Get a Better Night's Sleep

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Sleep regression, 7 week old

• Keriann M. Hi Tamara! Thank you for the question! At his young age, I would encourage him to fall asleep in his bassinet on his own by laying him down awake and sitting next to the bassinet to provide some comfort as he is trying to fall asleep. Pick up/put down can be quite helpful at this age: if he starts to cry, pick him up and walk around the room. As soon as he calms down, lay him back in the crib awake. So, the key is to provide comfort to keep him calm, but not long enough to actually lull him to sleep. You may have to repeat this process several times until he eventually drifts off to sleep on his own. For the short 30 minute sleep cycles, this is very normal at that age. When you hear him stirring at the 30 minute mark, run in quickly and try to get him back to sleep by jiggling the bassinet, patting his bottom, or whatever technique works to get him back to sleep. Typically waking after 30 minutes means he is having trouble transitioning through sleep cycles, so you can assist him by providing some assistance. If he is falling asleep on his own initially, and you are able to assist him in falling back asleep after 30 minutes, I would expect his sleep cycles to lengthen again on their own.

Tired Momma here

• Keriann M. Hi Rebecca! Thank you for your question! At that age, I find that many babies do better with a set schedule rather than going by awake times. The time change, teething and crawling combo likely got her rhythm out of whack, so a set schedule will help her get back on track. I recommend a schedule of 7am wake up, 9:30 am first nap, 2:00 pm second nap, 7:00 bedtime (or within 30 minutes of this). It also sounds like she may be using the bottle as a form of comfort rather than actually being hungry. I would limit night feedings to 1 feeding per night (somewhere between 12a-3a) since you know she is perfectly capable of going through the night without feeding. For the other night wakings, I would wait 10 minutes before responding to see if she can resettle on her own. If not, then go check on her and encourage her to go back to sleep without feeding for the other wakeups. Increasing your wait time to 10 minutes will give her more of an opportunity to self-settle. Some babies are disrupted more by the parents coming in, so giving her a little more time to self-settle may help.

3.5 months old

• Keriann M. Hi Merle! Thank you for your question. I think you can start shaping your baby's sleep now. At 3.5 months, I wouldn't recommend doing a set daily schedule per se, but would be very strict with awake times. I would expect that she can likely handle about 1.5 hours of awake time, so I would be very consistent with offering naps 1.5 hours after she wakes from her previous sleep. If she is waking roughly at the same time each morning, then she will likely fall into her own predicable pattern, which will become more predictable for you. I would recommend having a set wake time in the morning (time you get her out of the crib to start your day) and a set bedtime at night to start shaping your days (I would stay within 30 minutes of your ideal times each day). I would keep the white noise, as this can be very helpful for sleep, especially naps. I think transitioning her to the crib now would be fine. You will likely have better success at bedtime than starting at a nap since sleep tends to come more easily at night than during the day.

Swing addict!

• Keriann M. Daytime sleep can be very hard for some babies. I would recommend removing the swing as an option. If she can see it, she will want to be in it, so removing it completely will help. For babies having trouble sleeping during the day, I recommended blacking out the windows as much as possible to make the room as dark as you can. Even the slightest bit of light can be disruptive, so the goal is to make it as dark as it would be at night. I would do a nap time routine that is similar to what you do at bedtime so she knows sleep is coming (i.e. diaper change, book, song, in bed). Whatever she sleeps with at night she should have for naps. If she doesn't already use a lovey, you may want to introduce one as a form of comfort. She also may enjoy a sleep sack and find that more comforting. White noise can be helpful for daytime sleep as well. The key is helping her find a new preferred routine for naps that does not include the swing. Since nights are going well, duplicating as much as you can from her nighttime routine will help. It can take 1-4 weeks for babies to adjust to a shift in their sleep routines (especially for naps), so you have to stick with it for a while. It is inevitable that she will fight naps in the beginning. If you have days like that where she fights a nap for over an hour, then get her up and distract her with some playtime or a snack and try again in the crib. If she still fights for another 30 minutes, then try going for a car ride to see if she will take a catnap in the car to recoup some sleep. On days she takes no naps, do an early bedtime (6pm is not out of the question)! If you are consistent, she will eventually catch on. It can be a difficult habit to break.

6 month old twins

• Keriann M. Sleeping longer stretches often depends on how babies are falling asleep initially. If they are relying on any kind of sleep "prop" (i.e. rocking to sleep, nursing to sleep, laying with a parent, etc) to fall asleep initially, then they will wake when experiencing a transition in sleep cycles (often around the hour mark) and need that prop to come back and put them back to sleep each and every time. The best way to stop this is to be sure they are awake when going down for the night and falling asleep on their own in their own sleeping environment. That way when they experience brief awakenings throughout the night (as everyone does), they will be in a familiar place and will know how to put themselves back to sleep without a sleep prop.

