I am not going to lie… I don’t really like schedules. I kind of just like to go with the flow and do whatever comes up. I am guessing this isn’t the best thing for babies especially with their sleeping and eating schedules. That is why I need your help.
My most favorite time of day is at 7 am when Billy gets Brooke out of bed and has her lie with us for a little while (she is only sleeping in our bed when either one or both of us is awake, in the above photo I was out like a light but Billy was awake).
I have been talking to more and more moms about this whole sleeping business and they have all recommended the book, ‘Baby Wise.’ I wanted to know your opinions on sleeping schedules and what worked best with you and your kids? How old were your babies when you started working with their schedules? Any tips or tricks that helped them to sleep better at night? What book do you recommend? How old were your kids when they started sleeping through the night?
And because I am obsessed with taking pictures of her, here are a few more.
Some days her hair is spikier than usual:
She is a very deep thinker:
Fill me in on what worked for you when it comes to babies and sleeping at night!
152 comments
Sana
I know nothing about how to get babies to sleep, but Brooke is a cutie I would just play with her all day :)
XLMIC
Honestly, I wouldn’t attempt a real schedule until she’s about 3 months. In my experience, breastfed babies like to eat every 1.5 to 2 hours for the first couple of months. And yes, the feedings can take 45 minutes. So it’s sort of like long interval training. Grueling.
I started to notice patterns though. And sometimes I could sort of nudge a sleep schedule into place by being sure to nurse every 2 hours during the day. With my youngest, I noticed that she would nurse at 10 pm and then again at 1 or 1:30 am and then at 3 and then at 5 and then at 7 or 8. (This was at about a month old). I started waking her up at about 11:30-midnight to nurse her, and she would stay asleep until about 4…sometimes later! This changed my life! 5 hours of sleep in a row is considered “sleeping through the night” by the way.
It is hard. It is confusing. Every baby has his or her own way. And every mommy has her own needs. It might be easier to have a conversation about. Do you still have my number?
XLMIC
Forgot to say…first baby finally slept through the night at 11 mos. Second baby at about 14 mos. Third baby was just a piece of work and still is. Fourth baby…through the night at 5 or 6 weeks.
Audra M.
Brooke is such a cutie! I love that spiky hair! Really and truly and I never really worried about getting my daughter on a schedule, she eventually did it on her own. My husband and I live in Japan but I was in Texas when she was born, so I knew that the first few months it was pointless to really worry about because we’d be coming back here and have to deal with jet lag which would just mess everything up anyways. During the day I would make sure she got a nap when she was tired even if that meant sleeping in her car seat while I was out running errands. At night I concentrated more on establishing a bedtime routine like bathtime, reading a book, and then eating before bed. I think she was about 4 months old when she really started sleeping through the night on her own. My hubby was deployed so it was just me. If she woke up at night, I’d change and feed her, but then I put her back to bed because I needed sleep too! Then if she cried a little, I knew she had all of her needs taken care of and it was easier to just let her “cry it out” for a few minutes. I used to love that time where she’d wake up around 6 or so and then she’d eat and we would snuggle for another hour or so. Now she’s a 16 month old who won’t sit still long enough to cuddle!
Nancy Randle
Hey Janae! So, since you asked, my pediatrician told me a tip with Miss G that made all the difference — so here it is since you’re interested! But feed Brooke every three hours during the day, even if you have to wake her. That helps them get the nourishment they need during the day and figure out days vs nights. At night let them sleep as long as they can. Try it if you want.
And, there will be several people who disagree with me, but I don’t agree with the typical Baby Wise methodology. The simple thing I just told you made ALL the difference in baby #1 vs baby #2. I was actually given this really simple book called Baby’s First 100 Days and it was really interesting to me. It’s super easy and condensed and… I think… all the info you need to worry about right now.
http://www.amazon.com/Babys-First-Days-Margaret-Stephenson-Meere/dp/159955917X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347861907&sr=8-1&keywords=baby%27s+first+100+days
Using the info above, Miss G started sleeping through the night at 3 months. But she still had to be sleep trained around 8 months (I use the Ferber method.) Don’t worry about it yet. I think babies need to be babied for a while and get what they want when they want it!
