Last Monday, in my weekend recap blog post, I mentioned that the previous Friday night marked our first foray into baby sleep training. I wasn’t sure whether sharing our experience would be of interest, but since more than a handful of you guys asked me to provide additional details, this post is my long-winded response to that request!
A Quick Note
I know baby sleep is a suuuuper sensitive subject in the parenting world, so please know that I truly have zero judgment toward the sleep training methods parents choose to use with their little ones. We all approach baby sleep a little differently because we all have different babies (and doctors!) and that’s awesome. I believe all parents are just doing the very best we can and what I will be sharing below related to our sleep training experience is simply what we felt was best for our baby and what seems to be working for us. You and your baby may be completely different and that’s great! Do your thang, mamas!
Leading Up To Sleep Training
I’ve been pretty candid on this blog when it comes to sharing our baby sleep struggles. At six-and-a-half months old, Chase was still nowhere near close to sleeping through the night. We’d put him to bed between 6:30 and 7 p.m. and he’d typically be up to nurse three times a night around 11 p.m., 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. Day to day, this would vary slightly, but that was Chase’s sleep pattern for the most part.
At Chase’s six-month pediatric visit, our pediatrician strongly urged us to work with Chase to encourage him to sleep through the night. In my head, I knew it was probably time to do something, but Chase’s small size made me so nervous to drop his nighttime feedings. Our pediatrician said that Chase’s weight is perfectly healthy, but that the mothers of smaller babies often struggle the most with the thought of dropping middle-of-the-night nursing sessions.
When I explained that Chase’s best and longest feedings happened at night and he only nursed for short durations during the day, Chase’s doctor said he had a feeling this was because Chase is excitable and distractible during the day and not really all that hungry because he’s filling his tank at night.
In his words, “Why wouldn’t Chase prefer to eat a bunch at night when nothing interesting is happening and only eat a little bit during the day when he has playmates and activities to entertain him?”
This clearly is something we wanted to reverse… More calories in his belly in the day and less at night.
Our pediatrician assured me Chase would not starve if we dropped his nighttime nursing sessions and would make up for the missed calories during the day. (He also said I could bring Chase in for another visit or make an appointment with a lactation consultant if we are ever concerned about his breast milk intake after we drop feedings. We actually own this baby scale, so I’m planning to keep an eye on his weight this way for my peace of mind.)
And then I asked him the big question… “HOW, exactly, should I go about doing this?”
Our doctor said we could obviously do whatever felt best to us in terms of dropping his nighttime feedings, whether it be dropping them cold turkey, slowly weaning him away from them or soothing Chase when he cried after a specified duration of time. We talked at length about the “cry it out” method of sleep training which our doctor said he would support for a 6-month-old baby at a healthy weight. While this method sounded like it would result in a lot of tears on both ends, it also sounded like it would probably be the most effective method given Chase’s personality.
In the past I did a LOT of reading about baby sleep. The two most recommended methods for baby sleep training I heard about from fellow moms (including a ton of you guys!) seemed to come from Moms On Call and Baby Wise. I bought and thoroughly read both books and I see now that back when Chase was four months old and I felt incredibly defeated by his lack of sleep and need for nighttime nursing sessions, I wasn’t emotionally ready to dive into sleep training.
I was worried about my tiny baby. Chase wasn’t anywhere close to self-soothing yet and I wasn’t emotionally in a place where I could let him cry for extended periods of time, nor do I think this was the best thing for my baby at that time. Our pediatrician said to wait until Chase was bigger and older to really work on sleep training him and that was the validation I needed to hear to make me feel like I wasn’t failing at life with a baby who was still up all the time. (I also read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child which was SO helpful for me and made me feel like it was okay – and even normal – to be regularly feeding some babies in the middle of the night.)
It was hard to hear moms with babies significantly younger than Chase talk about their little ones’ amazing sleep habits or read status updates from mom friends on Facebook talking about their “amazing little sleeper” when I was putting full cups of coffee away in our kitchen cabinet, forgetting things left and right and publishing blog posts with more typos than ever before.
But there was one thought that helped me more than anything during this time: If horrible nighttime sleep is the worst thing we’re facing with Chase right now, we are SO LUCKY. Seriously. I know how blessed we are to have a healthy baby boy and I tried centering my thoughts in gratitude which honestly made the BIGGEST difference for me during the sleepless nights.