Early waking

• Keriann M. Hi Claudia! Thank you for your question! The most common cause for early rising in the mornings is over-tiredness at bedtime. If your baby is over-tired when going to sleep, they often have trouble staying asleep. This sounds counter-intuitive, but it's true. My first suggestion would be to try an earlier bedtime. I would move bedtime up by 30 minutes (7:00) and see if that helps. Stick with this new time for at least a week before deciding whether or not it is helping. I would certainly continue waiting until a minimum of 6am before getting out of bed and starting the day, to encourage her to go back to sleep and to not create a new habitual wakening at that hour. You may find this blog post helpful: http://www.dreamfactorysleep.com/single-post/2016/11/19/Putting-an-End-to-Early-Rising

Toddler wake ups

• Keriann M. Well, the good news is he is going back to sleep on his own during those night wakings! That is fantastic and I would encourage him to keep doing that. Don't panic and create any new habits (i.e. coming to your bed, needing someone to lay with him, etc.) during this time. It is very possible that the transitions you mentioned are having an effect on his sleep, the language development in particular. When kids are working on developmental milestones, they often experience interrupted sleep. If you stay consistent with how you respond to these wakings, his good sleep will likely return in a week or two. However, his daily schedule may need some tweaking. His nap is on the late side, making it too close to bedtime, which may be effecting his nighttime sleep. With a 7:30am wake time, I would recommend a nap at 1:00pm with a bedtime around 7:30/8pm (that means lights out at that time).

• Nina THANKS SO MUCH! We'll shift his nap earlier. Is it okay if we do it in 15 min increments as he might be resistant to going to down at 1pm at the beginning?

• Keriann M. Yes, you can shift it slowly if that makes it easier.

Sleep regression

• Keriann M. Hi Kathleen! Thank you for the question! At 4 months, I usually have babies on a daily routine that is 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night. If he is waking around 7am, then he is probably ready for an earlier bedtime, I'd recommend 7pm. If he is over-tired at bedtime, that often leads to a waking after the first sleep cycle (usually around the 1 hour mark), and can cause middle of the night wakings as well. When using white noise, I recommend continuous white noise that stays on all night rather than one that shuts off automatically. That way, when he wakes in the middle of the night, his sleep environment is consistent with how he fell asleep at bedtime. Usually if babies are fine with the pacifier falling out and not needing replaced constantly throughout the night, then I'm fine with that. But, if it becomes an issue where you need to replace the pacifier a million times, you may want to consider removing the pacifier for sleeping purposes and help him learn to fall asleep without it.

6 month twins

• Keriann M. Hi Melissa! Thank you for the question! Although he is putting himself to sleep at bedtime, it is possible he is using nursing as a sleep "prop" in the middle of the night. At that age (and assuming he is at a healthy weight), I would expect that he wouldn't need more than 1-2 night feedings, if any. Having a set time period that you offer feeds can help, perhaps between 12a - 3a, any wakings outside of that encourage him to fall back asleep without nursing. When nursing, be sure he is staying fully awake for the entire feed, not even getting drowsy during the feed. I recommend doing a diaper change first, to fully waken him and break the waking/feeding association. Then nurse, being sure he stays fully awake and actively feeds throughout. You may have to remove him from the breast if his eyes are getting heavy, then resume feeding once he full awakens. Lay him back in bed awake to let him fall asleep on his own, just as you do at bedtime. This will help break any lingering feed/sleep associations he may be hanging on to. Also, be careful you are not providing too much soothing during the other wake ups. Since you know he can put himself to sleep, he should be doing that each and every time.

• Melissa Thanks so much for the helpful advice, we will try it tonight!

Frequent night wakings

• Keriann M. It sounds like she started to develop independent sleep skills, but then became reliant on your presence somewhere along the way. When she wakes in the middle of the night and you are not there, she panics a bit and needs you to come back. I would avoid rocking her to sleep. If you need to rock her to calm her, that is fine, but as soon as she calms down I would lay her back down in the crib to fall asleep on her own. I would recommend that you stop sitting in her room at bedtime to help her get used to falling asleep on her own. Have a set time interval that you will come check on her if she is upset (I recommend 10 minutes, but you can work up to that if you aren't comfortable with that right away). If she is still crying after 10 minutes, go in and provide some comfort and reassurance, then leave the room again so she can eventually fall asleep on her own. Keep your check-ins brief. To keep your day on track, I would wake her at her usual time each morning (7am) and try an earlier bedtime to help her recoup some of the lost sleep (7pm). This may be a temporary regression, but if you stay consistent with your response, she will likely resume her good sleep within a week or two. Be careful not to introduce any new "sleep props" in the meantime (rocking to sleep)!

