Sleep Trained our 6 month old in 2 days!
If you’re anything like I was, you are desperate for sleep! I wrote this post when my little guy was 6 months old, I now have 3 kids who sleep 7pm-7am each night (baby also naps consistently during the day). Read below and follow these tips – they WILL work. You can follow and message me on Instagram if you have any questions! I’m happy to help! @thismamaloveslife
For the first few months of his life, Hudson was a pretty good sleeper. In the early stages I was waking up to feed him 2-3 times a night until gradually he started to wake only once for a quick feed. We had established a 7:00pm bedtime early on and I thought we were doing great! I was hoping Hudson would start sleeping through the night soon, allowing us to by-pass any type of sleep training or ever having to let him cry it out in his crib.
Suddenly, around 5 months, instead of waking only once to feed, he started waking 3-4 times in the night, leaving me exhausted! Sometimes he would wake up an hour after I had just fed him, so we knew he wasn’t hungry each time. We took turns trying to settle him with a pacifier (which sometimes helped him fall back to sleep) but it became more common that he would start crying again a few minutes later when it fell out. I was so tired that I just fell into a routine of nursing him back to sleep. This went on for weeks and it just seemed like the easiest thing to do. I would bring him into bed with us and feed him until he drifted off and then tip-toed back to his nursery and placed him into his crib.
With a little reading and some advice from close friends, we knew it was time for some “tough love”. Hudson needed to develop Self-Soothing Strategies. I also knew he was using “being nursed” as a PROP to fall asleep and was becoming dependent on it. I needed to put an end to it. Shortly after Hudson turned 6 months, we sleep trained him using the following methods. It took a total of 2 nights, and since the 3rd night he’s been magically sleeping from 7:00pm – 7:00am (yep 12 hours!) EVERY SINGLE NIGHT since!
I’m sure we are considered the “lucky ones” as 2 days is probably not the norm, but even if the process had taken weeks it would still be worth it for us. We are all happier, more rested and the whole family just functions better as a result. A couple good Sleep Sacks are an absolute MUST for sleep training.
I read that babies Hudson’s age should be getting around 15-16 hours of sleep every 24 hours. This consists of 3 naps totaling about 3-4 hours of sleep in addition to a night of 12 hours of consolidated (uninterrupted) sleep. I wasn’t prepared to not leave the house and entirely stop my life in order to follow a strict and regimented nap schedule, however I knew we had to tighten up! I wanted to ensure he was getting at least 3 hours of nap time each day and I wanted him to be able to fall asleep on his own (with little to no crying involved). I also wanted to ditch the pacifier as I was worried about being one of those parents who goes in throughout the night to retrieve it each time its fallen out of the crib and baby cries.
Here is the Schedule we followed while Sleep Training:
7:00am: Wake Up, Feed, Playtime (we would try to delay his morning feed 5-10 minutes after he woke up by changing his diaper and saying good morning to his stuffed animals etc. – this helps ensure early rising isn’t an issue by delaying the gratification of the morning feed).
9:00 – 9:30am: Begin First Nap
10:30 – 10:45am: Wake Up, Feed, Playtime
12:45 – 1:15pm: Begin Second Nap
2:00 – 2:30pm: Wake Up, Feed, Playtime
4:30pm: Begin Third Nap (this nap has since been phased out as we noticed he didn’t need it these past few weeks after turning 7 months – but I think it was important at the time.)
5:00pm: Wake Up, Feed, Playtime
6:30pm: Begin Bedtime Routine ~ Feed, Bath, Story, Kiss
7:00pm – 7:15pm: Lights Out
AWAKE TIME
We followed the above schedule, keeping in mind that he needed a nap every 2-2.5 hours during the day. He would often show signs of being sleepy (yawning and rubbing his eyes) and we would start his nap time routine. During his first two naps of the day, if he woke up before an hour had passed, we would leave him for a few minutes and he would often fall back asleep. Keep in mind the above schedule was not always strictly followed and there were days he had naps in the car when we could not be home to put him down in his crib. Ideally however, you would want to follow this schedule strictly for at least two weeks until baby is in a good routine.
FEEDS
I made sure I was giving Hudson 5-7 good feeds during the day. I would breast feed him at the times mentioned in the schedule above, however I would also give him two “snack feeds” as well. Usually once before this morning nap and again in the afternoon. It was also very important that his last two feeds were substantial, and I felt he had enough to sleep through the night. We’ve never needed to supplement, but these later feedings are definitely where some mamas could add in an extra bottle or top-up with formula if necessary.
*Now that we have incorporated solids into Hudson’s diet, he has solid food instead of the “snack feeds”. Usually “breakfast” is served in the morning around 8:30am (before his morning nap) and his “dinner” is served between 5:30 – 6:00pm. We have been doing Baby Led Weaning for the most part but also incorporating the odd puree. The most important thing is making sure baby receives nutrient rich foods.
BEDTIME ROUTINE
We’ve continued this routine every single night and it’s been working a charm. Very rarely does Hudson have any trouble falling asleep on his own and he is put into bed wide awake each night. Within a matter of minutes, he is usually asleep. The bedtime routine usually takes us about 30-35 minutes, and without a bath only 20 minutes. We choose not to give Hudson a bath every single night, however during the beginning of sleep training it’s probably beneficial as babies love repetition and predictable routine.
1. Bath and Baby Massage.
2. Change into Pajamas
3. Feed (DO NOT let baby fall asleep – try to keep baby alert by tickling feet or rubbing ears)
3. Quiet Playing & Bedtime Story
4. Put into Sleep Sack and turn on White Noise Machine. (This is when I would also sing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”)
5. Place into Crib (wide awake) and say Key Bedtime Phrase. “Goodnight Hudson, Mommy and Daddy Love You”.
6. Leave the room and shut the door.
PRODUCTS WE USE
1. Skip Hop Owl White Noise Machine – We only use the white noise “consistent sound” setting that continues all night long. It sounds like ongoing ocean waves. Having a white noise machine helps to block out any outside noises (in our case: outside cars, dishes, television and trains!) Also, if baby wakes up in the night, this consistent sound should help them fall back asleep on their own.
2. Nanit PRO Wifi Baby Monitor – This has been amazing and we’ve used it for our 2nd and 3rd child. We have it connected to WIFI on our phones and we can both check on him from wherever we are. It also has alert settings and picture/video capabilities, as well as breathing technology. A video monitor is crucial when sleep training because you can check on baby without physically going into the room. Another great option which is a bit lower cost (less frills) is the Owlet Baby Monitor – which we have also used and LOVED!
3. 2 way zipper Sleep Sack These are recommended as they are much safer than loose blankets and keep baby feeling cozy and secure while in their crib. Placing baby in the sleep sack is part of the night time routine. Another Sleep Sack – a lower cost option and both available on AMAZON.