But now Chase was six months old. He was healthy, happy and had mastered the art of self-soothing. I could successfully put him in his crib awake during naptime or after his nighttime feedings and he could grab his pacifier and put it in his mouth to help him calm down when he’d start to fuss or cry. Our doctor gave us his blessing (and strong encouragement) to start sleep training.
We were ready!
Our First Sleep Training Experience
We went into the night unsure what to expect. We went through our usual nighttime routine (bath, cuddle time and nursing) and I made sure Chase had a good, long feeding before I placed him in his crib around 7 p.m.
I then I did a “dream feed” at 10 p.m. both so I would feel better about Chase getting some food in his belly and for the added benefit of taking some of the pressure off my breasts since they’re obviously used to producing milk all night long. The dream feed worked perfectly – Chase stayed calm and sleepy but nursed like a champ and immediately returned to sleep with no fussing when I placed him in his crib.
And then we waited.
Chase woke up for the first time around 12:45 a.m. I’m assuming his full belly after his “dream feed” got him through his first usual wake up time of 11 p.m., so that already felt like a small victory.
At 12:45 a.m., Chase woke up and started to lightly cry. This is when I would usually shoot out of bed and nurse him. This time I waited and let him cry. He cried on and off for 15 minutes. He would cry until he located his pacifier (<— one of the three Wubbanubs we surrounded him with in his crib!) which he would then put back in his mouth. This would soothe him for a while… but he kept waking up and fussing off and on for about an hour and a half. He didn’t have any LONG durations of extended crying/wailing which was such a relief. I’m not sure how I would’ve handled that, but Ryan and I were both prepared to let him cry for longer than we had in the past as he learned to soothe himself back to sleep and realized that nighttime nursing wasn’t going to happen.
Eventually Chase settled into a sound sleep while I stared at the baby monitor for hours. He woke up again around 3:30 a.m. and repeated the same behavior from his first wake-up. On-and-off crying until he’d find his pacifier, give it a few sucks, fall asleep, wake up, whimper again and repeat. This lasted for a little less than an hour but again didn’t include any long periods of hysterical crying.
I started to count my blessings and cross my fingers. Maybe this was going to work… I actually managed to fall asleep myself after this spell and when I awoke at 6 a.m., I grabbed the monitor and stared hard at my baby’s chest and watched it move up and down, up and down. He seemed to be sleeping contently and even though my breasts felt like ROCKS and looked like they had doubled in size, I felt the biggest sense of relief.
Chase woke up at 7 a.m. making happy baby coos. I went into his nursery to feed him and he gave me his typical full-body morning smile. He happily kicked his feet, grinned his gummy smile and pumped his little fists in excitement. I scooped him up, half expecting our typical super-short morning nursing session. What happened next proved that my pediatrician is a wise, wise man.
Chase ate and ate. And ate some more. It was a good, long feeding (our longest morning feeding ever!) and I felt my whole body relax as I realized this whole sleep training thing might actually work for us. My baby might be able to work toward sleeping through the night. He can miss nighttime nursing sessions and eat MORE during the day.
The second night was similar to the first night, but the duration of time Chase spent awake and fussy seemed to be cut in half. Ryan and I were shocked and I sent an enthusiastic text to my mom sharing our progress.
The third night amazed us even more. We heard Chase wake up and fuss only one time and within five minutes, he was back asleep until 7 a.m. I was AMAZED. Amazed, relieved, hopeful and, most astonishing of all, well-rested.
I feel like we totally lucked out with our sleep training experience. I have heard and read horror stories so I feel quite grateful Chase seemed to make this transition as well as he has… So far, anyway. Believe me, I know baby sleep habits can change in a flash and I’m not naive enough to think we don’t have more challenging nights ahead of us in the future.
Now, a week and a half in, Chase has been sleeping consistently through the night from about 6:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. Occasionally Chase will wake up in the middle of the night and fuss for a minute or two before he finds his pacifier and returns to sleep. (I still cannot seem to stop waking up a couple of times in the middle of the night like a paranoid mama to check the baby monitor, but I’m sure I’ll chill out eventually.) I’ve continued with the dream feed as well, but now that my breasts seem to have adjusted to no longer feeding Chase in the middle of the night, I hope to work toward dropping this nursing session in the near future as well.