Hates the crib, can`t fall asleep 8 months

• Keriann M. This is a tough one. The key to helping her get past that 30 minute wake up is to help her learn how to fall asleep completely independently of you. If you can lay her in the crib awake and she can learn to put herself to sleep without intervention, I would expect that she will start sleeping longer stretches on her own. Some sort of "sleep training" may be warranted here, but finding the right technique could be a challenge. I would recommend trying a gentler method where you check on her periodically and offer some comfort to keep her calm as she is learning to fall asleep on her own. Whatever comforting you provide (rocking, holding, etc) be sure you only do it long enough to calm her, not long enough to put her to sleep. I'd be happy to offer you a free 15 minute evaluation call to make sure there isn't anything else going on and to discuss some of the various methods if you like. You can book a call with me using this link: http://www.dreamfactorysleep.com/book-online

Travel/time zone change and Nursing to sleep 6 mon old

• Keriann M. Hi Kate! Thank you for your question! It can take a week or two to get adjusted to a new time zone. Since you will only be there a short period of time I would recommend keeping your baby as close to his normal time zone as possible (within an hour of his usual time if possible). In order to encourage independent sleep skills, and therefore encouraging longer stretches of sleep, I would certainly recommend not nursing or rocking to sleep. This often works for awhile, but many babies start having difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep as they become more aware of their surroundings, so helping them fall asleep on their own can be quite beneficial. I do like the Eat-Play-Sleep model, but for this to work, you need to work to make sure every feed is a full feed to discourage snacking and eating too close to sleep times. If he is struggling for that first feed of the day, you could give him a little play time when he wakes in the morning and feed 20-30 minutes after waking to be sure he is ready for that first feed of the day. If you are still struggling to implement the Eat-Play-Sleep routine, I would recommend avoid feeding within 30 minutes of naps. You might also want to remove feeding from the bedtime routine by making it the first step, rather than the last (feed, bath, book, bed). As for schedule, 6-7 months is a time of transition for many babies when they are transitioning from 3 naps a day to 2. For naps to be truly restorative, longer is better. I would aim for each nap to be anywhere from 1.5-3 hours each. If your little one's naps are getting shorter, he may be ready for slightly longer awake time. By the time he is on 2 naps a day, he should be able to manage about 3 hours of awake time. I would recommend trying to increase his awake time in 10-15 minute increments every few days. An ideal schedule for 2 naps would be 7am wake up, 9:30am nap 1, 2:00pm nap 2, 7pm bedtime.

Bedtime

• Brian Also, just to add some more details -- our daughter is 22 months old. We have always nursed or rocked her to sleep. She has gotten better lately, and will often drift to sleep on her own once she is actually lying down with her blanket on her, but our struggle is getting her to lie down in the first place.

• Keriann M. Hi Brian! Thank you for your question! This age can be quite challenging. I typically don't recommend transitioning to a toddler bed until closer to age 3 for the exact reasons you are describing. 2 year olds have a much harder time understanding the invisible boundaries and "freedom" that comes with a toddler bed, so I usually recommend keeping kiddos in a crib until as close to age 3 as possible. At 3 they are better able to understand expectations and consequences. With that said, you have to set the expectation that the only acceptable behavior is to lay quietly in her bed, whether she is asleep or not. Any behavior other than laying quietly should result in a consequence. Consistency is key! You can't threaten and not follow through. I would certainly encourage you to stop nursing/rocking to sleep and encourage her to fall asleep on her own each and every time, especially since you know she can. In order to help her prepare for bedtime, I find it helpful to do a bedtime chart where she can put a sticker or check mark after each activity (i.e. took a bath (check), brushed teeth (check), laid in bed quietly (check), stayed in bed until 7am (check - get reward in morning). Having a visual chart often makes bedtime fun at this age and gives her a sense of control, while preparing her that bedtime is coming. I would certainly reward the desired behavior and consequence the undesired behavior. This can be a very tricky age to work with, and depends largely on the child's temperament and personality. I'd be happy to have a free evaluation call with you if you would like to chat in more child-specific terms. You can book a call with me using this link... http://www.dreamfactorysleep.com/book-online

Night Feedings-4 month old

• Keriann M. Hi Julie! Thank you for your question! It is a great sign that she can put herself to sleep at bedtime. It sounds like she may still be using the feeds as a way to fall back asleep in the middle of the night, though. If you are going to continue offering feedings, I would recommend keeping here AWAKE during the feed and encouraging her to fall back to sleep on her own each and every time. For night feedings, try changing her diaper first to break the waking/feeding association. Then offer the feed, being sure she stays awake and actively feeds the entire time. This may mean you have to remove her from the breast or bottle if she starts to drift off to sleep or gets too relaxed. Give her a burp until she is awake again, then resume the feed. Make sure when you lay her back in the crib, she is awake and puts herself back to sleep on her own. Also, when she wakes at night, I would wait about 10 minutes before responding to her to see if she will fall back asleep. Babies often wake throughout the night as they transition sleep cycles, so you want to be sure she is truly awake and not just resettling before offering a feed.

• Julie Thanks Keriann! She's still in her Rock and Play and about to transition to the crib. Any pointers for that?

