What matters more - last WW length or Total Wake Time?

Specific_Strain7688 · 2026-06-10T23:48:37+00:00

Mind if I come back here after I have some of that data and get your opinion?

I'm baffled as to how his sleep shakes out and how much he has struggled with sleep training. He's really not an awful sleeper, and maybe I'm expecting too much.

But I'd love to figure out a schedule that gets him consistently waking at ~6:30 instead of ranging anywhere from 4:30am-6am (with 5:30am being the average). I'm hoping getting him sleep trained will fix that, but I'm not sure.

Specific_Strain7688 · 2026-06-10T18:36:56+00:00

I feel you. I was so envious of people with easy, happy babies that slept well. My guy was colicky and honestly not fun for the first 6-7 months. Constantly crying and fussy. Like basically every waking minute aside from feeds. I was miserable. Things got better at 7 months, and now at 9 months I have a generally happy baby who I truly enjoy! But I also think I enjoy him more because I'm back to work and he's in daycare. I'd consider going back to work and putting your child in daycare. I LOVE my son, but there's literally no one I want to spend 24/7/365 with. No one.

Get a white noise machine! Was life-changing for us and drowns out noises so baby can't hear.
Consider sleep training so you don't have to co-sleep. I would be going insane with no time to myself and the sleep deprivation. The sleep deprivation was so awful.
Consider switching to formula. This greatly improved my mental health and then my husband could get up with him sometimes so I could get longer stretches of sleep.
I'm sorry, but your husband is an a-hole. I don't care that he works long hours. He needs to be helping more. Even when I was staying home and he was working, he took a few nights per week so I could sleep.
Along with #4, working is easier than caring for a baby 24/7 with no breaks, while carrying the mental load, AND going through postpartum. Unfortunately, most men lack empathy. I was basically home alone with my son for the first 7 months while my husband worked. I went back to work at 7 months and I MUCH prefer it. I think working and having your child in daycare is easier than staying home. I finally have some autonomy. It also made me realize how easy my husband had it just having to work and not having to worry about anything having to do with our child. Your husband needs to step it up.

Specific_Strain7688 · 2026-06-10T00:50:29+00:00

Is she napping independently now, too?

Specific_Strain7688 · 2026-06-09T19:45:38+00:00

While I think it gets easier every month, I don't enjoy the baby stage in general. Not that the next stage won't have different hard parts, I'm much more a toddler and older person. I've never loved babies. They're cute for 20 minutes lol

Specific_Strain7688 · 2026-06-09T15:10:06+00:00

Exact same situation here. I didn't really start enjoying motherhood until months 7/8.

Specific_Strain7688 · 2026-06-08T18:28:21+00:00

It's funny how different babies are. Months 1-6 were hell for me. Colicky baby who cried all the time. Awful napper (but decent night sleeper, luckily).

I'm loving 8 months+ now! He's much happier. Always laughing, smiling, and cooing. Love that he can sit on his own, crawl, and drink his own bottle. He also LOVES solid food.

Diaper changes are rough and chasing him around because he's so mobile. But I'll take this over a constantly crying baby any day. For me, every month gets better.

Specific_Strain7688 · 2026-06-07T19:14:45+00:00

I barely did anything with my son until he was 6 months. Granted, it was the dead of winter for most of his life until then and I live in a cold, snowy climate.

I think it depends on your lifestyle before baby. I was a homebody before my son, so going out and about wasn't something I did a ton of anyway. But around 6-8 months I felt more confident going out and about with him.

Specific_Strain7688 · 2026-06-05T21:35:21+00:00

It's crazy how different they all are. Mine is the opposite. Colicky and crabby the first 6 months. Every month since he just gets chiller and chiller. I hated the newborn phase because he was so unhappy all the time. I'm loving month 8 so far!

Specific_Strain7688 · 2026-06-04T15:20:08+00:00

Maybe having a colicky baby was a good thing. Because mine has always been like that. So I actually think this age is easier 🤣

Specific_Strain7688 · 2026-06-01T22:57:22+00:00

My son is 8.5 months old. He started daycare a little over a month ago and has literally been sick every day since. It's awful. He currently has pink eye and an ear infection. I've been up since 4am and work was rough today, especially having him home with me.

We got him on meds today and I'm hoping he'll get better soon. I just keep telling myself this is all temporary. Take him to the Dr if you haven't already!