4. Lovey: Flat out Bear– This can be a lovey (attachment stuffy) of your choice! When sleep training baby, their lovey helps by giving them something to cuddle with, similar to a security blanket. They can chew on it if teething, or just hug it until they fall asleep. When Hudson was born he received a Flat Out Bear from his auntie in Australia and absolutely loves this. He also has a Jellycat Bunny Lovey – that he likes to use for nap time!
BEDTIME
In order for Hudson to develop a sleep strategy on his own and without props, the most important thing was consistency. Once the key phrase is said and we know he is in his crib comfortable (fed, changed, and burped) we then crossed our fingers he went to sleep!
- If he protested longer than 10 minutes, one of us would go back into the room, say the key phrase, offer some careful touch with a pat or rub on the head, BUT HE WAS NOT PICKED UP OR TAKEN OUT OF THE CRIB. We never stayed longer than 30 seconds. It’s important to remember its not our job to put baby to sleep, we are there to offer comfort but its now his job to learn to sleep.
- If going in to console makes baby more upset, or if you do not seem to be helping.. then leave the room and do not continue to go in. Luckily after going in once or twice Hudson usually fell asleep within minutes. This can be repeated every 10 minutes or so, until baby is asleep.
- Ensure Baby’s Room is Dark. We invested in black-out curtains and blinds which helped eliminate early morning light coming into the room and also helped dim the room for nap times. We didn’t use a night light either.
- We haven’t given Hudson a pacifier once since starting sleep training. Although he only had it occasionally, I think he has forgotten it ever existed. Try to eliminate any “props”.
NIGHT WAKING
The first night of sleep training Hudson still woke up 3 times during the night. Every 10 minutes he cried felt like 10 hours! Its especially hard when you are extra tired and patiently watching your clock. This was the hardest part for us but its important that you stick with it. Again, consistency is everything when sleep training and you need to follow through or else baby will get confused and any progress will be for nothing.
- Once a baby is 6 months old and past a certain weight (check with your doctor on this) they are capable of sleeping through the night with no feedings. Hudson was waking up in the night and feeding as habit. He probably believed that he couldn’t fall back asleep without it. It was important I didn’t give in and feed him, especially if he’d been protesting as it would defeat everything we were doing and only teach him that if he cries long enough he will get what he wants.
- We would wait 10 minutes before responding to him. Often after 10 minutes babies will fall back asleep on their own. This is where we would watch him on the iBaby monitor and count down the minutes. If baby is still protesting after 10 minutes, go in and repeat the same strategies used at bedtime (gentle pat and reassurance).
- We don’t consider morning anything earlier than 6:45am. If Hudson wakes before this, we consider it a night waking and use the same strategies to get him back to sleep without feeding him. When he wakes up in the morning we make a big deal about it being the morning (by opening the curtains and loudly saying “Good Morning Hudson!” etc.) We then take him out of the bedroom for his first feed.
- Since Sleep Training we have never had to change Hudson’s diaper in the middle of the night. Unless absolutely necessary try to avoid this.
NAPTIME
We created a simple 5 minute nap time routine. It consisted of: change diaper, close the curtains, read a story (a short one), turn on the white noise machine, place baby in crib, say goodnight, shut door. There were times that he protested during nap time but it usually didn’t last long. You can repeat the same strategies used at bedtime but remember there is a time limit. Some naps may be shorter until baby learns to fall asleep quickly and on his own.
Since we have transitioned to 2 naps a day, Hudson usually naps from 9:15am – 10:45am and again from 1:00pm – 2:30pm (sometimes longer). We never wake him up from his nap unless we need to go somewhere. We found the only times he really had trouble falling asleep are if he hadn’t had enough to eat beforehand. So make sure baby is well fed and try to refrain from nursing/bottle feeding baby to sleep. Sometimes I still need to feed Hudson close to his nap time but I try to make sure he doesn’t fall asleep while doing so. Working with a WAKE > EAT > PLAY > SLEEP schedule will help to break the feed to sleep association.
If Hudson wakes up before 1 hour of nap time is completed, we leave him and wait 10 minutes before going in. This is considered a Short Nap (less than 1 hour) and we found he usually fell back asleep on his own within that 10 minutes. If no success getting baby back to sleep, you can always move bedtime earlier that evening if baby has a poor nap day.
MORE FROM OUR EXPERIENCE
The 1st night we started sleep training Hudson he started to whine a few minutes after placing him in his crib and shutting the door. Our goal was to go in and reassure him after 10 minutes and he was actually asleep 8 minutes later. Phew, what a relief we thought, until he woke up at 1:00am crying! Wide awake, I watched the baby monitor for what felt like the longest 10 minutes of my life, and then my husband went in to soothe him by placing his hand on his head and saying “It’s okay, daddy’s here – go to sleep.” He was still crying when Mark left the room and we watched the monitor for another 7-8 minutes until he fell asleep. At 3:00am he was awake crying again and we actually left him crying for about 12 -13 minutes. I decided not to go in at 10 minutes as I could see he was trying to get comfortable and might be falling asleep soon. He awoke again that night at 5:00am and cried for almost 20 minutes before falling back to sleep. At this point I was just so tired… I think had gotten used to hearing him cry that I just waited and it worked. When it was morning (7:00am) and we heard him wake up (playing in his crib), we both went in and made a big fuss about it being morning and I brought him into our room to feed him. Even though it was a rough first night, I was so impressed that he went 12 hours without having a feed.
The 2nd night Hudson went to sleep around 7:00pm with little complaining (probably thanks to the fact we had established this bedtime early on) and only woke up once around 4:00am. We let him cry for about 15 minutes before I went in and reassured him. I already felt like a rock star having had that UN-interrupted sleep until 4:00am, and I couldn’t believe the improvement over the night before! After going in, Hudson fell asleep 6 minutes later. In the morning we were thrilled he had only woken up once and made it through another night without needing a feed.
On the 3rd night Hudson slept from 7:00pm and didn’t wake up until 7:00am. It was incredible. I felt like a new woman and I’m sure Mark felt like a new man! We were “Over the Moon” that a couple hard nights and a bit of scheduling/routine had allowed our baby to sleep 12 hours straight. He adapted so well and we were so happy we did it.
On Hudson’s next doctor check-up I told our Doc all about it! She said “Yep! That’s the best way! I tell parents all the time that they need to use the Ferber method, but a lot of people are just too scared to try or don’t want to let their kids cry”. So really, we used The Ferber Method but not entirely. It is also called the “Check and Console” method. For more information on the Ferber Method – Click Here. Although I haven’t read his entire book “Solve Your Child’s Sleep Problems” it has come highly recommended by friends.
FINAL TIPS
- Start Sleep Training with the bedtime routine and worry about naps later. Do whatever you are currently doing during the day to get baby to nap so they are well rested for their first night of sleep training.