• Keriann M. I would try getting her to sleep in the crib at bedtime rather than naps at first. She is likely to be more tired and ready for sleep at nighttime than she will be for daytime, so you are likely to be more successful starting the transition at night. Otherwise, just go for it and don't look back. It might be difficult for a few days, but if you stay consistent she will catch on quickly that the RnP is no longer an option.

Keep awake in day to help sleeping at night?

• Keriann M. No, this is not true! This is one of the most common pieces of advice I hear, but it is the exact opposite of what you should do. "Sleep begets sleep", meaning the better she sleeps during the day, the better she will sleep at night. When babies aren't getting adequate sleep during the day, they become over-tired, which causes the body to produce a hormone in an effort to stay awake (what we refer to as our "second wind"). If you are trying to put your baby to sleep in this over-tired state with hormones working against you, you are likely to have WORSE sleep at night, not better. At 5 weeks, your baby needs about 16-18 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period. She should be awake about 45 min - 1 hour in between naps, ideally each nap would be 1.5-3 hours each (this will likely result in 4-6 naps per day). She should be asleep more than she is awake at this age, that is completely normal!

• Keriann M. Merle, as a general rule, I would say there is no such thing as too much sleep, especially with a newborn. Most babies will wake naturally when they are hungry, but if you are worried about sleeping too much during day, then it is ok to wake them every 3-4 hours to feed during daytime hours, but I would let them sleep as long as they can at night to encourage longer stretches of sleep at night. Exposure to light during daytime hours and exposure to darkness during the night is usually enough to help regulate circadian rhythm.

Feeling like I have a newborn again with my 2 year old.

• I should add that he's in daycare and easily naps for 2 hours there but have the same issues listed above when trying to get him nap at home. Immediately prior to this he was 7:30p-6:30a + 2 hour nap sleeper.

• Keriann M. The first thing I would do is set the expectation that he must lay in bed quietly, whether he is asleep or not. The transition to a toddler bed can be confusing, so it is important to help him understand that the only acceptable behavior is to lay quietly. I would say "I will sit where you can see me if you lay quietly, but I will leave and close the door if you try to get out of bed (or engage in conversation)." If he lays quietly, you stay in sight, if not, you leave for a brief period of time, then return and give him the chance to lay quietly again. Once he catches on to the "lay quietly" rule, you can slowly go further and further away in your sitting position to slowly wean him off of your presence. It is important that you return him to bed (quietly and boring as you said) each and every time and remind him that he needs to lay quietly until the clock turns green, no matter what time of night it is. If he can stay in bed until the clock turns green, reward that behavior with a treat in the morning. It is possible that he is ready to drop his naps. Many kids will still nap out of habit, but when they start fighting bedtime that hard, it may be time to stop the nap. Anywhere from 2.5-3 is normal range to drop naps, so you may want to consider that as an option if you don't see improvement soon.

Tired mom!

• Angela He also wakes 1/2 way through naps often. If he wakes at 5:15 to nurse should I nurse again at 6:30?

• Keriann M. Hi Angela! How old is Cooper? Age can make a big difference in my response ;)

• Angela He is almost 9 months

• Angela He eats 3 meals a day

• Keriann M. Thank you for the additional information. At 9 months I find that many babies do well with a set schedule. I would first start with a consistent bedtime and wake time in the morning. To encourage a consistent wake time, I would leave him in the crib until it is time to start the day, so if 6:30 is your desired wake time, then I would leave him in the crib as close to that as possible. Any wakings before 6:30am should be treated like a middle of the night waking, and encourage him to go back to sleep. I would base the naps off of a 6:30am wake up. Ideal times for naps would be around 9am and 2pm, depending on when you have to pick your other kiddos up. At 9 months, I typically strive for 12 hours of nighttime sleep, so if he has to wake at 6:30am then he should be in bed by 6:30pm at night (ideally). Early rising and frequent night wakings are often a result of over-tiredness at bedtime, so my first response is to try an earlier bedtime. If 6:30 isn't doable, then try for 7:00. It can take a week or more for his body to adjust to this new schedule, so give it some time before determining whether or not it is helping. I would not do a dream feed at this age. Instead, I would let him wake naturally if he is hungry, rather than intentionally getting him up to eat.

• Angela Thank you so much! From reading your response to others I should also work on not nursing him when he wakes middle of the night. So do I pull off the bandaid and implement all these changes at once or go one at a time!! Thank you!!!

• Keriann M. If you are trying to lessen his night wakings, then yes, I would recommend not nursing to sleep, even in the middle of the night. When I work with families we often make all the changes at one time. I find that getting it all done at once can get quicker results than rolling changes out one at a time and being in a constant state of transition, but it can be a rocky few nights. Most babies at 9 months of age catch on quickly though, so if you are consistent it is possible to see positive changes quickly. Feel free to reach out to me if you need further assistance!

• Angela Thank you! We have a busy weekend ahead of us so we may need to wait until Monday. Daddy may need to be the one to go in to comfort him in the middle of the night. Thank you so so much!