What I Believe Contributed To Our Success
As I reflect on our first baby sleep training experience, the bullet-point lover in me must share a short list of the things we did that I think made the experience what we would consider a successful one:
- We waited until our pediatrician was fully on board and encouraged us to start sleep training. This gave us the resolve to stay out of his nursery when I found myself feeling the pull to go in, scoop him up and feed him.
- We waited until we were emotionally ready. Ryan and I were on the same page and both felt like it was in the best interest of Chase to work toward extending his nighttime sleep.
- We waited until Chase was able to fall asleep on his own during nap time and nighttime nursing sessions. I knew, before we began sleep training, that Chase had the ability to fall asleep on his own since we were already putting him in his crib slightly awake. This helped me believe Chase could fall asleep on his own in the middle of the night, too.
- We waited until Chase was able to self-soothe. I believe this was the BIGGEST key to our success. Chase’s ability to grab his pacifier and put it in his mouth by himself made the BIGGEST difference for us. Knowing he had the ability to put his pacifier in his mouth made it much easier for us to stay out of his nursery while we waited for him to grab his pacifier and comfort himself without us.
Basically we did a whole lot of waiting.
Do I think we could have started sleep training Chase earlier with success? Probably. But we just weren’t ready. Sleep is so different for every baby (and every parent) and we’re all just trying our very best to do what is right for our little ones.
Right now I feel a glimmer of hope and a strong resolve that Chase CAN sleep through the night. He CAN eat enough during the day to grow and thrive. And I’ll give him tons of love along the way.
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Sounds like he was a champ through the whole process! Just like you, I’ve heard some HORROR stories about sleep training, especially with most friends close by still living in apartment buildings. He sound like a happy little dude that is loved immensely. And that’s most important in the long run. 🙂
So happy to read this, I have a two month old so I love reading about what is ahead for me. I’m sure I’ve missed it but when did you guys start putting chase in his crib? We’re currently between a bassinet and swing, depending on the night, and was wondering what worked for you guys.
Love this post, and your honesty about your experience! We have been extremely lucky (sorry, we are those people) to have been blessed with a great sleeper from the getgo. However, now that he is hitting his 9mo growth spurt and his teeth are coming in faster than I can count, we’ve had a few sleep hiccups in the last few weeks that I haven’t been able to figure out how to handle! I am definitely going to have to look into the books you talked about and chat with my pediatrician at his 9mo appointment next week and see what his thoughts are on some sleep training to get back to sleeping through the night.
Thanks again, as always, for your great insight!
Thanks for a great post 🙂 question…how much does Chase weigh at six months? My 4 month old sleeps terribly :/. Wondering what that magical weight may be!
Oh there is no magical weight. Sleep is developmental. And there is a brutal 4 month sleep regression at 4 months!
We did Ferber method for sleep training at 7 months. I read in a few places that babies should double their birth weight before attempting sleep training. My baby had doubled her birth weight at 6 months (12lb 14oz).
This post was so helpful and also gives me hope. Our little one is 2 months old and she continues to wake 3 times to eat at night. The last one is usually an hour before I have to get up for work so I really lose that hour too. I have been one tired mama! Our pediatrician suggested dropping one night feeding and we are hoping to start this weekend. Wish us luck!
Couldn’t agree more!
Do you have any advice on naps. Our 5 month old fights naps so bad. I dream of laying her down down for a nap and having her just fall asleep. She can self sooth for bedtime but can’t figure it out for naps. Would appreciate any advice!
Hi Kristin! I wish I had more advice for you! I feel like for Chase, getting him ready for naptime the same way (bringing him into his DARK nursery, flipping on the white noise machine and rocking him in the glider for a bit) seems to signal “naptime” for him. For the LONGEST time Chase would only nap for 20-30 min. at a time and it was maddening. I am beginning to feel like sometimes it just takes time for babies to evolve into better sleep habits both in the day and the night, even if we try everything to help them get there!
Sorry to chime in, but I just wanted to say that short naps are totally normal. My daughter who is almost 18 months old didn’t start napping for longer stretches until 8 months or so. Also, I’d make sure you’re putting her down within her “sleep window”. Around that age, we used a 2-3-4 schedule. So, first nap about 2 hours after wake-up, second nap, 3 hours after that wake-up, and bedtime 4 hours after that. She may need a cat nap in the late afternoon since 4 hours is a pretty long stretch for a 5 month old. These times should be when she’s asleep so be sure to start your nap/bedtime routine with enough time to allow her a little time to fall asleep. I’d also be sure you have a similar (albeit shortened) routine for naps and bedtime (dark room, white noise, sleep sack/swaddle, etc.). I know how frustrating those short/nonexistent naps can be, but when they get a little older, they do start to extend.
