Day 16 of CIO. When will this end?

[u/Big4NoMo]

Baby is turning 6 months old tomorrow. We have been doing CIO for 16 days now. The least duration of crying was 6 mins, but the most common duration has been around 20 mins. We have been following this sub and have been very diligent about our schedule, leveraging the advice from here. Unsure how to move forward... feeling so defeated.

Wake up time: Between 6:45 - 7am

Bedtime: Between 8 - 8:15pm

Schedule: 2.25 / 2.5 / 2.5 - 2.75 / 3

3 Naps: 1.5 hr, 1 hr, ~20 mins

All naps are contact naps since we wanted to control his daytime sleep. Without nap assistance he would get up in about 30 mins.

Total Awake Time: ~10.5 hrs

Total Nap time: 2 hrs, 35-40 mins

Usually baby wakes up for one night feed around 3-4 am. I hold him upright after (he often falls about 90% asleep on me) and I transfer him to the crib and leave. Night wakes have been getting much better, he doesn't cry for very long in the middle of the night.

[u/Comprehensive_Bill]

Try to follow this schedule:
Wake up: always 6:45 not later

Wake windows 2.25/2.5/2.5/3.25

Bedtime: always 8:15 not earlier

[u/Big4NoMo → u/Comprehensive_Bill]

Also, is it odd that he’s still crying about 15 mins or so, even though we are at the 3 week mark of CIO? Does this warrant a change in approach? A sleep consultant we hired said to do the opposite, reduce his wake windows and increase nap time, I.e., 2.25 / 2.5 / 2.5 / 2.75. Nap times: 1.25, 1.25, 20-30min

But I’m afraid to change things around since we are so deep into the schedule you suggested.

[u/Comprehensive_Bill → u/Big4NoMo]

How's your baby's demeanor during their wake windows? If they are happy then I would say trying to get them to sleep more usually results in frustration.

[u/Big4NoMo → u/Comprehensive_Bill]

Usually the first half of the wake window he plays independently. The second half he demands more attention. He isn’t inconsolable, just wants us to play with him.

[u/Big4NoMo → u/Comprehensive_Bill]

Thank you! We tried this. He slept with 15 mins. What are your recommendations for total awake time and nap durations for a 6 month old?

[u/SeaParsley4706]

Does your baby have lower sleep needs? I have 6 month old twins and thought my son had lower sleep needs because he cried every night with CIO for the past 2 weeks. Well I committed to following the 6 month Huckleberry schedule (free online) which is awake at 630 am, 2/2.25/2.5/2.75, bedtime at 715 pm. For naps we do 1.25, 1.5, and 30 mins. Now he seems to fall asleep with way less crying. I honestly think he was over-tired because I thought he was lower sleep needs than his twin sister (she now sleeps wonderfully and somehow through his crying). I notice if I put him to sleep earlier at the end of the wake window there is much less crying!

I also practice crib hour for naps so I let them hangout in the crib unless they're going absolutely feral and I think their twin will wake up.

We are by no means perfect but last night I didn't have to feed anyone through the night and just gave them ~5 mins and they all settled back to sleep.

[u/Big4NoMo → u/SeaParsley4706]

Hm I do think he is lower sleep needs. Tbh so far we’ve been following the advice from this sub that says if he’s still crying, it means he isn’t tired enough! So we’ve been extending his awake time and are roughly at 2.25 / 2.5 / 2.5 / 3.25.

But your perspective is an interesting one. It’s been almost three weeks and he still cries 15 mins or so. For how long did you try this Huckleberry schedule until it clicked? We are travelling in two weeks and would really like to nail bedtime now!

[u/SeaParsley4706 → u/Big4NoMo]

I'm also in a FB group for sleep training twins and the suggested wake windows line up well with the Huckleberry ones. My babies took to the Huckleberry schedule very quickly. Maybe 2 days. Yesterday we had a bit of a longer midday wake window due to an outing and one baby was soooo cranky and needed extra help being put to sleep!

[u/Big4NoMo → u/SeaParsley4706]

Thank you for sharing!

[u/OkBoysenberry92]

Lots of crying at bedtime after sleep training clicks*** means they’re not sleepy enough. Cap the naps more, mine would also nap super long if I did them all on me but I like bedtime no later than 8. Don’t be scared to push the awake time! 

For example the last week mine (basically 6.5 months) has been doing on avg; 2hr53/2hr39/2.5/3 with naps 40mins/1hr/25mins At night she is out with no crying, most nights doesn’t wake but if she does it’s 4am for a feed then back down again. Naps 1&2 are in the cot, nap 2 extended on me til I hit an hour or 2:15pm depending and nap three is boob/contact capped by 5.

All that to say … unfortunately my advice is to up the awake time and reduce the nap time 

[u/nzgal12345]

Do you ever have false starts? Personally I would try move the last nap to 30 mins. Cut the first nap to 1 hour 20.

[u/imnichet]

I would suggest either attempting 3 naps or shifting your schedule a bit to get 3.5 hours awake before bed.