Naps

• Keriann M. Hi Ally & Allie ;) Thank you both for your questions. Short naps are oh so common at this age! It usually has to do with difficulty transitioning sleep cycles. To remedy this, it is helpful if baby is aware of his/her surroundings when falling asleep, that way when they briefly waken during that sleep transition, they know where they are and can put themselves back to sleep. That also means they need to be putting themselves to sleep initially, rather than relying on a "sleep prop" (i.e. nursing to sleep, rocking to sleep, etc). I would expect a 12 week old to be taking at least 3 naps a day (ideally 1.5-3 hours each). If you have only been attempting 2 naps a day, then he is likely over-tired. Most parents are missing their babies' sleep cues. If you are waiting until he/she is fussy and cranky, you have likely missed their ideal sleep window. I would try putting him down 1.5 hours after he woke from his previous sleep, all day long. This will help ensure he is being offered sleep at appropriate times before over-tiredness sets in. When they wake before an hour, run in quickly and try to help them transition sleep cycles by jiggling the mattress, patting, gently rocking, etc. in an effort to lengthen each nap. If you can succeed with this, they may learn to transition those sleep cycles over time. Be patient! Naps take time develop. Give any changes a week or two before determining whether or not it is helping.

7 month old waking every hour

• Keriann M. With frequent night wakings like this, the most common culprit is that the baby is relying on some sort of "sleep prop" when falling asleep. If your baby is nursing to sleep, being rocked to sleep, even using a pacifier for sleep, this can lead to multiple night wakings. It is normal for babies to have brief awakenings as they are transitioning through sleep cycles (often at the 1 hour mark), but if they are used to something external putting them to sleep, then they will need that sleep prop to come back and put them back to sleep each and every time, so you'll want to be sure she is capable of putting herself to sleep without that kind of prop. I like a traditional sleep sack (wearable blanket) for warmth and comfort, but other than that I find that any kind of swaddle/sleep suit for older babies either don't work or are a temporary fix for sleep challenges. Once a baby can roll over, I recommend only using a wearable blanket, if anything. If she is flipping to her stomach on her own, then it is ok to let her sleep that way. You should always lay her on her back initially, but once they are capable of rolling, you cannot prevent her from stomach sleeping if that is her preference.

Travel with baby

• Keriann M. Hi Sue! Thank you for your question! That is a very difficult time difference and there is no easy solution. It usually takes 1-2 weeks for your body to fully adjust to that kind of time change, so I would recommend keeping your baby as close to her American time schedule as possible. At least staying within a couple of hours of her usual sleep schedule. For the most part, I would follow her sleep cues and offer sleep at the appropriate awake windows. At 5 months I would expect that she can go about 2 hours in between naps, so I would try to stay within that window to make sure she doesn't get over-tired. Offer sleep at regular intervals regardless of what the clock says.

11 month old won't sleep through the night! HELP!

• Keriann M. Hi Kerry! Thank you for your question. Don't beat yourself up about starting "bad habits", you did what you had to do to survive ;) The first thing I would recommend is to stop nursing to sleep. Mix up your bedtime routine and make nursing the first step rather than the last. Encourage him to fall asleep on his own in his crib. If you are not already using white noise, I would introduce that as a way to drown out the sounds of you coming to bed each night. White noise can help mask the little sounds you make when coming to bed, so hopefully he wouldn't wake up every time. It also may be helpful if there is a visual barrier between the crib and your bed (i.e. hanging a sheet from the ceiling so he can't see you). If that isn't possible, then having the room as dark as possible so he cannot see you would be very helpful. I would also encourage you to stop bringing him to your bed, if your goal is to get him sleeping in his crib. This could cause a few nights of discomfort for you all, but he will likely catch on quickly if you are consistent. I would work on helping him develop independent sleep skills before moving him into the bedroom with other kids. There are a lot of issues at hand here, so I am unable to give a quick "fix-all" solution. I'd be happy to offer you a free evaluation phone call if you'd like to chat more in depth. Please use this link to schedule a call with me if you'd like. http://www.dreamfactorysleep.com/book-online

• Kerry Thank you so much! I know this will not be easy or quick, but will help us all in the long run.

Two year old sleep issues

• Keriann M. Hi Catalina! Thank you for your question. Age 2 is a common time for kiddos to start fighting naps, but it is often a temporary struggle due to a lot of development happening around that time. Most kiddos aren't ready to drop a nap until closer to age 3 so I would certainly recommend hanging on to the nap as best you can. Since they are experiencing early rising in the mornings, I would recommend shifting to an earlier nap time. At that age, they should be awake 5-6 hours in between sleep, so if they are waking at 6am then nap should be at noon, and bedtime should be 5-6 hours after they wake from nap. I would limit their naps to 2 hours to ensure they will be ready for sleep at bedtime. Often early rising in the mornings is a result of over tiredness at bedtime, so my first recommendation is an earlier bedtime. I know that sounds counter-intuitive, but over-tiredness actually makes falling asleep and staying asleep more difficult. You should keep doing what you are doing in the mornings, leave them in bed until 7am, try nap at noon (no more than 2 hours) and a 7/7:30 bedtime. At this point, they need to recoup the sleep debt from lost sleep so an earlier bedtime will help this. Stay consistent with this schedule for a week or two before determining whether or not it is helping. It can take 1-4 weeks for their bodies to adjust to a shift in sleep patterns, so give it time.