Totally unsolicited, but I’ll just say that although we did some sleep training around 5 months old with my son (now 2 years old), he still didn’t take consistent, long naps (he did 20 min cat naps) until he reached age 1. Then we cut him back to one nap a day and he started a)sleeping much longer (hello 2 HR nap!) and b) was able to settle himself to sleep during the day like he did at night. Good luck!!
Hello Kristin,
I am not sure if this is appropriate but I see that you got a lot of good advice and feedback from other mothers but if you wanted a more specific schedule to try and work with you can check out this link:
http://sleepingpeacefully.wixsite.com/sleeping-peacefully/5-months
I find that sometimes if the schedule is a little off you are missing the sleepy time windows. Like other mothers stated the 5 months can be a bit tricky because they are learning so many things and all that learning tends to stimulate rather than help with sleep. Their body and brain is telling them to keep trying and practicing. There is also some new awareness to their spacial surroundings at this age that affect sleep as well. Hope this helps.
I’m a huge proponent of sleep training and the Baby Wise method…worked like a charm for both my children, my niece, and my cousin’s son.
You will be so glad (as it sounds like you already are) that you got this done!
I’m so glad you found something that works. Once they start sleeping through the night, it’s like a whole new world. 🙂 And you’ll be glad to know they never have any lasting effects of our “mean and awful” sleep training ways. My boy cried it out for a week at least (and he was over 8 months) and now at almost 13 years old he sleeps and sleeps and sleeps and never gets out of bed!!! These things seem so intense and the biggest things when they’re happening but they are quickly forgotten. Good boy Chase!
Julie I am so happy the sleep training is going so well! It sounds like you all are doing great! From one mama to another, you are doing great, and you are such a great mom. We got the Baby Merlin when my daughter was 2.5 months old, and she slept from 9 pm to 6 am every night. Now at 16 months she sleeps 8 pm to 6 am (weekdays, and then I let her sleep more on weekends). I think a lot of it had to do with the Baby Merlin (loved this thing!), and the fact that my daughter was formula fed, so we cut out night feedings early on. I completely understand the stress of wanting your baby to eat enough/be at a healthy weight. I chose to stop nursing my daughter at 4 days old mainly because she had lost a lot of weight at the hospital. My hubby and I, and our Dr., needed her to gain weight, so it was easier for me to make up a bottle of formula so I could know exactly how much was going in. So I say, do what you got to do mama, and it sounds like you are doing well!!
Even when you baby sleeps through the night, there will always be stuff that gets in the way of that. Whether it be a growth spurt or related to teething, my daughter will occasionally have a rough night here or there. There was a period of about 3 weeks when she was around 13/14 months old that she kept waking up screaming around 3 am. It was awful, but it was only a phase, and we eventually got through it. The moral of the story is that you can never come to expect anything when it comes to babies…we just have to go along for the ride. Right now we are dealing with a 16 month old going on 16 with her independence and temper tantrums. This too shall pass LOL
I also wanted to tell you that I still (at her being 16 months), will frantically check the monitor to make sure she is still breathing. I think that is one thing we definitely take on as moms and the worry about our child will never go away. My mom still tells me she worries about me, and I am almost 30 LOL
I love reading your blog, and I have been reading it for years now. I thoroughly enjoy reading it, and I am always interested in baby/family posts!!
I’m glad it is going so well! I never did sleep training but I think what is most important is to do what is best for you and Chase and other’s opinions really don’t matter. 🙂
Way to go Chase!! (And Mom!) Now the hard part – re-sleep training yourself! 🙂
This is actually a real problem. I’m still struggling with insomnia even though the night wakings are pretty much gone now. I’ve started taking magnesium, wearing earplugs, limiting screen time at night, etc. etc.
I have a daughter Chase’s age and struggle with the same thing. She’s been sleeping through the night a little while & I’m still struggling! Hope you get a full night’s sleep soon 🙂
Yay!!! Congrats!
This is so good to hear. I swear the no sleeping part of motherhood is just as bad as the birth.
