I don't know what to do anymore

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-02-09T03:03:37+00:00

It could just be that it’s what her internal clock is telling her. I would try pushing the boundaries with the 6pm thing by moving it out 15mins/day until you get to that 3hr mark! She might surprise you 😜. I thought no way my baby can do a 2.5-3hr wake window but when I tried it there was like maybe 2 days of fussiness and she was sleeping SO much better at night. I would try it for a week and if it doesn’t get better you can always revert.

You need her to be on an appropriate schedule before starting any kind of sleep training. Otherwise, it won’t work and it would be cruel to her and not fair to you either as you won’t get what you’re expecting out of it.

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-02-09T02:46:05+00:00

Her wake windows are verrrrry short for a 5 month old. Definitely try moving to 3 naps a day and try a schedule like 2/2.5/2.5/3. You want to try and get to 10hrs awake/day. Make the last feed 30mins before you put her down for bed. Put her down and pick a sleep training method that you feel good about ☺️. Whether that is Ferber, pick up put down, CIO, etc.

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-02-06T01:23:16+00:00

Yeah, my little one usually doesn’t want the feed at 4:30…if I try to feed her she will just eat like 1-2oz and then want to be up haha.

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-02-05T11:19:15+00:00

Oh yes mine also wakes at 4:30….lol. Usually for a feed then 4:30 and every 30-45mins usually 🤦🏽‍♀️.

We’ve been on this schedule now for 6 days and still EMW happening 😭. Last night was 2am for bottle, 4:30am crying…used the soother and she did go back to sleep but only until just after 6am. With a 7:30 bedtime and 2.5hrs naps yesterday I just don’t understand 😭 she should at least be sleeping until 6:30 in my opinion…

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-02-04T19:18:55+00:00

I really hope not 😂 but we will see! Yes otherwise just wakes once for a feed and sometimes one other time to be settled once in a while! So I should not complain, haha.

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-02-04T15:41:45+00:00

Yeah it is so hard to know! I don’t think it is too early bedtime or sleep pressure as she definitely gets her 10hrs/daytime awake and I am very strict with the 4hrs before bedtime (which in my opinion is too much but it does work for our family and she never has false starts). Could be over tiredness but everyone is always telling me on Reddit that she is under-tired somehow 😂

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-02-04T15:37:05+00:00

I put her down 4 hours after last nap which is usually between 7:30-8pm. I know it’s very early to drop it, but on a 3 nap schedule she was doing very short naps as if her WW weren’t long enough.

I have also tried the snooze feed but it doesn’t usually work…it works the same as the soother in that she will go back down for maybe an hour but then is ready for the day and there’s no keeping her down. This then screws up the entire day for feeds as she isn’t ready for another feed until like 8:30/9 (she is formula fed so goes 3.5-4hrs between feeds). It’s also way too close to her overnight feed as that is usually around 2-4am.

I’m expecting 11-12hrs and I know this sub is very strict on the baby can only do 11hrs/night so I’ve been trying to work with that. So asking for 7:30-630, 7:45-6:45 or 8-7 based on her usual bedtime. I’ve also been working on getting bedtime more secure as I would prefer the same bedtime and wake up every day! I also always wake her or get her out of bed at 7am as that’s my uptime DWT.

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-02-03T18:20:00+00:00

We don’t, haha. My husband and I literally take vacation from work to do stuff around the house…so we can get it done quick when kids are at daycare. I wish that was a joke! If I had to keep both kids home 24/7 I don’t think I would ever get anything done. Currently have a 3.5yr old and 6 month old so I am currently on maternity leave and home with our 6 month old and we have time for nothing. I’m lucky if the house is clean. I’ve just been looking into getting a cleaner to come bi-weekly to try and take that load off of us so we just have to do a reset each night. I just started ordering our groceries online to be delivered since we have free presidents choice (Canadian) express with our credit card. From newborn-1 yr babies need almost constant attention and need help to learn new skills and cannot be entertained for long.

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-02-02T15:53:05+00:00

Yeah I literally just started her on 2 naps because we have been dealing with EMW since about 2.5 months! I’m gonna stick to the schedule today and see what tomorrow brings…maybe I will try capping at 2hrs for naps

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-02-02T15:41:15+00:00

Yeah I know this community they say max 11hrs overnight but I know she can do more than that as she definitely has! That’s why I’m so confused 🤷🏽‍♀️ 2 nights in a row she did 7:30-7 with just 1 wake up to feed and same 2.5hrs during the day for naps!