- Start when baby is 6 months old and they are getting enough food/weight gain that they can sleep through the night.
- The key to making it work is consistency. No cheating. If you go in on night two and start cuddling your baby, you’ll have to start all over again. Not only that but its confusing and unfair to baby.
- Remember helping your baby learn to self-soothe and sleep better is important. It teaches them self–regulation, and sleep is essential for development. It may be hard at times but baby won’t remember it when they get older. It ensures healthier, happier, and well adjusted children.
Any questions or thoughts? Did sleep training work for you? Please comment below 🙂
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Such a great post! I”m currently 20 weeks pregnant with our first so we will definitely be referencing back to this 🙂
I’m just wondering if you applied the same crying it out method when Hudson started rolling over?
My little guy was sleeping quite well 2 weeks ago, he’s 6 months now and just learnt how to roll from tummy to back.
Since then when I put him to sleep in his crib after a night feeding, he rolls over on his own and wakes himself up and it’s just so exhausting. He’s just not sleeping that great now. And I don’t mind letting him cry it out. But sometimes he just WAILS, and I don’t know what to do.
Mine baby girl started rolling over just around 6 months and sometimes sleeps on tummy! Hope sleep gets better for ya
I have twins and they are 6 months old. One of them sleeps better than the other and as of late the one that doesnt sleep well has been waking up screeching/crying and wakes the other one and then I end up with 2 crying babies. I really want to try this method but to have to hear 2 babies crying for that long makes me cringe…any tips on what I could potentially try? I end up camping out in their room at night. There are 4 other people that could potentially be woken if we let them cry it out. 😓
I tried and my baby cried longer than just 10 minutes. It took me 3 hours the other night so gave up and going to try again when I am off work. She currently is in pack n play in my room and almost 7 months but often in my bed with me as cries otherwise.
Yep it’s not easy when baby is in your room. You might want to consider getting professional sleep advice from a consultant! They have some other suggestions that might work for your situation 🙂 good luck
Is this method doable when still sharing a room?
I would love to give this a go but my 6mo cot is still in my bedroom?
It’s definitely not ideal… you would need to use a black out shade perhaps
What an accomplishment!! When our son was sleep training we used a white noise machine and sleep sak, too. They made it so much easier for him!
Did you get rid of the soother all together or just at night time and nap time?? Also my little one is 7 months and when he wakes up at night he will roll over and hold his head up, I guess I should just let him do that and he will eventually learn to lay himself back down right? Thanks for this by the way, I love the advice I am going to start next week when my husband is off for 12 days 🙂
Good luck! Yep we got rid of the soother all together.
My baby is getting 6m within 3days , I’m planning to start your method ,
But I wanna know if she didn’t sleep after 10mins and I went in &out and again 10mins and so on , what should I do ?
Even if I did this 3/4times and she didn’t stop crying !
Oh wow, this is so incredibly helpful. My husband and I want to start our family soon, so I will definitely be coming back to reference this when we do. Your baby is just adorable!
This sounds amazing! I’m desperate for sleep with my 2nd. The moment he turned 5 months he stoped sleeping through the night. We often wake up 5-7times per night and in an effort to stop the crying before my husband and other child wakes up, I nurse him back to sleep. I think I have been creating my own nightmare!
My question is, should I move baby to his own bedroom before starting sleep training or can I train him while keeping his crib in my bedroom then move him to his room after? His room is right next to my other child and I fear this will affect her.
We had periods of successful nap/sleep routine, when I though we solved the problem once and for all. But then another growth spurt happens and we start again. If only it was so easy…
I know the struggle! Hang in there mama
I know how you feel mama! Hang in there
My husband and I are going to start trying for a baby soon so this is great information. Thanks for sharing!
So well written and informative! Sleep training isn’t fun for anyone but this post condensed all the vital info for the process. I’d love to hear a follow up with how you guys handle the time change during your visit down under! Keep up the awesome work mama
Thanks!! I was thinking the same as I’m not quite sure how we are going to handle it lol! ♥️
wow! that’s awesome! I’m not a human mom, but I commend you on making it through those two nights of crying! I couldn’t handle it!
Love it my friend! Of all the things we “teach ” our kids, sleep is by far an extremely valuable one! Way to go pal!
Ok I’m going to trust this detailed guide you laid it and start sleep training our 6 month old girl tonight. We have tried other guides but they are mostly just wayyyyy to detailed and take too many days. I love that this is 7 days. We travel a lot so I always get off the path and it messes everything up.
We travel often too and even though it may have thrown him off a bit he always goes right back to routine once we get home! 6 Months is the perfect time to start and when home – consistency is key! Good luck mama!
Hi Candice, my baby is a really poor napper. I tried to leave her for 10 mins to see if she would go back asleep after she woke up less than an hour into her nap. She just refuses and gets so upset. I don’t know how to resolve this. She definitely gets nowhere near 15/16 hours per day. I appreciate any advice?
Hi Jennifer, have you tried the eat, play, sleep method? How old is she?
Wow! I definitely want to give this a go with my now 6 month old son who I’ve been struggling to get him to sleep through the night and he sometimes only has 20 minute naps during the day. It doesn’t help that I tend to just nurse him to sleep so he’s become very reliant on that. I also hate to see my baby crying (as I’m sure most mamas do) but I’m going to try my best at this and see how we go. Won’t be easy but it will be deffs worth it in the end so we can both get a good nights sleep. Wish me luck 😬🤞 and all the best to other mamas trying this also 💕
I sleep trained my baby with this very gentle HWL method that Susan Urban wrote about ( I’ve found her guide on this website: http://www.parental-love.com ). The method is without CIO and that’s why I gave it a try. I started at 6mo and after also only 2 days my son started to sleep 12 hours straight and he falls asleep on his own! No night wakings, no cry, no rocking. Amazing!
Thank you for sharing!
All the guides and books for parents should look like S. Urban’s guide – short, with clear instructions on what to do without unnecessary words. Who can read 200 pages when sleep deprived? For me this guide is fantastic, it worked so well for my son. Thank you for sharing 🙂
This guide is brilliant! I’m surprised that I haven’t heard of it before. I’m so grateful that I stopped by here for a moment to read this article and comments
Thanks for this! I have been combing the internet for a moms personal account to sleep training….your story gives me hope! My son is 6 months old and hyper, even according to our doctor. We have been putting him to bed at 930/10pm because it seems the only way to get him to sleep through the night -and get at least 8 hours straight, and he gets 4 naps a day. We also are still rocking him to sleep (!! I know) and using a pacifier. It’s just not sustainable and he needs better sleep habits asap. We will follow your steps this weekend…fingers crossed!
Best of luck mama! Just stick with it as consistency is key!
