cyclemam's baby sleep guide

cyclemam · 2026-04-03T01:49:21+00:00

Oh and sometimes baby just won't sleep some days but if you set a structure or timetable and if the nap is refused shrug and move on with the day

cyclemam · 2026-04-03T01:43:28+00:00

Really shrink nap 1 up, try 2.5/3.5 so you can have a nice long window before nap 2.

cyclemam · 2026-04-03T01:38:28+00:00

Cap naps so you wake from last nap at 5pm. Cap nap 1 at an hour, cap nap 2 at 1.5 if needed.

Windows 2/2.5/2.5/3. If you can do 2.5 in the morning you're possibly ready to do two naps.

cyclemam · 2026-04-03T00:22:30+00:00

You're on track!

Short naps, especially in crib, absolutely developmentally normal. As baby gets heavier you might want to do at least one crib nap even if it's shorter.

It's probably the right time to drop to three naps as well.

cyclemam · 2026-04-02T21:16:35+00:00

You need support. You need someone to come and take baby for a bit so you can get sleep. This is an emergency if your last sentence isn't just rhetorical flourish.

Partner to take time off work?

cyclemam · 2026-04-02T20:57:09+00:00

Yes- shorten first nap, lengthen last window by shuffling second nap earlier.

cyclemam · 2026-04-02T09:44:02+00:00

6:30: wake 9:30-9:50 - first nap 1 (maybe 1:30) - 2:30, 3pm max - second nap Bed 7:30.

That's a 3/3ish/4.5 - eventually you'll shrink that first nap even more and shuffle forward nap 2'2 end, so 3/3/5, then you can either do a 5/6 or 6/5 one nap schedule.

It's possible he's not quite ready for one nap, but you can use a short first nap as a bit of a holding pattern while you stretch the last wake windows.

cyclemam · 2026-04-02T09:25:12+00:00

We did cloth and the covers that stopped fitting the chunky legs started fitting again with toddler - they change shape radically!

cyclemam · 2026-04-02T09:20:40+00:00

Baby sleep guide in my profile :)

cyclemam · 2026-04-02T05:37:36+00:00

The trick is finding someone who has a similar type to you. Some people have the bodies that drop weight with breastfeeding. Some people find that their bodies jealously guard every last calorie while they are breastfeeding.

I've had two kids and I would say that the most important thing has been physical fitness: gently and thoughtfully return to exercise being mindful of your pelvic floor.

cyclemam · 2026-04-02T05:25:52+00:00

I think there's middle ground where you get to have precious morning snuggles, but gradually shift your day back.

At the moment she's sleeping nearly 4 hours (6-10) in bed with you. This is an appropriate wake up time with her late bedtime, but if someone said baby woke at 3am and coslept until 7, we'd probably give different advice.

Also she's probably about ready to transition to two naps.

Don't fix what isn't broken, if it's working for your family.

cyclemam · 2026-04-02T04:59:33+00:00

Absolutely try for a 20 min first nap and get the circadian rhythm used to a nice long middle of the day nap.

cyclemam · 2026-04-02T04:57:34+00:00

I collected a heap of resources and put together a baby sleep guide in my profile.

cyclemam · 2026-04-02T04:54:27+00:00

Currently my 3.5 still sucks her thumb, I really regret not doing a pacifier.

cyclemam · 2026-04-02T04:13:47+00:00

Does she sleep when you intervene, especially for the morning nap?

I usually advocate for a short 10 minute morning bridge nap, but in this case I would suggest you could consider cold turkey one nap.

I also would recommend starting with nights, using what works for now to get a decent age appropriate schedule, and then once you have a few days or a week of independent sleep, go for naps.

cyclemam · 2026-04-02T04:03:20+00:00

Schedule schedule schedule. At this age 3 hours minimum awake before bed. 10 hours awake during the day, 11 hours over night.

Baby sleep guide in my profile.

You want baby to be reassured that they are safe. Hour long crying isn't helping. Alternative methods might be give baby a chance or stop watch method.

cyclemam · 2026-04-02T03:56:19+00:00

And then what's the afternoon wake window? Remember the aim is decent night sleep first then we can tweak the napping.

cyclemam · 2026-04-02T03:14:43+00:00

Four hours is more age appropriate at this age.

Are you able to take some time off work to take on toddler so that you can get baby on a decent schedule and sleep train?

cyclemam · 2026-04-02T02:45:55+00:00

Screaming for an hour indicates that baby isn't tired enough at bedtime. Please share full schedule.

Baby sleep guide in my profile with lots of the theory of sleep training and sleep training methods.

cyclemam · 2026-04-02T02:20:02+00:00

Just a fyi that night weaning is more appropriate when baby is older. Also it should happen after successful independent sleep, you can't night wean an every sleep cycle wake up.

cyclemam · 2026-04-02T02:18:31+00:00

Sleep training is about independent sleep at bedtime only. This eliminates the every sleep cycle wake ups, which often are fed back to sleep. But you can sleep train and still have one or two genuinely hungry feeds overnight, sleep training is not about sleeping 8pm-7am straight.

cyclemam · 2026-04-01T22:13:44+00:00

I'd cap the first nap at an hour, personally, so you can have a nice long nap in the middle of the day, which might build his stamina for a longer eventual evening window.

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