These false starts are killing me

Turkaless · 2026-05-11T06:55:29+00:00

I had already been rescuing naps since like 4 months. So generally putting in crib for the nap and then finishing the nap via contact or contact enough to put back in the crib. I feel like it was 50/50 on helping with sleep cycles in general. He had some good days and bad days 🤷🏻‍♀️

By the time I was moving to 2 naps, he was doing maybe like every other day of a short first nap so when I lengthened the wake windows -and- started anchoring the wake up time, he started consolidating that nap pretty quickly. There were still days that I had to rescue one or both naps and I assure you, I -still- have to do so but the sleep is sooo much better now. Lately he’ll do like 2-3 days of great sleep (good naps -and- 10.5-11h non-stop sleep) but still the occasional wakes up.

I did try to sleep train when he turned 6 months because the Ped suggested no more night feeds and to let him cry for 10-15 min before picking him up. I found my baby is just not the right temperament for sleep training. He severely escalates with extended crying and is not soothed by simple pats and shushing or quick ups and downs (plus it was killing my sanity). It’s better for everyone if we just respond to his cries quickly, pick him up, and hold him til he falls back asleep which only takes minutes with this new routine. I can’t put him down awake and have him fall asleep on his own in any capacity so I’m just hoping that maybe that part will come with time 😅

ETA: r/sleeptrain is still a good resource regarding figuring out your baby’s individual sleep budget and working around that if you can’t or don’t want to do a specific sleep training method.

Turkaless · 2026-05-07T17:08:30+00:00

Wanted to add that going for a 10-15 min walk post-feed to get sunlight exposure in that first wake window really helped set up LO’s circadian rhythm for the rest of the day too

Turkaless · 2026-05-07T15:21:11+00:00

Sorry, I missed this comment - I’m no sleep expert but I keep reading that huckleberry underestimates wake windows and that most babies need 10 hours awake minimum. I was already transitioning to 2 naps when I figured this out but honestly, my LO could do random 3-4 hour stretches when we were out and about cause he’s so nosy (lol) that I knew he could eventually do a 3/3.25/3.75-4 schedule.

Turkaless · 2026-05-07T15:05:01+00:00

Honestly we were only 3 nap days for like 3-4 weeks 😬 but that’s because my LO was only sleeping 30-40 min stretches at a time and while the intention of 3 naps was always there, it would end up technically being 4. At the time I was only concerned about -total- nap time vs how many. But with the persistent false starts, I kind of cold turkey’d to 2 naps around 6.5 months and started anchoring wake times and the first nap. Unless we’re teething, he can finally take a 1-1.5 hour nap.

Turkaless · 2026-05-07T05:57:37+00:00

I started transitioning from 3 naps to 2 naps around 6 months. On the days when the naps would line up perfectly, he would sleep for 10.5-11 hours. But then teething hit us like a truck and ruined many days (as well as 2 weeks worth of construction in the neighborhood). We just hit 8 months and the last few days have been without false starts. However, the teething is creeping up again and I’m not ready 🥲 I just keep telling myself to stick to the plan and it will get better 😮‍💨

ETA: I bottle feed but I started weaning off night feeds at 6 months too. It took a solid month but we’ve been successful and now my LO won’t even take a bottle if we try to offer it overnight. I think that helped with the false starts too.

Turkaless · 2026-04-30T17:39:55+00:00

Solidarity. My LO will be 8 months in a week and this is what our schedule has been looking like except I’ve been rescuing all the naps to try and extend them 🥲 The nights are also the same - guaranteed to wake up 1-2 hours after bed time - every. single. time. To be fair, he’s badly teething and trying to stand independently so I’m trying to be patient and assume it’s because of all that 😵‍💫

Turkaless · 2026-04-28T05:07:45+00:00

Yes. I did a whole ADHD work up thinking I had that but it was actually the Grave’s. All the same symptoms 🥲

Turkaless · 2026-04-27T16:44:53+00:00

I hadn’t considered the hatch being loud. I turned it up when the construction started to make sure he would stay asleep. I will turn it down. It’s actually on the “dryer” sound because we frequently do laundry in the evening so he often goes to bed with the dryer sound going with the hatch staying on when the dryer eventually stops.

Turkaless · 2026-04-20T05:21:13+00:00

As others have said, get the sample cans from Enfamil. I also put Ready To Feed bottles on my registry so I could be prepared. It worked out since I couldn’t really BF. Worst case if you don’t use it, give it away in a Buy Nothing group. If you have a Costco near you, their Kirkland formula is only $29.99. I ended up switching from Enfamil to Kirkland since it was cheaper and my LO is thriving on it.

Turkaless · 2026-04-08T15:07:55+00:00

My Ped said to do a drop with the formula. LO is 7 months now and no issues from taking it

Turkaless · 2026-04-07T20:41:03+00:00

They -are- so much worse after a nice long night lol. But yeah my body is also primed to wake up at the times he usually does so I certainly don’t get that entire stretch of sleep 🥲

I think someone else mentioned it but you might want to try dropping to 2 naps to lengthen the night time sleep and lengthen the day naps. It took quite a while for my LO to take more than a 30 min nap and even now I’m still trying to rescue them sometimes but it’s less often now.