Good luck! You’re super awesome for tacking this mom stuff with a new move and all. It does help when the babies are so super, duper cute, right?
Erika
I just wrote a post on this recently actually. We’re starting a gentle way to approach sleep training. It’s called the No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. We’re just in the first few days of using it, but already it has helped my sanity :)
My baby is 6 months old, but this method can be used with any age. My mom suggested this book as an alternative to the ‘cry it out’ method my friends were using. For us, letting the child cry is not an option we were willing to consider. So we’ll see how it goes.
If you’re interested in an outline of what we’re doing (and somewhat what the book suggests), my first post about this is here: http://proverbsnineteen21.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/help-the-sleep-i-should-have-had-is-attacking-the-skin-under-my-eyes/ :)
I hope that helps! Good luck!
Cindi B
We used a very similar approach, since crying it out was not something that sat well with me. After a couple of months, I started to nurse our babies every 2.5 to 3 hours during the day, even if it meant waking them up, which allowed them to (pretty quickly) fall into a good schedule that let them get longer stretches of sleep at night.
The Babywise method is one that the AAP warns against for a variety of reasons (failure to thrive, chronic stress due to crying, etc.). But, there are a handful of other methods that help achieve the same purpose.
Cindi B
Oh, I forgot to add that we swaddled our kids for nighttime sleep for the longest time (7 months for my twins) and that really seemed to help, too.
Andrea
Loved Babywise for my firstborn, but it didn’t work as well for my second. I still did the eat play sleep schedule, but he took cat naps anyway throughout the day. Every kid and every parent is so different. I say try whatever sleep training you are comfortable with. When my second was four months old and starting to wake more often during the night we decided to go with the Ferber method which is the progressive waiting cry it out method. Basically, you let them cry at increasing intervals and when you check on them you comfort them without picking them up. Many people are totally against this but it worked for us. Everything I read though led me to believe that if you do want to try any cry it out method that you should wait until they are 3-4 months old minimum. I was counting down the days…lol!!! Good luck and know you are not alone!
Erica @ Mi Todo
I’m like you, I go with the flow. I never read any books about getting my baby to sleep (unfortunately too busy with the law books) and applied my style to my parenting and just followed my baby’s cues. I never let her cry-it-out and fed her whenever she asked. She didn’t sleep through the night until about 2 months (I’m not sure if that’s early or late or normal) but I didn’t do anything differently to get her to do so. A swaddle and feeding before bedtime did the trick for me.
Michelle
Dr. Sears > Baby Wise
responding to your baby’s cues > letting baby “cry it out” and forcing schedules of sleep and nursing when they have no other way to communicate their needs. :-/
Karen
Ditto this. x100
Don’t think you should let a baby under 1 year “cry it out.” But I don’t want to get on a soapbox and start a debate which might offend some.
Megan
ditto x 1000
In my opinion, she’s too young for a schedule. I tried too hard to schedule my 1st… I read tons of sleep books. I obsessed. 2nd time around, I followed baby’s cues and she created her own schedule around 6ish months. Use the first months as a bonding time.
And I agree that she’s too young for ‘cry it out’, but I’m not about to start a debate either. I just don’t agree with it.
Michele @ Nycrunningmama
Ditto x 10000 too all that was said in this thread.
jan
Ditto. :) I also loved Dr. Sears–forgot about him!
Jill
Ditto x 1,000,000.
Dr. Sears is a great resource, as is Marc Weissbluth (Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child) and Elizabeth Pantley.
I am so against Babywise, but to each her own. It has been linked to failure to thrive and as a breastfeeding mom, it is my opinion that you need to feed on demand. Also, it’s highly unlikely and not the norm for a baby that is breastfed on demand (BFOD) to sleep through the night for the first several months of life. Their tummies are so small and are not built to sleep for extended periods of time!
I co-slept because it made it much easier for nighttime nursing. there are things called “co-sleepers” that attach to your bed so you can move Brooke easily without getting up but so that she still has a safe place to sleep.