Hi, I have tried 2 sleep training methods and none worked. My baby is 6 months and she is waking up every hour and literally I am exhausted and don’t know what to do. My baby cries and scream if I put her to crib. Sometimes she loses her voice cox of screaming. I really want to try this on my baby. I just want to know if the crying won’t harm the baby or not.
Thank you
Hi, I have tried 2 sleep training methods and none worked. My baby is 6 months and she is waking up every hour and literally I am exhausted and don’t know what to do. My baby cries and scream if I put her to crib. Sometimes she loses her voice cox of screaming. I really want to try this on my baby. I just want to know if the crying won’t harm the baby or not.
Thank you
Good to also google different methods, I checked with our doctor first if letting him cry for a certain period was okay, and she said absolutely. It’s all about what you’re comfortable with and all babies handle it differently. Good luck mama!
My little girl is 6 months and has never slept past and hour or an hour and a half since birth. These 6 months have been long and tiring. Especially having 2 toddlers. We are trying your method tonight because this mom needs sleep and I know my baby girl needs sleep. She is in the 98th percentile for weight so we know she’s eating enough! Her pediatrician said it’s not healthy for her brain development that she’s waking up that frequently. Wish us luck!
So my daughter is six months old. Her 1st birthday will be on August 19. I’m pregnant pregnant again and my due date is August 1. Yep! Irish twins. 🙂 I’ve been unable to sleep in the same bed with my significant other since she has been born, He works all week long so I always stay up on the weekdays with her has the weekends so I’m able to catch up on sleep. This is no longer working for either of us. Especially with this pregnancy I am absolutely exhausted. She’s up all throughout the night and then sleeps all day long. I researched and read book after book on sleep training methods. The Ferber method is definitely my last resort. I like the fact that this is a modified Ferber method with the check and console. Tonight will be the first night using this method. Fingers crossed. Wish me luck.
Good luck mama and congratulations on baby 2! Just remember consistency and routine is key!
Just tried out the full routine today. But we’d tried this method two nights ago. He seems to be able to nap during the day with less than 10mins crying. But night time he just can’t really go to bed less than 30-45mins of crying… Wondering why?
Are you going on at 10-15 min to check and offer calming down? Are you doing the same nightly routine each night and making sure full tummy? I would say keep it up as persistence is the key!
My baby doesn’t calm down just like that unless we give him what he wants (pick him up etc). He’s a rather small eater, at 6.5months only drinking 120ml bm and needing break in between. He is on bottle so that we can monitor his portion. He’s an active baby though…
Now that he’s about to sleep with about 15mins crying but will always wake between 2-4am crying. We are sleeping in the same room n he’s in his cot. So I’ll check on him without him seeing me. If i offer any comfort he will cry even louder. That could go on for like 20-30mins or longer. So after the first night i decided to just let him latch, since he’s a small eater he might be hungry. I’ll unlatch him before his sucking slowed down so that he would not really fall into deep sleep. I try keeping him ‘awake’ too. But,again he will wake up after 1-2hrs crying (before 6.45am) just like the 2-4am crying pattern. That will last until i pick him up…
Will babies gradually reduce crying time to no crying eventually or still will cry?
We are really struggling, his going on crying for hours close to morning really draining us out… Or shall i just bottle feed him at the first wake to observe is it habitual or real hunger?
Fyi, his nap time has never been so great and on time ever since three months old… We are really proud of his day nap.
We had moved Hudson to his own room in a crib by this point. I found it very hard when he knew we were in the same room as him. There were still times that he would wake once in the night, but as soon as I fed him he’d go straight back to sleep.
Daddy day care question! When you go into console him and he has rolled over onto his belly, do you flip him back over onto his back or just console him as is? Our 6 month old boy has only slept on his back and seems to not know what to do when on his belly.
I’m not quite sure actually, I probably would turn him to where he was more comfortable on his back!
This is a great post, night one last night and it was easier than expected with our son falling sleep within half and hour, we were quite pleased.
I have two questions;
1. With the day sleeps, I have fed him to sleep twice today for both naps, not necessarily on purpose but it’s just happened, is this going to be confusing for him come night time when we expect him to go to sleep on his own. Early days I know but I don’t want to confuse the poor darling. He’s 6M.
2. He went last night without a feed (waking twice but we followed the steps, my questions is; what if there is a night he needs a feed and how do you know? I don’t want him going hungry and don’t really mind feeding him one during the night?
Hi Laura! So glad you’ve found it helpful! I still would feed my little guy once in the night if he woke up hungry. The main thing is he went straight back to sleep! Especially at 6m age… so I wouldn’t worry!
I don’t think it’ll be too confusing if sometimes he falls asleep for nap after milk… just majority of the time try to do “eat, play, sleep – even if it’s a short play or stimulation… I’m trying to remember as my little guy is 2 now! Lol
Good luck!
Hi! I am very interested in trying this method for my six month old. I am wondering about the set schedule. Do you wake your baby up at 7 every day or do you let them sleep and adjust the times based on when they wake up? Also, if baby seems tired before nap times do you try to keep them up til nap time or put them down early? Just trying to figure out the best way to do this!
With my second I’ve been letting her sleep in the morning but she most always wakes between 6-7. For naps you can try putting down 2-2.5 hours after they wake!
Great post thank you! We tried this last night with our 6 month old and it went quite well, I didn’t have to feed him all night when normally I would feed between 3-4 times a night. He settled quite quickly the first part of the night but took about an hour to settle around 4am, we’re not afraid to let him CIO though and we followed your steps and he eventually went back to sleep. Fingers crossed tonight is even better!!
I note that your little boy is now 2 so wondering how this method worked for you long term – did he continue to be a good sleeper? Or was it just a short term fix? Our almost 3 year old daughter has always been an amazing sleeper so I am not used to this lack of sleep haha! Thanks
So awesome it’s working! It’ll totally get better- consistency is key! Our two year old continues to sleep 7pm-7am every night and never gives us trouble going to bed or for his nap! 😉
Hi, my baby girl just turned 6 months yesterday and I have been looking into different sleep training methods. She is a terrible napper most days and she wakes up at least 1-2x a night. I was wondering what you would recommend for us as we are forced to have her crib in our bedroom right now due to our living situation and I feel like this is one of the reasons she is waking at night.
1-2 times a night isn’t too bad at this age, but I totally understand your struggle with sleeping in the same room. My friend went thru the same thing – unfortunately there was no other choice. Have you tried a sound machine and moving her out of sight – so she doesn’t see you if she wakes?
Our baby has been going through rough patch of bad sleep patterns so are we. Your article is nicely written and very helpful. I am going to try sleep train her tonight onwards and hopefully magically she will be adjusted to patterns. Crying out is something I am worried about … is there any impact on baby’s health if we let her cry for 10-12 mins ? That too without feeding in the night ?
