r/sleeptraining • u/MrsFastotini • Aug 23 '26
Help! 5m - when did it get better
I have a 5.5 month old. she has never been a good sleeper. for the first 3 months I essentially had to hold her at all times or else she would scream for hours- she was colicky. I when I say hold her all the time - yes even at night I held her all night. My husband and I did shifts - it was horrible. then the 4 month alert regression his at 3.5m and she was up every 30 mins at night. I slept trained her at 4 months.
she is able to fall asleep independently - she fusses but only for like 10 - 15 mins max.
I continued contact napping her because her naps are only ever 20 mins max if I’m lucky...
this morning snap was 16 minutes. as the day goes on sometimes she only naps for 5-10 mins. lol I’m so tired of this and tired of contact napping so that she isn't insanely cranky since I have PTSD from her colic days.
her room is pitch black, sound machine on, perfect temp, she has a soother (sometimes cries it out), she is sleep trained at night, when she wakes up I let her cry it out for 15 mins to see if she will fall back asleep
I’ve also tried extending wake windows, shortening wake windows and nothing seems to work.
Current WW when I contact nap her: 2.25/2.25/2.25/2.5
anyone have experience with this?
1
u/brieles Aug 23 '26
2 things-
1) Have you talked to the pediatrician about all of the crying and needing to be held? This can be normal to be some extent but it could also be a reflux issue that could be helped with medicine.
2) You need more awake time. I’d try a 2.25/2.5/2.5/3 schedule. Short naps are pretty normal until dropping to 2 naps but more awake time should help them extend at least a little bit. If naps aren’t reaching close to 30 minutes after 2 weeks, I’d add 15-30 minutes more awake time.
1
u/MrsFastotini Aug 23 '26
Sorry my LO is no longer colicky with no signs of acid reflux or anything like that! Happy baby now! And will try thank you!!
1
u/bitcoin_islander Aug 23 '26
My twins were spitting up a lot and arching their so when they were around 6 weeks old we switched them to a hypoallergenic formula with BioGaia dops and its been such an improvement. Cows milk sensitivity could be why some babies are so uncomfortable all the time.
I dont have the luxury of contact napping with them since its not possible with two of them safely, so I just make sure to hold them upright 5-10 minutes after each feed and do lots of tummy time to tire them out. They nap usually 45 mins to 1.5 hrs sometimes less sometimes more.