I know this is a controversial topic and what works for some doesn’t work for others. I think the most important thing is to have a support network. Being a new mom is tough; being a new mom without family in a new area is even tougher. I LIVED IT. I cried, I thought I was going bats sometimes, it was hard. I support you!! :) You’re doing a great job, mama!
Michele @ Nycrunningmama
Jill!! I could not agree more with what you said. The healthy sleep habits book was one that I used – and I loved it.
And I am a bf’ing co-sleeping mama! I bf on demand as well – and while it is tougher in many ways, I truly believe it was/is the best thing for my child. And I will be doing the same with #2 !! The co-sleeper was A-MAZING!
Amy
Hi Janae,
I read BabyWise for my first baby. I followed the Eat, Play, Sleep schedule, but that’s pretty much it. I think in it’s earlier editions it got a bad rap about babies be undernourished or something, but my kids were always well fed. They learned to put themselves to sleep and didn’t depend on food to do that. However, the book that helped even more was “Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child” by Dr. Mark Wiesbluth (I think). He has methods in there for the “cry it out” parents and the non cry it out parents. It’s been so long since I read it, but it talks a lot about noticing signals from your baby on when they’re getting tired, soothing them, and putting them down before they fall asleep. He goes age by age and, I think, hits a lot of big topics pretty well (“my kid won’t nap”, “my kid takes short naps”, “I have a colicky baby”, etc). Once I started following his steps (along with the “eat play sleep” from BabyWise) my 9 week old started sleeping MUCH better). By 3 1/2 months he was on a great nap schedule (very predictable) and by 6 months was sleeping 12 hrs straight at night. His whole concept was that sleep begets sleep, so if baby is overtired, they’re not going to go to sleep well, or sleep long. The second baby was a bit more of a challenge b/c she had to fit in with the rest of our life and having an active older sibling. I have to say, she was never near the great sleeper my son was. Not awful, but not as predictable and would wake easily for various reasons. She’s just a TOTALLY different kid though too! You just have to see what works for you. We are very scheduled at our house (less so as the kids get older), so I was big on getting on a schedule as soon as I could when they were babies. Good luck!
Kathy
I used this book also and found it very helpful. My boys are now 7 and 3, and still go to bed very early (7:30) and sleep around 11 hours. It definitely helped set schedules for us and gave good guidelines for how much sleep children of various ages should get.
Anne
My baby is sleeping through the night at 3 months, and has for a while now. The trick for us is the swaddle. We use the halo swaddle sleep sack and they are amazing!
Kelly Chase
When I asked my pediatrician about schedules he looked over the top of his glasses at me and said, “Sure if you want him NEVER to sleep through the night.” He was teaching me that if you put a baby on a set schedule, they will stay on it which means wake up to each whether they are hungry or not. Best baby advice I EVER got:
1. You can not spoil a baby under age 6 months. If they cry, they need something.
2. In the middle of the night, do not stimulate them with talking.
3. Keep either a fan or soft music playing in the room they are sleeping in. Lulls them back to sleep. And blocks out other noises.
4. You can breast feed laying down. Lay on side, baby on side, lay her lower than you think so chin is up and GO! And that is what we call sleeping and eating!
5. two words…MYLICON DROPS!
Crystal
Side-lying nursing is the best thing ever. I would be a walking zombie without it!
Denise
I did baby wise with both of my children. I breast fed my daughter and was still very successful. Both of my children were sleeping through the night by 8 weeks. Sleeping through the night means we did our last feeding between 10 and 11 and they slept until 5 or later. My peditrician told me it was fine and both of my children thrived.
Rachel
I read Baby Wise before we had our first baby, and the main things I took away from it were #1 try to nurse every 2-3 hours during the day, make sure your baby stays awake to nurse on both sides. #2 make the cycle of they eat, play and then sleep. #3 during the night you feed them, burp and change them and they go right back to bed, no play time at night! I stuck to these basic rules and baby #1 slept through the night by 8 weeks old and baby #2 slept through then night at 7 weeks. Good Luck, you can do it!