We let our daughter cry it out at one year. It was so difficult for me emotionally, I’m glad you had an easier time. This next baby is due soon and I am excited to explore other options.
Huge CONGRATS! I remember when we were sleep training my daughter at about the same age (she is almost one now) and it was so, so wonderful to finally sleep through the night! 🙂 It took us a few days, with a very similar pattern to Chase’s but man was it worth it! I just remember feeling like a completely new person being able to sleep that long, and actually have some time at night with just me and my husband. Good job to you and Ryan! And of course Chase! 🙂
thank you so much for sharing Julie <3 My 8 month old has yet to sleep through the night! I've tried everything under the sun!
Sounds like this was the ticket! At around 6 months, we also started to sleep train, but we settled on doing check-ins because full crying it out wasn’t working, as my kiddo is the most persistent thing ever and our rooms share a wall. That seemed to work a little, but ultimately he started dropping feedings on his own, and it’s only just now at 14/15 months that he can pretty reliably sleep through the night unless he is sick.
It had definitely been tough waking up all that time… and as another poster commented, it’s like a whole new world now. If I have another child, I’d probably A) hope for an easier sleeper or B) have better commitment to sleep training.
Glad it’s working for you!
We did something similar with both my daughters. Until they were six months old, they slept in our room in a small crib to make nighttime feedings easier. They did nap in their nursery so they were familiar with their rooms. Shortly after six months old, we made the full transition into their cribs at night and cutting out the nighttime feedings. It only took a couple nights for both of them to figure it out. They both went on to be great sleepers!
I’m totally with you on the sleep training when you the parents are ready! We tried and failed earlier because I couldn’t handle the crying …but my friend who’s a sleep consultant really helped us realize it’s for US to be ready and not baby (given a healthy weight and health in general) We used Sleep sense but every time we went in our little guy got more mad..sooo we essentially had to let him cry it out, which killed me but after a few days it got less and less and easier because I knew he wasn’t full on crying, and now we have the tools we need for any bump in the road that causes sleep issues. We just got back from a trip with a two hour time change and he still did super well with naps and sleeping (thank god-minus a one eaaarrrlly morning wake up) soo whatever sleep training method is chosen, a happy mama makes a happy baby 😉
Awesome! So happy it worked out so well 🙂
My experience with sleep training was terrible 🙁 but if I ever have another, I will visit this post again bc you have shared a lot of great tips, so thank you!
He’s such a cutie!
Love this! Thank you so much for sharing! I am currently reading The Happiest Baby on the Block and praying for a baby that loves to sleep at night =)
Yay! I’m so glad it worked well for you! We’ve used Baby Wise pretty much from the start, and it’s worked so well for us! We’ve had a little bit of regression now that she’s teething at six months, but that’s to be expected!
Yay, this is awesome! Way to go! Sleep is SO important for mom & baby, so taking the time to wait & figure things out is such a good idea. I totally agree that having a baby who can self soothe, eats well/is at a healthy weight are key things in being able to successfully sleep train.
My baby girl just turned 6 months old and she is pretty good at self soothing so we’re headed in the direction of dropping one of her 2 night feedings (she used to only nurse once but now it’s twice & I know it’s a bad habit I’ve gotta break)!
YAY!! So happy this worked for you!!!
Hey Julie! This is wonderful news and I’m so happy for you! It is a huge victory to finally get your baby on the right path of sleep and makes you feel human again, too! BTW, I believe we had the same due date with our baby boys – 8/10? I delivered Brady on 8/4. It’s been fun following your blog as I can relate to so much of what you post!
We had the same issue of our daughter not sleeping through the night, but it wasn’t from not feeding, it was from losing her pacifier. Weight was never an issue, because she was definitely big enough. I think they (we) get into a habit or routine and it’s hard to break.
I remember reading about sleep training, and all of them said it would take three nights, which is exactly what it took us and you as well. On the first night she cried for 45 mins, the second night was 20 mins, and the third night she slept through!
I believe it’s the hardest on the parents!! Good for you that you did it when he was young, and didn’t wait until you were crazy from not enough sleep!!
So glad the sleep training worked for you!! I have a pretty good sleeper (at least, right now…ha!), but he’s not able to self-soothe yet so we’re up at least a few times each night just to put the paci back in his mouth. Looking forward to getting those longer stretches!
