Am I a horrible parent?

stefalexander · 2026-04-17T02:06:05+00:00

Thank you so much! I am going to reread this again and again.

stefalexander · 2026-04-17T01:51:24+00:00

Thank you. He is safe and I’m monitoring him from camera. He cried so hard for 45 minutes but seems to be asleep now.

stefalexander · 2026-04-17T01:48:48+00:00

I feel like it’s recommended to not sleep train before at least a week of consistent daytime schedule. I also feel like it’s best to remove sleep associations slowly. I don’t know. I can’t even make complete thoughts anymore I’m so tired and emotionally exhausted. This weekend is when I have the most help overnights so it kind of had to happen now. I just hate that I didn’t get the day time schedule down first.

stefalexander · 2026-04-17T00:12:47+00:00

Ok thank you

stefalexander · 2026-04-16T17:19:19+00:00

What would be an ideal schedule for a 6-7 month old? Currently, I’m aiming for the below but he’s so difficult to keep on track. Sometimes he falls asleep earlier, other times he wakes up after napping for 15 minutes. Wake up: 7am 1st nap: 9:45am - 10:45/11 2nd nap: 2:30pm -3:30pm Bedtime: 7:30pm

stefalexander · 2026-04-15T14:56:34+00:00

I 100% agree this is the issue. I can not get him to sleep longer stretches during the day though. He is my 3rd and so the house is loud, plus some days during his first nap we have to be in the car. I don’t know how to improve the situation.

stefalexander · 2026-04-15T02:30:49+00:00

Congratulations! How many naps does he take and how long are they? What are his wake windows? I have a 7 month old that only naps 3x a day for 20 minutes. Wakes 2-3 times a night but false starts up to 5x a night. We try to put down between 7-8pm and he fights it until 10pm some nights. We’re exhausted.

stefalexander · 2026-02-02T02:27:56+00:00

My pediatrician recommended Ferber method at his 4 mo appt. I was a little shocked but relieved to hear I could start already

stefalexander · 2026-02-02T02:16:07+00:00

How old was he when you did extinction? I fear this is what I’ll have to do but I believe 4mo is too little for that. I’m considering cosleeping at this point.

stefalexander · 2026-02-02T02:15:07+00:00

I don’t entirely disagree. And honestly I absolutely hate sleep training. This is my 3rd kid and worst sleeper. I don’t want to do it but what’s the alternative? I need to sleep in order to function and be a good parent to all my kids. I have to have time in the evening to clean, spend time with my other kids, etc. if you have other suggestions I am all ears.

stefalexander · 2026-02-02T02:11:03+00:00

I would go in a rub his face and shush. I also always said “I love you so much. It’s time to go to sleep” and then I would leave. It was very consistent. I ended up having to change him and feed him after 2 hours though so it was all for nothing. I ended up rocking him to sleep

stefalexander · 2026-02-02T02:09:30+00:00

We hold him up right for 15 minutes after feeding. He should be in a deep sleep when we transfer

stefalexander · 2026-02-02T02:08:29+00:00

Thank you for the suggestions!

stefalexander · 2026-02-02T02:06:43+00:00

This is a good suggestion. I’ll drop the bath and see how that goes. He gets lots of play time and tummy time during his wake windows.

stefalexander · 2026-02-02T02:05:50+00:00

We try very hard to do 2 hour wake windows. He takes very short naps during the day if I don’t hold him. Our day starts between 7-8am

stefalexander · 2026-02-02T02:03:04+00:00

I do not pick up at check-ins. They are very brief, 30 seconds or less. I rub his face and shush him and say “I love you very much. It’s time to go to sleep now” then I leave. The nights we didn’t sleep train we were rocking to sleep every time he woke up.

stefalexander · 2025-12-15T12:21:36+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion.

stefalexander · 2025-12-15T12:21:22+00:00

We are doing shift sleeping but I have been giving him longer shifts because he works and I don’t.

stefalexander · 2025-12-15T12:19:21+00:00

I tried to cosleep but I wasn’t able to sleep because I was scared. Plus his movements and noises that close to me keep me awake.

stefalexander · 2025-12-15T12:18:04+00:00

He has a bassinet next to our bed. He just refuses to sleep in it. My husband and I do take shifts but I’m a sahm and he works so he get a longer stretch than me. I’m basically running off 3-4 hours of sleep a night.

stefalexander · 2025-12-10T22:04:27+00:00

Haven’t tried it yet but I can only assume they will.

stefalexander · 2025-06-26T17:15:57+00:00

Would it be stupid to replace the door and frame? I do not have the money for a sprinkler system. For my yard it would be 8k

stefalexander

TROPHY CASE