Hi! You can read up more about it, but I would say no. I asked my doctor first and she was very much “all for” doing a little “cry it out” – saves so much crying in the end and we all got so much sleep! Safe when done correctly I’m sure XX
This literally changed my life. Thank you so much. My husband and I were pulling our hair out over our little guy not sleeping. He would do great for naps, but bedtime was a nightmare. I followed this schedule and the first night he cried for an hour but slept the whole night. We were waking up every 45 minutes to 2 hours before. Day 3 and he just fell asleep within 10 minutes of putting him to bed. Thank you so much!!!
That’s amazing! So happy that it helped! 💛
Hi Ladies… regarding your children’s sleep cycles, were they an issue at six months? My son is 4 1/2 months old and will wake every 30 to 45 minutes during naptime unless I am there to help link his sleep cycles. I wonder if I wait until the six month mark, if he will have outgrown that so he can better link his own cycles and stay asleep.
Thank you!
Thanks for the amazing tips! You’re awesome for this. It really made me more comfortable accepting the thought of sleep training. When do you recommend to start sleep training for naps? When the baby gets used to a couple of days of sleep training or do it on the day after it has been started?
I would start naps as soon as you start night time. Just know it takes a bit longer
Thank you for sharing your tips. I started implementing them this past Tuesday with my almost 6 month old son. The first nite, he cried for 7 min and then fell asleep. Two minutes the second nite and then maybe a minute the third nite. He seems to have understood how to initially put himself to sleep which I’m super excited about. Problem is that he is waking in the middle of the nite- I let him cry and try and put himself back to sleep but even after 10 min, he’s still crying. I have patted him a bit but it doesn’t help. We have a 6 year old in the next room, so I need to be careful that she’s not waking up either (otherwise I have two woken kids). I don’t give him a bottle when he wakes in the middle of the nite bc based on the last couple of weeks, its clear he’s not hungry. Nor does he take a pacifier. The only thing that has been working is picking him up and bringing him to my bed. He promptly falls straight alseep and sleeps straight till around 7 am. Obviously, I don’t want to do that everynight. Any advice on how to get him to fall back to sleep in the middle of the nite?
I found that at 5/6 months my little guy sometimes still needed a top up of milk… just a tiny little dream feed in the night can make the difference. I would always do it in his room at the rocking chair and place him right back in bed afterwards!
I do a “dreamfeed” at about 11 PM. It really helps keep my little guy full and happy all night!
Our five-year-old was a good sleeper from day one, and we’re now dealing with our six-month-old waking 4-5 times per night and being fed a bottle to go back to sleep. We’ve been talking about sleep training for so log and life always seems to get in the way! He normally is tired by 7pm but we have to push to an 8pm bedtime tonight (again, because of life!). I am determined to finally try this tonight!! Maybe the later bedtime will leave him a bit drowsier and able to fall asleep on his own. #wishmeluck
Beat of luck mama!
Hi Candice… regarding your child’s sleep cycles, were they an issue at six months? My son is 4 1/2 months old and will wake every 30 to 45 minutes during naptime unless I am there to help link his sleep cycles. I wonder if I wait until the six month mark, if he will have outgrown that so he can better link his own cycles and stay asleep…thank you!
Not sure, I know I read to wait until 6 months to sleep train or to try certain methods, so waiting a bit longer may help…
Are you using a sound machine that doesn’t stop or turn off at 30-45 min?
Hi! Oh yes! We keep that sucker on during naps and all night – it helps me fall asleep too…!
We’re going through the supposed 4-month regression where their sleep cycles are 30-45 minutes during the day and about every 2 hours after midnight.
I was just curious if you had this issue during nap time when your son was this age and when he was able to link sleep cycles. They say it’s around 6 months, hence maybe the reason they say to start sleep training around this time.
Thank you…
I can’t really recall, we definitely had a few regressions but never lasted too long, hang in there mama, and if it fails, try again at 6 months!
This article was great! Our bub is just over 6 months and he wakes up regularly during the night. He’s always had a dummy and been rocked to sleep and had day naps in my arms.
Last night we tried the routine and he cried for about an hour then fell asleep without his dummy till 3am then was moving around for about 15min so I went in and soothed him and he slept till 6 I soothed again and he awoke at 7:30 a very happy bub.
My questions is do I start his day naps the same as night and put in crib and go from there? I’ve done that and he cried for an hour and a half with me going in every 10 min. He’s nappy changed, fed, short story and has a Riff Raff and he just got hysterical. I took him out and fed him and played and attempted a couple hours later with no luck. At this point he hasn’t slept since 7:30 and it’s 2pm.
I just didn’t want to set him back by rocking him to sleep during the day and then doing our routine at night. I find this all really hard to navigate. 🙁
Don’t stress yourself mama! Get the nighttime routine down and then try to tackle naps! Give it a day or two if it doesn’t work right away… and make sure you use the same tactics. Sound machine, blackout curtains, sleep sack etc. good luck!
Hi! My boy is 5 months now. Ever since 4 months, he has been increasing his night feeds, and lately he struggled to sleep from 7pm-1am. I had to pick him up several times and with that he is crying unceasingly nonetheless.
His naps are always better than the falling asleep at bed times, and he sleeps very good in the morning.
As he always falls asleep only after 11pm (officially, and lately it’s becoming later), he wakes up only at 10ish or 11 officially. Do you think I need to make a change to his wake up time? Is that critical?
Our bedtime routine now starts from 7pm where I shower him, and I try to beef before showering and many snack/cluster feedings from 4pm.
Putting him to sleep and waking up every few minutes is too exhausting for me, especially when it goes from 8-1am. Any ideas what I can try?
Keep trying mama! 7pm bedtime and routine should start to kick in (hopefully). Try to keep him awake more during the day perhaps!? Lots of stimulation and playtime! It’s always good to also seek the advice of a pro sleep trainer!! Good luck 🙂
This sounds amazing and my 6 month old baby boy need to sleep train lol only problem I have is tht he share a bedroom with his 3 year old sister when he cries he wakes her up any advice on what to do here
You changed our life!!! Thankyou for posting this and giving me the confidence to sleep train! I found your article when I was ready to lose it with sleep deprivation. Worked perfectly. Persistence is the key and not picking them up does work and its not that bad at all. THANKYOU THANKYOU THANKYOU!!!!!
Amazing!!! I’m so glad it helped ♥️🙌
Well, your system has 100% worked for me too!! I was at breaking point with sleep deprivation, in fact had a break down at baby group because my 7 month old wakes every couple of hours through the night wanting feeding or comfort. So I read this, thought I’d try it, thinking it wouldn’t work. I’ve just had my third night and she slept from 8pm till 6.30am! I literally woke up in shock! I feel like a new woman. And it feels so good to know that she can go a whole night without needing a feed now. It totally takes off that pressure of having to be around. I can now have some freedom back in the evenings! Thank you so much Candice for sharing your tips and advice. I am forever grateful!!! xxx
I am so happy that sharing my experience has helped others like you! So great 🙂
Hi again! Just a quick question about how to deal with teething/illness and sleep disruption. My daughter is a little poorly at the moment and is waking up a little bit. I don’t know whether to leave her to cry it out as before or go in to comfort her as she feels unwell. I feel so guilty leaving her when she’s not herself but I know there’s nothing I can offer her to make her better! What would you do in this situation?