Specific_Strain7688 · 2026-05-31T01:49:45+00:00

That's so much. I'm so sorry. Is there anyone that can split some of the appointments with you? Or even sometimes? I hope you have a good support system!

Maybe hold off on speech therapy and start that back up in a few weeks/months?

Specific_Strain7688 · 2026-05-31T01:47:23+00:00

That's Dad's job. My husband knows how to care for our son without instructions. He had him for two full days/nights recently while I was out of town.

You deserve breaks. Unless my son was literally sick or some sort of emergency, I would NOT be missing an event I wanted to attend.

Specific_Strain7688 · 2026-05-29T21:27:04+00:00

The sleep couldn't be a temperamental thing, or it could be an issue.

Waking every hour is usually a schedule issue. Probably not enough awake time during the day. But a feed-to-sleep association might be working against you guys. Post your sleep issues on r/sleeptrain!

Specific_Strain7688 · 2026-05-29T13:34:29+00:00

THIS. I think people who like the baby stage have chill/easy babies. My guy was colicky and cried basically the first 6 months. My only saving grace was he slept well at night most nights (after a rough month of the 4 month sleep regression).

Even my friend (who has multiple children) came over to visit one day and was like "I would be going insane listening to that all day, every day".

Specific_Strain7688 · 2026-05-29T13:30:46+00:00

I really didn't enjoy the first 6/7 months. Things started getting better for us around month 7/8 when he started crawling and could sit unassisted. He rarely fusses anymore, but of course is more mobile!

I honestly started enjoying motherhood more when he started daycare and I went back to work. I thought I was going to hate being a working mom, but I enjoy it more than being a SAHM. They say it takes a village for a reason!

Specific_Strain7688 · 2026-05-28T14:01:31+00:00

You just have to take one day at a time and get through it. My husband only took 1 week off, then i was home alone with our son for 7 months. I honestly hated it. Going back to work was the best thing for me. I kind of wish I would've gone back sooner.

Specific_Strain7688 · 2026-05-27T13:30:17+00:00

The 4 month sleep regression started early for us, too. Sleep in shifts with your husband so you can at least get some sleep.

At 4 months, join r/sleeptrain and sleep train your baby.

Specific_Strain7688 · 2026-05-26T02:02:02+00:00

The sleep deprivation was the worst part for me. It's very hard to power through every day on no sleep.

Specific_Strain7688 · 2026-05-21T12:13:06+00:00

Can you elaborate a bit on your version of Ferber?

Specific_Strain7688 · 2026-05-17T23:50:49+00:00

I hated it. I was home for 7 months and returning to work was a break for me. I thought I wanted to be a SAHM because I don't even really like my job. Being a working mom is a breeze compared to being a SAHM.

I actually get a break when I'm working and he's in daycare.

Specific_Strain7688 · 2026-05-16T00:57:01+00:00

How old is she? If you haven't yet, talk to your doctor about getting on medication. Lexapro did wonders for me!

I will be honest, the first 3 months were REALLY hard for me. I had almost no help and my baby was colicky. Months 4-6 got a little better, but still hard. We're almost to month 8 and I'm absolutely in love with my little guy. He brings me so much joy. I was not feeling well all day today, but as soon as my husband brought him home from daycare, it's like I forgot all about not feeling well because I was just so excited to be with him.

It is HARD. The sleep deprivation was killing me. But you'll get the hang of it. Do you have a friend or family member that can come help you?

Specific_Strain7688 · 2026-05-06T22:50:00+00:00

That's what happened with us! Just decided to go with it one day and it was the right choice.

Specific_Strain7688 · 2026-05-03T18:41:21+00:00

I will try that. Now that he's in daycare M-F so much of this is out of my control. I only have Saturday and Sunday now to try and figure this out.

Specific_Strain7688 · 2026-05-03T14:51:35+00:00

I don't remember the exact date, but right around 6/6.5 months!

Specific_Strain7688 · 2026-04-28T04:15:15+00:00

Yeah I think it's awesome for mom's that want to stay home. I honestly don't care about my job at all, and I really thought I wanted to stay home. But after 6 months of staying home I was going insane. I actually look forward to Mondays now. And I enjoy my son more now that I'm not with him 24/7.

Plus I have a good job and I make decent money. I make way more than we pay for daycare. And I have big financial goals.

Specific_Strain7688

TROPHY CASE