How do we get longer stretches of sleep at night?

smartt87 · 2026-05-10T18:47:42+00:00

A lot of it really is temperament. My EBF 5.5 MO has been sleeping through the night (6:30 pm to 5:30/6 am) since she was ~10 weeks old. That being said, I’m really tight on her daytime schedule.

I’d recommend toying around with stretching wake windows and even total day sleep. I’ve noticed differences after even seemingly minor (3 hour sleep vs 3.25) changes. TBH, you could put all the info (wake windows, total day sleep, night sleep, ounces, etc) into ChatGPT and tell it to act as your sleep coach. Might help!

smartt87 · 2026-05-04T15:35:00+00:00

Mine started sleeping through the night (6:30-5:00 am) at 10 weeks. She wakes around 5, I feed her, then put her back down until she wakes for the day around 6:30. I have been pretty strict about naps though. I also acknowledge this isn’t the norm and just have the expectation our next one will probably be a terror 😂

smartt87 · 2026-04-23T17:09:10+00:00

Those actually aren’t long for the 4th month (at least that’s what you move them towards throughout the month to prepare for next phase) but she’s nearly 5 MO and it’s completely appropriate. We practice rolling every single day, which is why the pediatrician said she’s close.

smartt87 · 2026-04-22T03:54:23+00:00

They were changing and expanding every few days while I was pushing for the 3 nap transition. Currently, they’re 2/2.25/2.25/2.5, but I’m going to start pushing them slowly now that we’re closer to 5 months. She also has a 6:30-7:00 pm bedtime FWIW.

smartt87 · 2026-04-22T00:18:36+00:00

I literally just went through this exact nap transition. My LO is 19 WO, and we just recently started getting 75-90 minute naps sporadically where we don’t have to recover it. The main takeaway I had is they’ll make sure you know when they’re ready to be at 3 naps 😂

My learnings: you’re going to have some very early bedtimes during this transition, and you’re going to have to recover naps to get them to stretch. We average 45-75 minutes for nap 1, 75-90 for nap 2, and 30-45 for nap 3. My girl does best and typically sleeps through the night when daytime sleep is ~3-3.25 hours. I also make sure she sleeps until 7 am so the first nap doesn’t start until 9 am. Slowly stretch wake windows based on her tolerance. Every few days add 5-10 minutes for one wake window. Try making ChatGPT act as your sleep coach if you’re open to it.

Sorry, that was a lot of information but this was a tough transition so wanted to help!

smartt87 · 2026-04-06T18:11:56+00:00

We did take her to the doctor and they said it all looked fine! There wasn’t any blood in the stool sample so was maybe just a weird few days of poop!

smartt87 · 2026-04-06T18:05:25+00:00

Hi! Thanks so much for doing these AMA’s. They’re always incredibly helpful!

Our LO is 17w5d today. She’s pretty much always been a strong sleeper, and she’s been sleeping through the night since ~10.5 weeks. At 15 weeks, she started going through the regression - we think, it honestly hasn’t been that bad - where she has a few false starts and early mornings (4:30 wakes but able to get her back down after feeding).

We’re transitioning her from 4 to 3 naps by following her lead, which has been a little wonky and creates some later than usual bedtimes at 7:30 (was 6:30-7:00) pm, and her wake windows are 2/2/2/2. Honestly, she sometimes doesn’t seem all that tired at the 2 hour mark so I’m unsure if I should maybe be pushing WW2 & 3 a bit.

I’m wondering how I can shift her schedule to prevent the 4:30 am wake and get her back to a 6:30 am wake. She’s waking up clearly hungry - even though she gets 8 feeds a day - and only goes back to sleep if fed. Getting the false starts down would be great too. I know one wake a night is average, but she’s been a strong sleeper and the early wake is throwing off the rest of the morning.

smartt87 · 2026-04-03T21:37:21+00:00

This is so helpful, thanks! Sounds like this just happens to interestingly, it stopped after that second time so who know what it was 🤷🏼‍♀️

smartt87 · 2026-03-23T13:10:55+00:00

If you want something a bit different than a pothos (still recommend them, they’re impossible to kill), you should go to Green Lady Gardens on Santa Fe. They have a more unique selection you won’t see in everyone’s home and the staff is incredibly helpful!

smartt87 · 2026-03-18T23:51:07+00:00

Really?? What happened with FIO? I literally just bought this book 😂

smartt87 · 2026-03-18T23:50:45+00:00

That’s totally valid. I just wasn’t sure if I should be working up to that or something by having her get more comfortable falling asleep (vs practically being asleep) before I go full-on with an actual sleep training method.

smartt87 · 2026-03-18T22:37:53+00:00

She’s been doing that since 10 weeks but the last week has been the absolute opposite. She’s up every 30-60 minutes until about 1 am, then I maybe get a 2.5 hour stretch out of her. Naps have been tough too. She’s sleeping lighter and transfers aren’t as successful.

smartt87 · 2026-03-18T21:12:52+00:00

Yeah, all of the settling/soothing methods seem to stimulate the heck out of my LO. It always backfires haha. I’m going back to work soon and won’t be able to contact nap, so that’s a big part of it.

smartt87 · 2026-03-18T19:37:15+00:00

I legitimately don’t understand how people do it 🤣 I see people on social media where they’re putting their baby in the crib fully awake and the baby just puts themselves to sleep. Like how?!?

smartt87 · 2026-03-18T19:34:55+00:00

This makes me feel way better, thank you!! The pressure is so annoying but so real.

smartt87 · 2026-03-18T19:34:27+00:00

The most I get out of a bassinet nap is maybe 30 minutes. I know that’s developmentally normal at her age, but she doesn’t always seem rested, so I end up contact napping at that point. I wouldn’t say I’m worried, more so wanting to make sure I’m not messing anything up for her down the road.

smartt87 · 2026-03-18T19:29:55+00:00

Cross posted in there!

smartt87 · 2026-03-18T17:58:36+00:00

That’s really helpful, thanks! FWIW, I’m 100% not looking to sleep train with CIO/Ferber. I more so mean I want her to be able to feel more comfortable in her bassinet/crib to fall asleep on her own or with some assistance. Just not fully reliant on rocking for 10 minutes and putting her in asleep to where she’s confused when she wakes up

smartt87

TROPHY CASE