If they are poorly I probably wouldn’t leave them. Make sure they are well and comfortable first 🙂
OMG! Thanks a ton for sharing this. This article is a life saver!
We followed exactly as it is and it worked like wonder. Now my daughter is sleeping throughout without midnight nursing and learnt to soothe herself when she is up. She sleeps for 12 hours
I’m so happy to hear this! Getting a full night of sleep is a total game changer!
When attempting this method for naps, what if baby takes all of allotted nap time to fall asleep? My son is addicted to his paci for sleep, so I wonder how much harder it will make sleep training!
We took the pack away on day 1 and never was an issue but I wouldn’t say he was addicted… if the nap fails, try again the next day. You don’t want a nap running past 5pm if you want to do 7pm bedtime.
thank you for writing this! we are going to give it a try
Beat of luck !
Hi,
When sleep training your baby, did his naps get affected negatively at all? Did he become tired the next day from crying in the night?
Nope not at all! The naps followed suit and there was no tiredness that I found.
Hi Candice
Literally doing this as we speak…20 minutes of pretty upset crying with 2 walkins to settle, he seems to be falling asleep.
So I wanted to ask, he’s all over the place rolling front to back and vice versa… I’m watching to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself. But should I be using bumpers, wedges etc to prevent this or just watch and hope for the best. 🤔😕
We never used bumpers so I’m not sure on this one 🙂 best of luck and i hope he settles!
Our baby was really tired after being out all day and taking naps while wrapped up on me. He’s having a hard time to fall asleep and it’s getting past 5:30 PM. Should I just go pick him up or let him cry it out still even though it’s getting late towards bedtime?
I never let naps last past 5pm
Usually…
Hello! Generally my little one sleeps most of the way through the night but I’m currently feeding her to sleep. I’d like to stop this because it’s not sustainable but also so that her Daddy can do storytime after a feed, as he doesn’t get home in time at the moment.
In one section of the article you say ‘feed, bath/massage, pjs, storytime’ but the bottom section says bath before feed… which way round would you do it please? Thanks in advance! Xx
I didn’t realize I guess I sometimes did it both ways…try both and do whatever works best 🙂
Best sleep training! My baby is 17 months and he was getting used to need my hand on his chest to fall asleep, after one night that I had to stayed almost all night beside him I decided to follow this method. After 3 days and nights we are now able to sleep all night and I’m a functional person again lol. Just be sure your baby can’t climb his crib or put a camera to be sure he doesn’t fall.
Good luck!
That’s so great !
Wow that’s great mama!
I am on night 2 of this sleep training question to mum that have used the cry it out method. Now that they are sleep trained do they cry them selves to sleep or go to sleep with out crying. I am just worried he is going to cry him self to sleep even when he is sleep better.
In our experience our son went to sleep without crying very shortly after sleep training – he’s 2 now and rarely ever protests when we put him down for naps and nighttime sleep!
Thank you for your advice. I have followed your sleep schedule and I’m still having trouble getting my baby to sleep past 5:30 AM. I go in and check on him and comfort him and try to let him cry it out but he will not go back to sleep. He’s going to bed at 7:30 PM and doing great but for some reason won’t sleep past 5:30 AM. Any recommendations?
Hi Candice! My husband and I can’t thank you enough for this post. My baby will be 7months this week. We both dreaded putting her to sleep every night. She was addicted to rocking and a pacifier for both her naps and bedtime. However she was getting up only 2-3 times during the night and just for feeds. After turning 6months she started getting up every 2 hours for a feed. It was mentally and physically draining me which is when I looked into sleep training. We are on day 3 on this training and have tried to follow everything mentioned. However, she had her crib in our room but can’t see us.
Day 1: She cried for 15mins and we went in and checked and that made her even more hysterical so we didn’t go in again and after another 15mins or so she slept. She got up three times but went back to sleep.
Day 2: She slept within 15-20mins but again we didn’t go in just waited for her to fall asleep. Got up twice and I didn’t pick her up, got up again at 5:45, I fed her and she went back to sleep.
Day 3: She missed her third nap so she slept in 5mins around 6:15 as I put her to bed early.
More than being happy about getting more sleep I’m so glad that she is not addicted to the pacifier and rocking anymore. Thank you so much! I hope this helps other moms out there too.
So glad my experience helped!!
Hey, thanks for the write up. Can’t believe how easy this was for you. We’ve been following this routing for ages now. Our little one will continue crying for 2h+ every time. Whether it’s a nap or sleep time. Kind of feels like we should just leave him and get out of the house to keep our sanity.
Oh no! Have you reached out to a sleep expert for any help?
Thanks so much for this straight forward plan! Our LO is a week over 5 months, but we have had the go ahead from our pediatrician for months… he’s a big guy. We started last night and are crossing our fingers!! 2-4 wakings started happening, and poor naps. He had been better a few weeks ago, so here’s to hoping this helps.
Best of luck Laura!
This was us 18 months ago, so I hear where you are coming from!! During the day, our ‘nap’ routine basically became: soothe for 30+ minutes (swaddling, rocking, running the water, white noise, dark room, sling, walks, lullabies – you name it), he’d finally fall asleep, he’d sleep in my arms (he wouldn’t sleep in his bed at all) for 10-30 minutes, then he’d wake up screaming, and we’d go through it all again. I knew he was exhausted. No joy. After two months of things getting worse and worse (and Baby getting crabbier and crabbier), we all finally decided to give sleep training a try. This video about sleep training helped us a lot https://bit.ly/35oDEiO
I’m sharing this I the hope it also helps someone one day.
We’re are in the process of doing the sleep training and so far so good. I have one question, you had mentioned that you don’t wake Hudson up from his nap unless you’re going somewhere. My little one someone goes for a 2 hour first nap. Do I let her keep sleeping? Will this throw off the schedule in any way? It would only push the second lap to later. Would like to hear your thoughts on this.
I think the first nap is the most important! My daughter who is now 6 months often sleeps for 2 hours, sometimes we end up only having 2 naps rather than 3… hope that helps!
Hi! A question – when you dropped the third nap was Hudson just awake from 2:30-7pm? Or did you push bedtime earlier to compensate? Thanks!
My son is 4 months old, should I start sleep training him?
He currently wakes up every 1 hr, I’m guessing because of the sleep regression
I personally think 4 months is a bit too early, but you could check with your doctor.