6 months (4.5 adjusted) short naps nursing to sleep

• Keriann M. I usually go by adjusted age developmentally speaking, but I also say you should hold your baby to her personal best. If you know she is capable of going 8-9 hours without feeding, then I would expect her to do that going forward. Instead, I would encourage her to go back to sleep without nursing. Since you know she can go 8-9 hours without nursing, she is likely nursing for comfort rather than hunger. Instead of replacing one "sleep prop" with another (rocking), I would recommend encouraging her to fall asleep in her crib, ideally without your assistance. Having those independent sleep skills will also help to lengthen her naps.

6 month old sleep training

• Keriann M. Hi Laura! Thank you for your question! I think doing some sort of sleep training with no pacifier and no nighttime feeds will be your quickest route to success. There are a lot of different techniques for sleep training, so choose one that works best for you and stick with it! Consistency is key. If Ferber worked before, then you can certainly try that again. Hopefully it will be easier the second time around since you know he has the skills, he just needs to be reminded to use them. I'd be happy to have a free evaluation call with you if you'd like to discuss some of the different sleep training approaches. You can book a call with me using this link if you are interested... http://www.dreamfactorysleep.com/book-online

Nap expectations

• Keriann M. Hi Jennifer! Thank you for your question! I hear this from parents often. There is no magic solution that can turn your baby into an on-the-go napper if that is not her natural temperament. If she is struggling to sleep for long stretches, then a consistent routine will go a LONG way in helping her do that. Also having a consistent location for sleep is a good idea. Babies thrive on consistency and routine, especially for sleep, so it is not likely she will suddenly start sleeping better without giving her some sort of consistency. If she knows when and where she is expected to sleep, she will likely sleep much better. Keep in mind that this phase of life is temporary and you won't be bound to a nap schedule forever. In the meantime, however, I personally would rather be at home with a happy, well-rested baby than out and about with an over-tired baby ;) As she gets older she will become more flexible as her stamina increases with age, but babies this age often need naps and bedtime that are very consistent if you want her sleep to improve.

3 yr olds bedtime tantrums

• Keriann M. Ok, don't shoot me ;) Age 3 is a very common age for kiddos to drop a nap. Some kids will simply refuse naps, but some will still happily take a nap out of habit. The only sign for those kiddos that the nap needs to go is fighting bedtime. If she is not quite tired enough at bedtime, then that will lead to all the stalling techniques she can think of (3 year olds can be quite clever). I would consider either dropping the nap or moving bedtime later to see if that helps. My preference would be dropping the nap and replacing that with "quiet time" where she reads books or plays independently for about an hour each day for some down time. You may need to do a slightly earlier bedtime as she adjusts to this new schedule. It can take a couple of weeks for her to fully adjust.

• Charissa Although the idea of no nap is hard to grasp, if it takes away these tantrums I'll take it! Thank you!

Daycare naps

• Keriann M. Hi Brett! Thank you for your question! It can take time for little ones to adjust to a new environment for sleeping, especially since it is only 2 days a week, so I would expect that to take even longer. It would be helpful if nap time was more consistent from day to day, so I would try to align your naps at home with the nap time at daycare. With a 7:00am wake up in the morning, 12:30 is an appropriate nap time. Giving him this consistency every day will help train his body to sleep at that same time each day. You also may want to talk with your daycare providers about the sleeping environment. If he is using white noise at home, you may want to ask if they would be willing to use white noise at daycare too. Try to duplicate the sleep environment as much as possible. If he sleeps with a special blanket or lovey at home, be sure to send that to daycare. With him only going 2 days a week, it will take longer for him to get used to sleeping in a new environment with other kids around, so give it time. The good news is, he is sleeping at all! Some sleep is better than no sleep, so that is an encouraging sign. It will hopefully improve with time.

5 questions left!

5 month old wants to sleep in big bed

• Keriann M. Hi Ash! Thank you for the question! I would first consider transitioning your little one to a crib rather than a bassinet. At 5 months, it is likely he is outgrowing it and may be uncomfortable. It is also possible that he has become reliant on being near you for sleep. If he is relying on laying next to you or having you hold his legs for sleep, then that may be causing frequent wake ups. I would recommend not bringing him to bed and encouraging him to fall asleep on his own to start developing independent sleep skills. It is common for babies to experience brief awakenings throughout the night as they transition sleep cycles (about every hour). If they are relying on a "sleep prop" (something external) to put them to sleep, then they will need that prop to come back to put them back to sleep each and every time. If being near you has become the prop, then I would try to break him of that habit and help him learn to sleep more independently.