Sophia
My pediatrician said that most babies start sleeping longer at the 3-6 months mark and breastfed babies need to eat more often. My son was sleeping 5-7 hours at night by 5 months old and 8+ hours at 7 months without any sleep training. We found that if we sleep fed my son at 10-11pm we could get a good stretch of sleep. One thing we did to keep from going crazy was alternate who did the night feed. This obv requires you to pump during the day or give formula for a feed. Another tip I heard was to add a little formula to your milk for the night feed so increase the calories.
I don’t know a lot about Babywise but the American Academy of Pediatrics linked it to failure to thrive:
http://aapnews.aappublications.org/content/14/4/21.abstract
The abstract is old and I’m not sure what the current recommendations are but thought you should know if considering it.
Chelsie @ Balance, Not Scale
I love Brooke’s little thinker pose!! What a munchkin!
No kids myself, but in a wellness course in university, we learned about circadian rhythms and how ingrained they are to our brains, as though we’re programmed by the sun. The prof mentioned that babies who aren’t put on schedules will completely naturally adjust to circadian rhythms — being more awake through the day and sleeping more throughout the night — by about 3 months. (They were quick to remark that they hadn’t done research way up north where they have days of 24 hour sun/darkness.) I know it’s not direct advice, but I thought it interesting. :)
Kara
I read the book 12 weeks to 12 hours of sleep. My sister followed the book to the T as soon as my niece was about 2 months old. I followed the book loosely around the same time, her daughter was sleeping 10 hours straight soon after and now is 7 months and sleeps for 12 hours (has been doing so since she was 4 months old) My Olivia sleeps about 11 hours each night and has been doing so since she was about 4 months old. It’s really all about getting them on an eating schedule.. starting with eating every 3 hours… then going to every 4 hours. Now my daughter eats at 7, 11, 3, and 7.. obviously the portion sizes have grown as number of feedings have shrunk. She has also been eating solids since 5 1/2 months.
Mary
I also highly recommend this book! We were having A LOT of sleep problems (read- my daughter did not sleep) and we got the book also around 2- 2.5 months old and it made a huge difference. I once got pulled over because I “ran” a red light (I maintain it was yellow) at 3:45 am because I had been up with her since 12:30 and she sometimes fell asleep in the car. The cop didn’t give me a ticket, he really could have because i had no wallet, no bra, probably really gross pj’s…. but that’s another story :)
I breastfed for a year so it does work and is possible with BF babies to put them on a schedule. It takes some work but was so worth while.
She started sleeping 12 hours at about 5 months. ANd probably could have been sooner but there was a schedule shift when I was laid off and I wasn’t super dedicated to giving up the 5 am feeding.
At 2 years old she is still an awesome sleeper. And goes down around 830 and wakes up around 8. And it is an easy bedtime.
GOOD LUCK!!!!
http://www.amazon.com/Twelve-Hours-Sleep-Weeks-Step-/dp/0525949593/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347902546&sr=8-1&keywords=12+hours+sleep+by+12+weeks+old
Cait @ Beyond Bananas
I am the exact opposite of you and thrive off of schedules. I hate when something doesn’t happen when it is supposed to. I like to know what is going to happen and when it is going to happen. Any hiccups cause anxiety.
Lindsay @ Lindsay's List
We did a less strict version of Baby Wise when the kids were this young. I would suggest implementing the “Sleep, Eat, Play” part of the book now and incorporate other parts later!
Caitlin
I started my daughter at 8 weeks and would swaddle her for a morning nap then again at 1 and then around 8 pm at night. she would always take cat naps on her own as well but swaddling promotes deep sleep (naps) and now she is on an awesome schedule at 3 months old. Nap 9-10ish 1-4 and sleeps 8 or 9 through the night til about 5 or 6 am.
Christine
Brooke’s thinking picture has got to be, literally, one of the top five cutest baby pictures I’ve ever seen. And I have a nephew who is more like a son, so that’s saying a lot! ;)
As far as sleep schedule, I don’t have a child but I lived with my sister and her son for his first year and was essentially a second parent. I obviously still let her make all the decisions as far as sleep scheduling went. My advice: once you pick something, stick with it. Be consistent. My sister ended up getting incredibly frustrated when things didn’t work immediately and switched to a new approach a LOT. He is now nearly 4 and still has a terrible time falling asleep (he can’t calm himself down enough) and wakes many times in the night. :S
With all the books/advice out there it’s hard to know what to do. But do what feels best for you and Brooke (and Billy too!), and don’t let others make you question your decisions. Being a mom is tough, and nobody does it perfectly. Spend as much time snuggling, loving, and smelling her because those are the things that matter and will keep you sane when even if the schedules don’t work.