Also, is that the Carters sleeper with dino feet? I just ordered it! I was so sad when I had to retire the 3mo pants with dino feet, and was way too excited when I found the sleeper in the size I needed (9mo and he’s 3.5mo now. Wah stop growing!!). So cute!! 🙂
So glad you shared your sleep training story! My 2 month old is pretty good at night, but during the day, he is such a light sleeper. He ends up sleeping in my arms while/after nursing and then I put him on the couch, surrounded by pillows of course, and hold my breath. I’m hoping he’ll start to sleep better so I can transition him to his crib upstairs without fear that I’ll wake him up on my walk upstairs! :/
http://www.thepetitefastinista.com
My son is 2 and I STILL wake a few times a night. I asked my mom when that finally stops and she said “when he’s in college” :). Ha ha! Good luck sleeping through the night yourself!
Hi Julie, thank you so much for posting your experience! I have just a 9 day old but bookmarking this to refer back to when the time comes 🙂 Congratulations on the successful training!
Hi Julie! Thank you for sharing your sleep training and so excited that it worked great for you guys! I had a question, how did chase get better at self soothing? My son is 6 weeks old and needs to be rocked or fed before sleep. He is terrible with the pacifier and the wubanub he will take sometimes but others he’s not interested and still prefers soothing on the breast!! (Ouch!) wondering if you had any tips that worked for you guys?
🙂
i have only one thing to say- Good job Mama! you did not lucked out, you sleep trained your boy like a pro and you got a result you earned!
Oh wow. This gives me such tremendous hope! Briggs still wakes at 11, 2 and 5 and seeing all of these Facebook posts from moms “so thankful for a great sleeper! Sleeping through the night!!” With babies younger is so demoralizing after suffering through such little sleep.. For 3.5 months.
He’s SUCH a happy baby and everything but our sleep is wonderful – so I am so very thankful… But so very tired. I haven’t wanted to start sleep training bc he doesn’t have the ability to self soothe yet. (And honestly am too tired to even do any research on it right now).. Just happy to see there’s hope out there!!
I wish I could hug you!! It’s SO tough, especially when you feel like everyone else out there has babies who sleep like rockstars!
Hi Julie,
I just came across your blog and have been reading voraciously for the past 2 hours! 🙂 This was such a relieving post to read as your situation sounds so similar to ours with our 4 month old daughter Vanessa. She’s never been a great sleeper (she loves playing, rolling, cooing, and smiling too much!) but she’s recently gotten even more restless at night. She is now waking every 3 hours at night from 7pm – 7am (she used to have a 6-7 hour stretch from 7pm-3am, feed once, and then awaken at 6am).
I’ve been at my wits end reading every sleep training book/blog and considering shelling out $$$ on a sleep consultant. The concern I have on starting training now is that Vanessa is 4% percentile in weight (she was born small at 6lbs 9oz) and though I feel like she’s satisfied and nursing well, I worry about depriving her at night. Our ped said exactly what yours said about her tanking up at night 🙂 and it’s so comforting to read that dropping night feeds seemed to improve daytime feeds for you and Chase!
Once we’re ready to make her transition to her own room instead of the bassinet, I will be sure to come back to this post for reassurance and inspiration to push forward for Vanessa’s sake.
Thanks for sharing! Wish the best to you and your family.
This is the best blog I’ve read about sleep training!! I have a 6 month old and I’ve been attempting to move from Co sleeping to him in his crib but he is now teething bad and needs to be comforted. Any tips on how to go about making the switch now? And tips to get him to self soothe?
Ah, this made me tear up. We did sleep training at 6 months (7 months ago) and I went through the same emotions and I too was shocked/happy by the success and how quick it happened. We were desperate for sleep and wanted to make sure everything was ‘right’ before we did sleep training. Also- I remember those rock hard boobs like it was yesterday- ouch! Amazing how quick your body adjusts though!
Love your honesty!
Not sure if you still check the comments on this post, but I had a question about your experience – we have a 6.5 month old daughter who has been sleeping through the night pretty consistently, but we still have to run in a few times a night to put the pacifier back in to settle her. Sometimes she’ll wake and cry and the pacifier won’t settle her at all and we give in and give her a bottle. I know she doesn’t need it, since she has been sleeping through for a while already, but we hate to hear her cry. Have you had any experience with anything similar with Chase? If so, did you just let him cry and eventually he settled? I’m just not sure how long to let it go, since she gets so riled up and a bottle does seem to settle her. Thanks for any advice you can give!