So basically you left him to cry until he just went to sleep?
I am gonna give this a shot. My 6 month old is still waking 2-3 times a night and I think I definitely started some bad habits. Just put her down for a nap and switched up the routine. We will see how it goes! Thank you for this.
Good luck!
Thank you! I am right where you were before the sleep training and struggling with it! Was so good to read this. I’m starting this tomorrow!
Best of luck mama
The article is very interesting and helpful, thank you! I am sleep training my baby right now. First month was hell. Things got easier when we started turning on lullabies while leaving our baby falling asleep. Now it`s 40 minutes shorter than it was before. There are a lot of lullabies here:
https://lullabies-for-babies.com/
Wow this has been a godsend already. Our 6 month old had been fussing and not wanting to go to sleep til about midnight or 1am. Started this a 4 day’s ago and now he’s going to sleep at 8:30. Much better! Thanks so much 🙌🏻👏🏻
So glad 🙂
This method worked so well for both my kids, I had just forgotten to use it again on my 6 month old until I read this post. It worked!! We are on day 2 right now. He slept all the way through the night on night 2, didn’t wake up even once. I followed every step. It is a miracle after 6 months of bed sharing and him nursing all night long. I have been praying hard. And I finally thought what can I control in this situation and sleep training and him learning self soothing techniques was the answer. Finally. Thank God!! My sanity is maintained. I now can do yoga and self care in peace. I am on to a new season in my life. Seriously. If you can questions, feel free to ask. But this post is exactly the ticket to freedom. The first night was not even that bad. He did cry for a maximum of 33 minutes, I only went in 1 time. I made it bearable by doing yoga during the crying times. Hallelujah!!!
That is so great!
Hello. How do you know that baby isn’t hungry anymore or doesn’t need a nighttime feed?
Our baby wakes 1 to 2x a night. Rarely more, often sleeps through the night, but w are doing bed sharing..
We knew because of age and weight! We also checked with our family doctor who said we were good to go! Usually 6 months they are ready to sleep thru the night without a feed!
My 6 month old baby has been putting herself to sleep for a few months now so we are super happy and relieved about that but our issue now is that we can’t seem to tell when she is tired for her naps before it’s too late and she’s over tired. I think that’s why Her naps seem to vary between 30 mins and 3 hours which tends to make her bed time a different time every night so in the end it makes every day different. I just don’t know what to do. She is also super restless most of the night while she is sleeping, wiggles all over the place and just doesn’t seem comfortable or something. She also will only sleep 11 1/2 hours, not sure why she never makes it to 12.
This was a huge help when we sleep trained our little babe! Only thing I am running into now is he is able to flip/roll over on his tummy but cannot seem to roll back. I now feel like all our hard work is out of our hands due to keeping him safe when he is on his tummy making sure he can breathe, etc. We put his crib back in our room to be able to check on him quickly if he turns to his tummy. He is now comfortable sleeping on his tummy he still cannot roll onto his back but he seems to be breathing fine putting head to the side now. Does anyone have a similar experience to this? if so, what did you do? Thanks for your help!! <3
I’m having trouble with this as my 6 month old can crawl and gets up in her knees and screams uncontrollably. She gets terribly upset and won’t lie back down and settle herself. Hellllllppppp
You need to use a sleep sack! Also perhaps ask the advice of a sleep consultant! I have a recommendation If you message me on IG 🙂
Thank you for sharing your experience, it’s so helpful, precise and concise! And reassuring as I always wondered if it was ok to let our baba cry a bit. Our son is 6 months, We just moved him into his room and I think that helps too. I think the timing was right as he didn’t cry too long and fell back asleep under 10mns the 2nd night after having gone in to reassure him only once at 4am. Since he’s been sleeping in his own room he also falls asleep straight away by himself from a sudden wake up and we don’t even have to go in to settle him.
I was just wondering if you ever did a nappy change if you felt it was wet?
Many thanks and all the best
I’m so glad to hear! Happy to help! Nope, never really needed to do a change for a wet diaper in the night 🙂 I wouldn’t worry too much!
Hey 🙂 this has been very helpful!!what did you do when he was teething ? Do you just roll him over in his bed(if he sleeps on his tummy) and give him Tylenol and turn him right back to sleep. Or do you nurse him, give him Tylenol and make sure he doesn’t go back to sleep ?
We didn’t change much for teething, if Tylenol is needed. We would quickly give some and put back in bed.
Hi! Any suggestions on what to do if you do still need to feed at night? Thanks
You could cut to one feed during the hours of 11-3:30am only. Feed with lights on and make sure baby does not fall asleep.
Hi! So my son is 6months old, he got to. The point where he was constantly waking during the night, he didn’t like his cot and I ended up standing in his room holding him for hours on end not being able to put him down. So I knew enough was enough and I’ve started to do the sleep training. I’ve been doing it for over a week now and most nights he has screamed for an hour Atleast with me going in every ten minutes. I kind of expected it to get less, I can Hear my neighbour banging in the night because she’s annoyed with the crying waking her up too! Any suggestions of something I’m doing wrong or do I just keep sticking with it? He goes to bed at 7pm and has a bottle then normally wakes about 11pm for a bottle then the rest of the night if he wakes I’ve been letting him cry it out with going in every 10mins for no longer than 30secs. Do you think I need to cut out the 11pm bottle too? Maybe it’s confusing him that he gets a feed then but not the other times he wakes up. Danielle xx
Yes I would cut out the 11pm bottle. I would suggest a sleep consultant though, as I’m no expert. Also when you give the bottle is he getting drowsy/sleepy? As this cannot happen, and pro longs them learning to sleep on their own.
Thank you so much for this article & advice! We used your timeline & adjusted it for our times (8-8) & it has been a game changer!!! Day/night 2 of following your guidelines & our little man slept for about 11 hours last night & only woke once to feed. Cannot wait to see how tonight goes!
I have just read your article and it sounds great, I really want to try it but my LO is only 5 months old. He has slept through the night a couple of times but lately has been waking up more and more. I normally have to nurse him to sleep or co sleep just so we both get some sleep and I want to stop the association. Do you think it would be okay to start sleep training at this age? Also would you say it’s better to by husband to go in and console him at first as he would know it’s me from smelling my milk? Thank you
Hi! I think you can start at 5 months just get the ok from your doctor first, to be sure baby Cavan go thru nights without feeding. I don’t think it matters if you or hubby does the console. Good luck
Hi, your article sounds great and I really want to try it, but my LO is 5 months old. He has slept through a couple of nights so I know he can do it, but lately he has been waking up 3/4 times a night not always for feeding just for a cuddle. I currently nurse him to sleep, by this can take up to an hour to get him to sleep. I would like to take away the association so my husband can help out at night. He has started to get a bit clingy, so unsure if I should start sleep training? Do you think I need to wait till 6 months?