Naptime/total sleep

• Keriann M. Hi Katrina! Thank you for your question! Most 9 month olds need 13-16 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period. Usually that is about 11-12 hours of nighttime sleep and 2 naps a day that are anywhere from 1.5 - 3 hours long. I find that many 9 month olds do better on a set nap schedule and can handle about 3 hours of awake time in between naps. A good schedule for that age would be 7am wake up, 9:30am - nap 1, 2:00pm - nap 2 and a 7:00 bedtime. Having a little more awake time may instantly improve nap length. I would stick to a schedule for a week or so before determining whether or not it is helping. If not, then I would encourage you to book a call with me so we could discuss in more detail how to lengthen naps. There can be many factors that effect naps. You can book a call with me using this link: http://www.dreamfactorysleep.com/book-online

4 month old sleep

• Keriann M. Hi Melissa! Thank you for your questions! In my experience swaddling is most effective in the first 10 weeks. After that, it often becomes a sleep prop (anything external your child is relying on to sleep). Since you have already stopped swaddling, I would not go back to that as you will undoubtedly have to break her of it again very soon when she starts rolling. I also don't really like any new gadgets such as the Magic Merlin that you will have to break her of later on. These are temporary fixes, so I prefer tackling it now so she can develop truly independent sleep skills which will help her learn to transition sleep cycles and sleep longer at night and for naps. I also usually recommend holding your baby to her personal best, so if she has gone with only 1 feeding at night, then I would hold her to that as she is likely feeding for comfort rather than hunger. I would recommend keeping 1 feeding between 12a-3a, and encourage her to go back to sleep on her own for any other night wakings. It seems that the pacifier may be causing problems at naps as well. If she's falling asleep with it initially, then waking 30-40 minutes later, that is an indicator she is having trouble transitioning through sleep cycles without her "sleep prop". I would recommend removing the pacifier from all sleep scenarios and encourage her to fall asleep independently each and every time. Keep the white noise, as long as it is continuous and plays for the duration of sleep (doesn't automatically shut off), and make sure the room is as dark as possible for naps and bedtime! This will encourage better daytime sleep.

7.5 month old early wake-up

• Keriann M. Hi Emily! Thank you for your question! This is likely a phase due to the transitions you mentioned. Developmental milestones are notorious for interrupting sleep, but if you are consistent in your response and keep consistent boundaries with your sleep "rules", then she will likely return to her good sleep habits once she masters the new skills she is working on. In the meantime, I would have a minimum "wake time" to start your day of at least 6am, so if she wakes before 6am I would treat that like a night waking and encourage her to go back to sleep. I would not get her out of the crib or offer a feeding until at least 6:00am to encourage her to go back to sleep, and not get too used to starting her day too early. You can then slowly increase the time you leave her in the crib to 6:10 for a few days, then 6:20 for a few days until you reach your desired time of 6:30am.

Nap requirements for 5 month old

• Keriann M. Hi Brittany! Thank you for your question! It sounds like you have a lot of great things going on and you are certainly on the right track with independent sleep skills! An average 5 month old can usually handle about 2 - 2.25 hours of awake time in between naps. I would encourage you to put him to sleep for naps in the same place he sleeps at night, if you aren't doing that already. Darken the room as much as possible, I MEAN DARK!!! White noise can also be very helpful for daytime sleep. Nap length can take time to develop, but if he is falling asleep independently then that is a good start. I would make sure you are not feeding him within 30 minutes of nap time. Sometimes if they are taking a brief "rest" while feeding, that can take the edge off so they are not as tired at nap time.

• Brittany Great, thank you so much!

Rock n play preferred over bassinet

• Keriann M. At 7 weeks old, the RnP is often a preferred sleeping place for babies because it is snug and cozy, and on a slight incline which helps a lot with babies with GI issues. It can become a sleep prop, however, so I would recommend trying to get him to sleep in the crib for at least 1 nap a day so he can start getting used to the crib. If naps are difficult, you may have better success at bedtime as sleep usually comes a little easier at night than during the day. I find that swaddling is most effective in the first 10 weeks, so keep it for now. I would give your best effort to try to get your little one to sleep in the crib for 1 nap a day for now. If that nap is short, then he can recoup some sleep in the RnP at the next nap. The more he is exposed to the crib, the easier the transition will become.

How do we start?

• Keriann M. Hi Merle! Thank you for your question. I think you can start shaping your baby's sleep now. At 3.5 months, I wouldn't recommend doing a set daily schedule per se, but would be very strict with awake times. I would expect that she can likely handle about 1.5 hours of awake time, so I would be very consistent with offering naps 1.5 hours after she wakes from her previous sleep. If she is waking roughly at the same time each morning, then she will likely fall into her own predicable pattern, which will become more predictable for you. I would recommend having a set wake time in the morning (time you get her out of the crib to start your day) and a set bedtime at night to start shaping your days (I would stay within 30 minutes of your ideal times each day). I would keep the white noise, as this can be very helpful for sleep, especially naps. I think transitioning her to the crib now would be fine. You will likely have better success at bedtime than starting at a nap since sleep tends to come more easily at night than during the day.

