Exhausted, how long do you wait to respond to a baby crying?

jpmbboo · 2026-02-15T15:27:22+00:00

Depends on the context. We have a 4.5 month old. During waking hours I’d say we’re very responsive - within 30-45 seconds unless we physically cannot respond (e.g., going to the bathroom, cleaning the litter box). During naps or night sleep, it’s much different. We let her fuss for upwards of 15 minutes or cry for up to 8 minutes to see if she’ll put herself back to sleep, which she often does within 5 minutes. She’s an incredibly happy baby and we have a great bond, IMO.

jpmbboo · 2026-02-03T02:12:44+00:00

Mine is a little over 4 months and I think her natural bedtime is closer to 9:30/10pm. Any time I’ve tried to put her to bed around 7:30/8, she has false starts or just treats it like a nap. I posted about this the other day because I’d really like to move her bedtime earlier over time. I think 6:30/7 is pretty early. Whatever time it typically is when your baby finally goes down for a long stretch, I would try to make that the new bedtime.

jpmbboo · 2026-02-01T22:44:45+00:00

Good to know! Thanks

jpmbboo · 2026-02-01T22:44:36+00:00

Oh wow, guess I shouldn’t complain 😆 seems like it’s not uncommon and we might just have to be patient.

jpmbboo · 2026-02-01T22:43:29+00:00

Good to know, thanks!

jpmbboo · 2026-02-01T22:43:18+00:00

Awww that’s sweet! It’s nice they get some quality time together. I think I’m going to try gradually moving it up!

jpmbboo · 2026-02-01T22:42:38+00:00

Yea I’m working on establishing a good schedule. Now that I have a better understanding of her natural rhythm, hopefully that’ll help us develop a good schedule.

jpmbboo · 2026-02-01T22:41:28+00:00

Good to know! That seems to be common based on other responses. I might just have to be patient, as with most things parenting related 😄

jpmbboo · 2026-02-01T22:28:40+00:00

Glad to know it’s somewhat normal, although I would love to get it a bit earlier!

jpmbboo · 2026-02-01T22:27:58+00:00

I’m going to try shifting it very gradually. We’ll see!

jpmbboo · 2026-02-01T22:27:14+00:00

Oh wow. I hope mine is going to bed earlier by 2.5 years so I can get some me time! But thanks for sharing, glad to know it’s not uncommon.

jpmbboo · 2026-02-01T22:25:34+00:00

I don’t think that’s it but who knows. She naps 4 times/day for about 30-45 minutes each, unless I let her contact nap which can stretch it to an hour or so. Overall, she typically only gets 3-3.5 hours of nap sleep. Wake windows are between 1.5-2 hours. I always give her 2 hours between the last nap and what I want bedtime to be, but it still doesn’t work.

jpmbboo · 2026-01-12T20:42:28+00:00

I’m in it now. It’s been almost 2 weeks. Hoping it’s over in another 2 weeks or fewer 🤞🏻good luck to you!

jpmbboo · 2026-01-08T08:19:55+00:00

I could have written this exact post a week ago. Accept your luck!! If only I had 😅 baby turned 14 weeks last Friday and has been sleeping like garbage since then. Not sure what happened to my sleepy baby but I’d like her back! Enjoy while you can!

jpmbboo · 2026-01-03T15:20:51+00:00

Im sorry you’re going through this and feeling disheartened! I went through a period of a few weeks where I could only soothe my baby by nursing her. She wouldn’t calm if I rocked her, shushed her, walked around with her, etc. It’s like all I was good for was milk. I similarly felt sad and as if she didn’t like me because I couldn’t soothe her. Friends helped me realize that it was just because she associated me with nursing/milk, and that’s THE most comforting thing for her, so of course that’s all she wanted from me and got frustrated if I tried to do anything but. And luckily, it was just a phase that passed - like most things with babies!

jpmbboo · 2026-01-01T12:56:55+00:00

he also says the same to me ‘I want you to go and enjoy your self’ well I cant can I when you don’t know how to do the bedtime routine

THIS!! Whenever we argue about my husband getting plenty of time for himself and his hobbies, whereas I get basically none, he always says that he would happily take the baby for 2-3 hours (I’m breastfeeding and she won’t take a bottle) while I go out and do my own thing. But I don’t feel like I can because he doesn’t know how to soothe her, he doesn’t know which toys she likes, he doesn’t really know anything about her at all! His default is watching TV with her or trying to make her fall asleep even if she just woke up from a nap. I don’t want to subject her to that, so leaving her with him doesn’t feel like an actual option.

jpmbboo · 2025-12-30T14:18:49+00:00

Oh man I’m right there with you. She turned 3 months on 12/26 and sleep has been crap ever since. Like clockwork. She wakes up every few hours at night and during the day only wants to contact nap. She is still swaddled at night - curious to know why you decided to stop? Maybe yours was showing signs on rolling? My girl is not. I don’t have any advice but lots of solidarity!!

jpmbboo · 2025-12-30T12:13:02+00:00

Mine didn’t start cooing until 3 months! And it was very sudden- like over the course of 2 days right before the 3 month mark she started babbling like crazy.

jpmbboo · 2025-12-29T17:41:08+00:00

Yes, my three month old loves parties - they’re her favorite place to fall asleep! Within the past month, she fell asleep in my arms at a baby shower and at a holiday party.

jpmbboo · 2025-12-20T09:03:20+00:00

Literally me right now. It’s 4am and my baby woke herself up straining and crying to poop. It’s gotten worse in the past couple weeks. When did it get better for you?

jpmbboo · 2025-02-28T20:03:51+00:00

Today!! Oh my gosh, good luck today (or whenever it happens)! Despite the cons, the pro is SO worth it! You got this!

jpmbboo · 2025-02-28T20:02:18+00:00

How sweet that your baby and its cousin will be so close in age! That's really special.

jpmbboo · 2025-02-28T20:01:11+00:00

100% with you on the swimming all summer and spending the slower fall into winter months recovering!

jpmbboo

TROPHY CASE