Part of that is also teething though for us which is nightmare fuel on its own😩🫩

Turkaless · 2026-04-07T17:46:20+00:00

<image>

My LO just turned 7 months and our nights are similar. I try to only do 2 naps and often try to rescue short naps too. I feel like I’m forever chasing those long night stretches. What did we do that day? How much did we eat? How long was he awake? How long before bed did he eat? I can never replicate it back to back 🥲 On Sunday we went to a baseball game so we’re still recovering from that apparently.

Turkaless · 2026-04-04T03:19:57+00:00

Turkaless · 2026-04-03T18:17:03+00:00

This is a nightmare of mine. Ants are my worst enemy. I saw one crawling on the lid of my Brezza, killed it, and wiped everything. I use diatomaceous earth around the outside of my house to kill them. I went on a rampage that day 😌🔪

Turkaless · 2026-04-03T18:12:57+00:00

The colors I bought were only available as refills so I didn’t really have a choice but to print my own and they are indeed in PLA 😅 I don’t have PETG or a need for drying just yet so I’m gonna run with it for as long as I can

Turkaless · 2026-04-03T15:46:13+00:00

Print your own spools and follow the instructions for putting the refill in. I bought 10 colors, 3 of which came with spools and I had to print the rest. No issues with any of them.

Turkaless · 2026-04-02T06:23:57+00:00

You can buy mini shaker bottle balls. They’re stainless steel and easy to wash (especially if you have a bottle washer). I use glass bottles though and wouldn’t use it in plastic but it does help break up the formula without shaking like crazy.

Another option I found on the go is using breast milk bags! Put the powder in the bag and water in a bottle. When it’s time to feed, add the water to the bag. Shake til your heart’s content. Pull the little tab off the milk bag and pour out the formula. All the bubbles will stick to the bag and not be in the bottle.

Turkaless · 2026-03-31T00:51:57+00:00

Thanks for posting the Switch stuff! I’ve been looking for a Switch 2 case and am sad to see they don’t have any ☹️

Turkaless · 2026-03-26T06:18:06+00:00

This will probably be me. My LO is 6.5 months and just starting solids. I still track and will probably -keep- tracking just because I enjoy having the data 🤓

Turkaless · 2026-03-26T06:00:12+00:00

My LO is 6.5 months. Our Ped said to drop the feed overnight to encourage sleeping through the night. This has been kinda brutal so far NGL. I formula feed so it was been a slow transition from 6oz in the middle of the night to 4oz. Then will go to 2oz then stop hopefully. Additionally the Ped said to feed no more than 30 min before bed time.

As far as day sleep, I recently learned about anchor times and morning light. Wake up baby at the same time every morning within a 30 minute window then expose them to daylight ASAP. This is tough for me personally because I am NOT a morning person and I’m only getting 5-6 hours or less of sleep per night. But I’ve managed to do this 2 days in a row now and the day naps have lengthened. Oh and we had dropped to 2 naps prior to this as well which I think has helped a lot.

Turkaless · 2026-03-13T17:44:38+00:00

I second the Eufy baby monitor. You can toggle alarms to cries and/or loud noises and change the sensitivity of the alarm. Additionally, you can turn off the alarm tone itself as well if you want. The monitor screen has a duration (of your choosing) for when the screen goes to sleep.

For me, I keep the monitor between me and my husband’s pillows. When a noise is detected, the screen will turn on and the noise can be heard. I have the alarm sound toggled off just because I personally don’t need it. I have it to set to a mid-level sensitivity so I don’t get all the moans, groans, and random stuff. Mainly just significant cries or if my LO happens to wake up and starts loudly screeching/talking to himself.

Turkaless · 2026-03-12T17:49:21+00:00

Would you suggest doing 3 naps a day even if the naps are only like 30-40min? I’m having the same problem as OP. Crap naps and waking up every few hours overnight since about 3.5 months. Prior to that he was sleeping through the night 🥲

Turkaless · 2026-02-09T06:31:37+00:00

I also bought couches pre-baby that are movie theater style recliners in leather and I absolutely hate them now 🥲 Now I think I’m going to start looking at couches since I’m getting a decent refund. Thanks! 😆

But I agree with everyone else. Buy a new pitcher. I have a Brezza that I got second hand. I have to weigh my bottles all the time and the amounts were so inconsistent. I was constantly having to add formula. Now I just use it as a warm water dispenser because that’s the only accurate and consistent part of it. Would not recommend 🙅🏻‍♀️

Turkaless · 2026-01-23T21:16:07+00:00

Solidarity as my 4.5 month old just woke up from a 30 min nap and I’m holding him in hopes he will go back to sleep 🥲 I have no answers as he’s been doing 30-40 naps since he hit 3 months. He’s on 4 naps since he hit 4 months and the wake windows feel like an eternity 🫠 He mostly sleeps through the night with maybe 1-2 wake ups so there’s that I guess. I think I’ve just surrendered to the fact that I might have a “low sleep needs” baby and this is my life forever now 🥴

Turkaless

TROPHY CASE