6 Month Old Sleep Schedule??

• Keriann M. For middle of the night feeds, I usually say to hold her to her personal best, so if you know she can go 10-12 hours without feeding then I would expect her to do that and stop offering feeds. Typically, if a feed is offered she will take it, but it is likely more for comfort than due to hunger. She may have a slight feeding/sleeping association if she is using that as a means to get drowsy at bedtime, so I would recommend switching up the order of your bedtime routine and do bottle, bath, bed instead to further break any feed/sleep associations (they can be very subtle sometimes). For the middle of the night, I would offer comfort to keep her calm but not enough to put her to sleep. Have a set time interval (I recommend 10 minutes) and go in and provide some comfort and reassurance every 10 minutes, but as soon as she is calm, leave the room again. Repeat every 10 minutes until she falls back to sleep. Usually, this method only takes a couple of nights for your baby to realize feedings are no longer an option. You always want to be sure you are giving her the opportunity to self-settle before going in. For naps at daycare, it can be tricky. 6 months is usually a time of transitioning from 3 naps a day to 2 (ideally each nap being 1.5-3 hours in length). I would expect at 6 months that your baby can go approximately 2.5-3 hours in between naps, so I would try offering a nap at minimum every 2.5 hours from the time she last woke. Caregivers are often mis-reading sleepy cues, so offering naps at regular intervals will help to ensure she is not getting over-tired. By 7 months most babies can easily go 3 hours between naps, at which point a solid 2 nap a day schedule can be implemented. With a 6:00 a.m. wake up, I would do naps at 8:30am and 1:00pm with a 6:00pm bedtime (ideally). Having a set schedule may help regulate her naps and morning wake time. You may find this blog post helpful... http://www.dreamfactorysleep.com/single-post/2016/11/19/Putting-an-End-to-Early-Rising

6 month old napping at daycare

• Keriann M. Hi Shanna! Thank you for your question! Despite having sleep trained for bedtime, it definitely sounds like he still has a strong nursing/sleeping association since you are using that as a means to help him get back to sleep in the middle of the night. You may want to consider sleep training for middle of the night wakings as well. If he needs to feed, be sure you keep him awake during the feed, then lay him back in the crib to drift off to sleep again on his own. Due to the frequent wakings in the early morning hours, he is not getting quality sleep so is likely tired heading into daycare. At 6 months, most babies can handle an awake time of 2.5-3 hours (assuming they are getting adequate naps and nighttime sleep). So, it sounds like your little one is certainly operating on a significant sleep debt. Since bedtime seems to be going well, I would recommend you use the techniques you use at bedtime for every sleep scenario, including naps at daycare and middle of the night. Once he truly develops independent sleep skills and can consistently put himself to sleep, he will likely find it easier to fall asleep at daycare. I would encourage them to offer naps in consistent intervals to be sure he is not getting over-tired, rather than waiting for sleep cues (every 2 hours, then build up to every 3 with time).

• Shanna This is really helpful! Thank you!

New skills and nap problems

• Keriann M. Hi Stacey! Thank you for your question! Developmental milestones such as sitting up and crawling are notorious for interrupting sleep, especially naps. For the most part, you just have to wait it out until she masters her new skills. Once she does, typically her good sleep will return. However, it is important that you not develop any new "sleep props" in the meantime (i.e. rubbing her back until she is asleep) as this could become her preferred way to sleep and she will start demanding far beyond the new skill phase. If your nap attempts in the crib fail, you can always go for a car ride or stroller ride to see if she can take a little catnap to take the edge off. If she doesn't nap at all, then an early bedtime is the way to go (6:00 is not out of the question)! Staying consistent with your sleep boundaries during this time is important in seeing her through this transitional time.

6-,month old waking up during the night

• Keriann M. Hi Aimee! Thank you for the question! The best way to stop having to go in to replace the pacifier multiple times a night is to stop using for sleep altogether. If she can learn to fall asleep without the pacifier, her frequent wakings will likely subside. In order to push her mornings later, I would have a minimum wakeup time of at least 6am. I would treat any wakings before that our like a night waking and encourage her to go back to sleep on her own. Do your very best to keep her in the crib until 6am every morning to help set her circadian rhythm. As she adjusts to being left in the crib and holding off for a feeding, you can slowly increase the time in 10 minute increments. So, start waiting until 6:10 for a few days, then 6:20, then eventually 6:30 a.m. if that is your target. Be patient! This kind of adjustment can take several weeks to get your baby used to waiting for the morning feed, but if she starts to learn there is no feeding to wake up for, it is more likely she will go back to sleep for a bit longer.

Our Q&A is now over.