Allison Van de Kemp
I started with a 3 hour schedule in the hospital because that’s what the nurses did! I also followed babywise immediately…BUT, realistically! Some people are very rigid about it, but if your baby is hungry…you will know! I loved the schedule–both my girls (now 9 & 6) did great and were chunky and definitely not under nourished. Their schedules were reliable and I was able to plan because I knew what they were going to be like rather than having my life revolve around their current moods! My oldest slept from 11-8 at 3 weeks old and didn’t stop. The doctor said it was fine because she never ever lost an ounce!!
My sister (who lives in California & has a one year old named Brooklyn) is the ONLY one in her church who uses BabyWise. It is mocked where she is & she doesn’t even tell people she does it! But one day she was taking Brooklyn to the nursery & overheard the workers talking about how awful BabyWise is and how it’s so bad for the kids and they’re always cranky, etc…then they saw Brooklyn arrive and remarked how she is just the happiest baby in the church and she is so wonderful!
I obviously highly recommend it–my girls were happier & ate better & slept better doing a schedule! Kids love predictability rather than things changing all the time!
michele
My kids are older now and are all as different now than they were as babies. My oldest hated to go to bed – would stay up as long as we would let her…and still does. The middle one put herself on a schedule before I knew what was going on. The third was a combination. Get as much advice as you can/want, but then do whatever works for your family…even if it isn’t what someone told you. You’re doing a great job!
Brittany @ GOtheXtraMile
Your pictures kill me. She is too adorable!
Losing Lindy
my son didn’t start sleeping through the night until he was well past nursing. He would cluster nurse at night.
I still let him sleep with me. It is just us, so the other side of the bed is open. I know this phase will end shortly..I just embrace it, because it is another way he feels closer to me.
Tina
Hi Janae! Brooke is just the cutest little thing :) My good friend Cameron used Babywise with her frost daughter (now 2 1/2) an I have to say, she is one of the happiest, sweetest and best-behaved little girls I have ever seen. Cameron writes a blog and posted this update recently about how Babywise/scheduling worked for them. It has links to some of her posts when they had just begun. Hope this helps!
http://www.ingenuemom.com/2012/08/babywise-scheduling-sleep-training.html?m=1
Chantelle
She will develop her own pattern, write down every time she feeds, sleeps ect for a week and you will notice similarities even at this young.
My son fell into his own routine after a few weeks. One thing I have been strict on is 7 pm bed. I used to top up feed at quarter past six then bath and bed no matter what. He is 2.5 now and still wakes at 7 am and sleeps at 7pm. Try to be flexible but have a rough idea. There are many books out there that I personally find too strict for young babies. The world isn’t going to end if they miss a nap or skip a feed. She looks happy and healthy so you are clearly doing something right!
I’m due next Saturday with my second so hopefully his one is as good as the first!
kara
Ditto… keep a eat/sleep journal and you will definitely notice patterns…babies are pretty smart :)
I too, recommend an early bedtime, so you and Billy have some adult time. Also, in my opinion babies (must be at least 3 months of age and 10 pounds!) need to learn that nighttime is for sleeping and not eating. I weaned my 7 month off her 3am feeding around 4 months of age.. I would give her an ounce less every few days, so she was able to go from a 4/5 ounce bottle to 0 ounces to eventually sleeping through that feeding.
Invest in a sleep sheep, it’s about 20 dollars. I love it and so does Olivia, it gets her prepared that it is sleepytime.