Hi! So interesting, I loved reading this! Did you only do the dream feed the first night in? Or did you continue to do it?
I know this blog is almost a year old, but I’m just now discovering it on Pinterest, lol. I’m a first time parent to a currently 3.5 month old. Your story was a great and encouraging read! I’ve been struggling with the idea that I should start sleep training soon. But is my baby boy ready? I don’t think so… Your success story about how you waited until you knew your baby & YOU were ready gives me hope. I’m gonna wait patiently & pray we have similar success when the family is ready to sleep train.
My little one is 3 months. He is starting to suck his thumb but does know how to self soothe. Did you do anything to get your babe to be able to self soothe for naps?
I always thought that sleep training must last for a very long time. I thought so until I sleep trained my little boy when he was 4 months old and my daughter when she turned 3 months. I used method from “How to teach a baby to fall asleep alone”guide by Susan Urban.
I’ve read the guide (in an hour or so because it’s short) and I knew exactly what to do and how to do it but I didn’t really believe it can be that easy. I started to read about this method and people were saying that they sleep train their babies for a few days sometimes even 3 days and that was it, their babies were able to fall asleep on their own, they nap longer and stopped eating at night. So I gave it a try and SHOCKER! Took us 4 days with my boy and 4 days with my girl!
So anybody who thinks that teaching a baby to sleep properly isn’t possible in a faw days should try this method! Otherwise it seems impossible
thank you Emily for mentioning Urban’s guide. After reading your post my husband and I decided to follow the guide and now our boy falls asleep on his own and there is no need to rock him for 30 minutes like we used to do it. We are finally well rested. Thanks a lot!
This is a really nice blog. I enjoyed reading it! I’m also so glad that I saw ‘How to teach a baby to fall asleep alone’ recommendation and that I decided to give it a try. It has worked very fast and in a gentle way. Thanks for sharing
In our case the method from this guide also worked wonders 🙂
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One more recommendation from me – this guide is really great! Thanks girls for your opinions!
When my daughter was born I thought that gentle rocking her to sleep is not a big deal. But day by day she wanted us to rock her longer and longer! When she turned 9 months I was really tired of it and I had to do something to make her fall asleep alone. After searching the internet I decided to get S. Urban’s guide about teaching a baby to fall asleep alone ( http://www.parental-love.com ) I’ve heard that sleep training is a long process. Well now I know that it’s not true! Took us 3 days to make my girl to fall asleep without rocking! This guide helped us a lot! Awesome help
I do know this guide, my sister used it to sleep train her 2 kids. She was very happy with the results. I am pregnant and I am going to follow the guide as well with my baby
Alison! The guide you recommend is AMAZING! I encourage everybody to follow the instructions from Urban’s guide and I bet you will succeed. I was more than sure that it won’t be so easy with my son but fortunatelly I was wrong 🙂 I am so glad I tried it!
Looks like I finally have found something I needed! I love HOW TO TEACH A BABY TO FALL ASLEEP ALONE guide! I love it becasue it’s an e-book and it’s short! And finally I love it because it has helped me so much! After 3 days of the HWL method my 6 mo son was able to fall asleep on his own in his crib ( after 6 months of co-sleeping)! I highly recommend this guide!
yep, this guide is pretty awesome 🙂 thanks for sharing
With this guide I finally made my son sleep in his crib and he started to fall asleep on his own without me rocking or feeding him to sleep! to sum up – the guide is great 🙂 Thanks
This really gave me hope. I’ve got a 6 month old who is in the 1st percentile (just under 14 lbs) tho he was born a month early so he’s adjusted 5 months. I’ve been wanting to wean some of our night feeds (dream feed, pacifier at midnight, then 4 am feed) but have been so nervous because he’s small and worried he won’t get enough calories or my supply will drop. He does his longest feed at 4 am and a super short one at 6-7 am when he wakes up so I think it’s possible…
So glad you shared your sleep training story! My 3 month old is pretty good at night, but during the day, he is such a light sleeper. He ends up sleeping in my arms while/after nursing and then I put him on the couch, surrounded by pillows of course, and hold my breath. i have took help from https://sleepystarz.com/ sleep consultant and i can’t belive it’s really amazing and also it’s workfull.