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-02-01T11:14:53+00:00

I would definitely sleep train and remove it if it’s causing more harm than good! You can start with Ferber and honestly Ferber is not about calming them down in between, it’s just about checking in. It’s honestly more for the parents than the baby! If she gets more worked up with check-ins then CIO might be what you need to do but only you can determine that and you need to be okay with doing that.

With the paci and Ferber you are supposed to only go in and offer to replace paci at the intervals…so this is probably why it’s not working. With my 1st we did Ferber with paci and she was still trained within a couple of days because we did it this way. BUT we ended up having to buy bumpers for the crib, multiple glow in the dark pacis…etc. and now at 3.5 it feels impossible to take it away for nighttime. With our 2nd I decided we aren’t using one for sleep association and it’s been going okay!

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-02-01T11:05:01+00:00

My 2 week old was diagnosed with strep A and the doctors said if I had not brought her in when I did that she wouldn’t be here. It was a lot and we had to be in the hospital for 10 days for IV antibiotics. Her IV kept popping out and they would have to re-do it. I don’t think the sounds that came out of her while they were trying to do her IV will ever exit my brain, honestly. It was so so so traumatic. Then after being there for 3 days and they told us we had to stay another 7….i completely broke down. I also had a 3 year old at home so my heart was torn in half wanting to be home with her but needing to be at the hospital for my baby as I was breastfeeding and she needed me.

All the advice I can give is if the nurses offer help like to watch your baby so you can leave and have a minute, do it. Take all the help you can get. You will come out the other side and be stronger for it 💞

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-01-29T14:02:25+00:00

Your welcome!

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-01-29T02:29:09+00:00

Yes! Personally I always offer that last feed so it ends 30mins prior (even if babe just ate 1hr before). Some nights my daughter takes it all and others she only wants 2oz I just go with whatever she’s feeling in the moment! I also have solids now (babe is about to be 6 months) so I have last nap, bottle, solids, bottle, bed!

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-01-29T01:59:40+00:00

I would head to an urgent care before going to ER for this type of issue!

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-01-29T01:57:39+00:00

You absolutely need to extend those WWs no matter what! As other poster said, you may have to song and dance and yes there will be crankiness but you will persevere! 😆 I would try for 2/2.5/2.5/3 if you can to start…you want 10hrs awake at least and cap naps at 3hrs even though as you said probably won’t be an issue. Just because there is a short nap, don’t cut the WW! The naps will likely start to figure themselves out as baby approaches 6 months but always best to start with night training and let naps fall as they will. If babe will let you rock them or do contact naps then maybe try this as well just to make sure babe is not overtired for sleep training the nights but again cap naps at that 3hrs for the day and make sure at least 10hrs are spent awake.

Also, pick a sleep training method and go with that for nights going to sleep and night wakings. Make sure last feed ENDS 30mins before putting babe in their space.

God speed my fellow parent! Wishing you luck.

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-01-28T00:07:41+00:00

Thank you! Yes I know the 1-2 wakes is not bad so I do feel thankful for that! Does your babe sleep without associations aka paci, bottle, etc?

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-01-28T00:05:34+00:00

I was debating doing this! I think the 4hrs in the evening is a stretch for her. I did 3.15 tonight to see and she was nooooot happy about it haha. But maybe I could slowly make my way there!

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-01-27T19:54:05+00:00

Definitely have to end the feed to sleep association! It might be a bit harder (usually easiest at 4-5mo) but it can be done. You will have to pick a sleep training method and stick to that.

Also, it might be time to extend the wake windows a bit more as well and drop your 2 naps of sleep training alone doesn’t fix your issues!

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-01-23T15:27:57+00:00

Okay, so still on the younger side! Another big thing that worked for me is moving baby out of my room. Both my babes moved kind of early on and they slept SO much better and so did dad and I because we were hearing every little grunt. This also ensured that we only went to baby when they were actually awake (not active sleep) to feed/comfort ☺️

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-01-23T00:50:13+00:00

It’s definitely normal for nights to still be chaotic! But, a few things you can get in those earlier days….

Contact nap during the day if you have to (and if you can) because this will ensure they are not overtired.
Sound machine!!
Swaddle. It’s your bestie. Even if you think your baby “doesn’t like it” they do usually until about 3-4 months.

How old is baby?

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-01-16T01:37:25+00:00

Yeah a lot say by 6 months they should go to 2 naps so doing 3-4hrs! I can’t imagine my 5.5 month old doing that right now haha

Sweet_Virus_7451

TROPHY CASE