Good evening,
My son used to sleep quite well during the day and night, until about a month ago. He will be 6 months old soon, and absolutely refuses to nap, which is now also affecting his evening sleeps.
Specifically, I will try my absolute best to keep him awake during feeds, and then put him down for his naps. As soon as his head touches the bed, he has an all out fit. He clearly needs sleep and is exhausted, but will not self soothe, or soothe with me going in to check in on him. I have tried these processes for an hour, at which point I have given up, because I feel so cruel listening to him angrily cry.
He has always had a consistent bedtime routine of dinner at 5:45, bath at 6:30, bottle at 7, and in bed by 7:30. He used to be so good with this, but now starts to fuss like he knows he is about to be put down and pushes his asleep time to 8. Plus, he often now wakes up an hour or 2 later, which he hasn’t done ever before.
On these nighttime wakes, he does eat a lot, despite that I ensure he gets a good feed before his 7:30pm bedtime. I wonder though, if because he was born 6 weeks premature, if he maybe still needs nighttime feeds because his stomach isn’t developed enough to digest enough the whole night through….but at the same time, he can go 9 – 12 hours some nights….so I don’t think this is the case.
I have a sleep sack and white noise machine that are consistently used too.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
I would check with your doctor about whether baby can go thru the night without feeds, just be to sure. I found with both my babies around the 5 month mark they started waking more and the night feeds were more out of habit then necessity.
Hello,
Following your plan, I’m wondering what you do if your baby wakes not long before morning (You said your cutoff was 6:45) and he/she continues to cry until then? Do you just “start the day” regardless of whether he’s crying or quiet at 6:45, or do you wait until he/she has stopped crying to start the day?
Thank you!
I would just be start the day, if baby wakes after 6am 🙂
I have been trying your method for 3’days and my daughter continues to roll over and stay wide awake every time I put her in the crib.
Hello Candice!
I love your post, I wish I would’ve found it when my baby turned 4 months, it turned into hell at nighttime at that time. My baby is currently 6, but 3 days away from 7 months. I just recently found your blog, and tried it. When I say recently, like 3 days ago. I adjusted the times a little to make it fit into my family’s schedule more. Totally works like a charm. I’ll pat her to sleep sometimes, but at least she’s not waking up every 1.5-2 hours at night time anymore and also sleeping more than an average of 9.5-10 hours a day! That was horrible. Thank you so much!
Much love,
Sunnie
Hi! I was just wondering when your son would wake up crying, were his eyes open? Our little one cries in his sleep (eyes shut) and we usually go to comfort him immediately. He can wake up to 3 times a night.
my little one has been terrible since starting childcare here in New Zealand at 4months old. he use to sleep 2 to 3 hour naps during the day and then followed by a night sleep that was 12 to 14 hours long. He is now 8.5months and we are now at the end of our tether as he has gotten into a 10 or 20min nap habit during the day and wakes 1-3 times a night although sleeps from 530 to 530( with wake times usually 1130pm, 130am, 340a.m. His bed time has been 530 for so long do you reccomend holding him out till 7ish or keep it the same? my main question is how do you keep to the schedule if you put him down at 930am he sleeps for 20mins do you then continue to help him sleep for the full 1.5hours and if not do you then get him out and try at the 1pm sleep time or 2.5 hours after?
I have a question. My daughter just turned 6 months and I want to start sleep training. However, her crib is in our room (she has been co-sleeping with me) due to our basement flooding and we need to finish construction. Can I start sleep training her while the crib is in our room? Do I just need to sleep on the couch for a couple nights?
You could try that, but it would be difficult worth you in the room.
Thank you so much! We have been following this for our little boy who is 6 months and after 2 nights he has been sleeping through, it has been amazing! The only thing is he keeps waking at around 5 in the morning. We just leave him and he just makes noises in his cot (we have found going in will just cause him to cry). But he doesn’t go back to sleep. Do you have any tips on how we can make him sleep a bit longer? I feel really bad complaining when he is now sleeping through but getting up at 5 every morning is not a habit we want to get into. Thanks in advance! X
This was what my daughter was like as well. He should sleep later if you give it a bit more time. I would try leaving for a bit
Hi Candice!
Do you think 4-5 months is too young to start this routine? I love the entire article and information. This is my second child ( his name is Hudson also!). My first was really easy and no sleep issues so I didn’t have to focus too much on it. It’s hard to tell with this little guy since he’s doing really well so far but as you mentioned, it seemed the same for you early on. I want to try and get ahead of the game as I do currently rock/nurse him to sleep for bedtime and some naps (not all).
I have heard people start as early as 5 months. It’s what you are comfortable with and what’s baby is ready for 🙂
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you !!! I am 48yrs old and recently was awarded custody of my two youngest grandsons; 2 yr old Om and Kix is now 7 months. My husband and I have been caring for them full time for 5 months now. Our youngest son is 19 yrs old and we were so close to being empty nesters. I had been walking around like a zombie without any sleep and working a full time job , 9 hrs a day. Kix’s sleeping schedule suddenly changed at around 5 months. My husband and I were not getting any sleep. We had his crib in our room. He started waking up every hour; we even tried laying him on our bed with us hoping he would sleep longer. Nothing worked. My husband refused to let him cry. Finally about 3/4 weeks ago, I asked my husband to take the crib out of our room and into the baby’s own room; I told him I was going to put him in his crib even if he cried. I had no idea how I was going to do this; I took the monitor out of our room and took it with me to the living room; I told Kix it was night night time and I loved him; turned lullabies on turned the light off and I sat in the living room watching the monitor; I was soo tired and sleepy; the baby cried and I checked on him and comforted him every ten minutes; as I sat on the sofa, I picked my phone up and googled “how do I get my 6 month old baby to sleep all night”. There is where I found your post! As I read, it seemed like I was reading my present life and what I was dealing with. I took a screen shot of the schedule and decided to keep Kix from daycare the next day and give it a try. I must admit that when I saw 7pm lights out, I was like No Way! No way he will fall asleep that early and stay asleep past even midnight!! He was super tired by 7pm and fell asleep in about 20 mins. The next time he woke up was 4a.m.! I know it’s not 7am; but I am sooo happy that he at least sleeps that long. He drinks a bottle and falls back asleep til 7am. This helps me get things done in the late evening and also helps to get some sleep. Thank you sooo much!!!
I’m so glad to help 🙂
Hi!
My little boy has just turned 6 months. He is sleeping really well in the day but I am worried he is sleeping too much as he is starting to wake in the night for the first time. Did you stick to these times and wake your little one up from his naps or would you let him sleep past the times you set?
Thanks!!
I only didnt let him sleep past 4:30/5 pm – in order to be in bed by 7. Usually night waking insnt because of too much sleep