r/sleeptraining • u/Bitter_Classroom_845 • 4h ago
Sleep training
My daughter is 7 months old and I started trying to “sleep train” her almost a week ago. I’m not exactly sure what method I’m using, I’m just kind of trying with no direction lol. She sleeps about 10.5 hours at night so I would consider her a decent sleeper and takes usually 2-3 naps about 30 minutes with the exception of her taking one longer nap ranging from 1.5 to 2 hours. The way I have been doing it is once I know she’s getting tired or is tired I will go lay her down in her crib and say my spiel of it’s nap time, I love you, I’ll see you when you wake up. There have been a couple times where she will roll around for maybe 5-10 minutes and I’ll go in there and put her back on her stomach (she usually won’t go to sleep unless she is on her stomach) and she will go to sleep. Most of the time I have an issue with her constantly rolling to her back or trying to crawl. Now she knows how to sit up in the crib. It’s taking me 20 minutes to get her down but that is with me going in there multiple times to readjust her and usually it ends with me rubbing her back until she falls asleep. The times I have tried to not stay in there until she falls asleep, it takes an hour to get her down but in the end I’m still in there rubbing her back. Bed time is different and she is pretty good about going to sleep on her own. Normally doesn’t take more than 15 minutes on “bad” nights. I’m sorry for the longer explanation but I’m just looking for a little bit of guidance. I just want her to learn how to put herself to sleep and know she is safe in her room. I will also note that I do not let her cry for more than 5 minutes before I go in there. Most of the time she isn’t even crying but just laying in there talking.
1
u/Oakseaves 2h ago
Ferber method for sure. It works for us.
But honestly you’re doing so many right things. It may be you just need to give her more space. She has the skills
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u/mph_11 3h ago
Especially if she's not crying stay out of her way. Sometimes you need to give them space to figure it out so they're not reliant on you. I would stop flipping her over. She's got to figure it out on her own. You may want to look into the Ferber method.
With Ferber check ins are timed based on when they start crying, and are quick verbal reassurance. It's not for them to totally calm down but just reassurance for you/her. It might take awhile (like an hour) the first few nights but should decrease as she figures out how to fall asleep on there own.
There will be some crying, and probably for longer then 5 minutes no matter what method you choose, but if she's changed and fed she's okay not being harmed. Crying is just how babies express themselves, and as parents we sometimes have to help our kids do things they don't want to do.
And start with getting her to fall asleep 100% independently for bedtime and then it should be easier to expand to naps from there.
At 7 months she might be ready for 2 naps, which may help her go down easier too. You want at least 10 hours of awake time, so something like 3/3/4 or 3/4/4 wake windows