Whitney
I’ve heard babywise works well. The book that I use worked better for me because it wasn’t quite as structured and I still love it now with a 2 and a half year old. It’s called Healthy Sleeping Habits Happy Baby by Marc Weissbluth. The thing I like about his approach is that he’s a sleep doctor so he goes through sleeping patterns and why sleep is important and all that good stuff. I got it when my daughther was super young and it helped me as soon as I got it because even when they are that little they some type of structure really helps them to sleep and eat better. Good luck with getting her on some kind of schedule:)
Ali Mc
I Loved “The Baby Whisperer” it really helped us get Logan on a schedule and the earlier you start the better. He slept through the night @ 5months – AND I was breast feeding :) warning – adopting the methods in this book will make all the other moms hate you ;P
Leslie
I second “The Baby Whisperer”! It encourages the sleep, eat, play schedule, but encourages following bany’s cues instead of following a clock over baby. As a NICU RN, some of Baby Wise’s “absolutist” mentality makes me nervous, and I’ve cared for the Failure to Thrive babies who’s parents ought they were doing everything ‘right’ (according to BW).
Kari @ Running Ricig
I know nothing about sleep schedules other than what people have told me about theirs. From what I understand getting a kid on a schedule is pretty much impossible :)
Rhaelene
I am NOT a schedule person and the idea of establishing one for my babies when I hate them for myself was anathema. We have to live so much of our lives by school and work schedules that I saw no need for a baby with such basic needs to be forced to fit into that paradigm. I tried the cry it out with my first and it made me cry. I just fed them when they needed it and let them sleep when they needed to. I am an early to bed/early to rise person myself so a babies schedule kind of fit with that. Somehow my kids all managed to grow up just fine with good sleep habits without my having implemented a system. They each have their own personalities with sleep, my oldest (14) is also an early to bed/early to rise (even at 14!). My second (11) loves to stay up late and read and in the summer could sleep until noon and my youngest (8) falls in the middle. I am a fairly easy going person though, so I think some things that others would have found to be issues, I didn’t mind.
HilJo
I dont have a baby (yet…maybe in a couple years…brooke is warming me up to the idea!) But my mother in law and I were talking about it (a cousin has a super fussy baby) and she said that what she did was never, ever turn on the lights at night with the baby. Feed, change the diaper, do everything in dark. And just get it done quickly and put the baby back to bed! She said it had her babies on a “sleep through the night” schedule very soon (I think they still fed a bit, but didnt wake up and hang out, just ate and went back to sleep). Again, I have no personal experience, but it worked for her two kids!
Stephanie
My youngest was a horrible sleeper. He was wakin up 5-6 times a night i spent many nights in tears! I started baby wise around 5 weeks old. The very first night, he only got up twice, and things only improved from there.
Not everything in that book is perfect. I don’t agree with letting a 2-month old cry it out. However, the eat time, wake time, sleep time thing worked wonders for me. I recommend reading it and taking whatever you choose from it. And if you don’t like any of it, that’s ok too!
Good luck!
Becky Przy
Ummm we didn’t follow a schedule. We were blessed and she started sleeping through the night at 6 weeks. Then we started her putting her down too early–7 p.m. and she started waking up at 9 p.m. so then we would have her take a cat nap around 5:30/6:00.
Melissa
I breastfed my three kids, used a loose interpretation of the eat, play, then sleep pattern – but wasn’t super strict about it. If they needed to eat at 2.5 hours instead of 3, so be it, let them eat then. I didn’t make them wait another half hour because that’s the “rule”. My kids all fell into a very predictable schedule with that and were all sleeping 8 hours at night from 8-10 weeks old. If you do follow a bit of a schedule (even a looser one), it not only helps the kids fall into a routine, but helps you figure out what their needs are a lot quicker – it takes away a lot of the guesswork of “why are you crying???”. I never implemented a schedule of any sort for the first 6 weeks or so though of their lives. We’re now getting ready for #4 after a 6.5 year gap, so it’s good for me to refresh on all of this stuff I’ll be facing soon!
Lindsey
Brook is so beautiful!! My best advice is, at this point, just feed on demand. Brook will sleep when she is tired. I would recommend having her nap in her crib though. My son does really well in his because we started early and he wasn’t too used to sleeping on me 24/7 or in our bed. Once Brook hits that point when she’s more awake during the day (you’ll notice a drastic change in how alert she is), PUT HER DOWN FOR NAPS! I can’t stress this enough. When she seems just a little tired, put her down and she’ll fall asleep on her own. And if she doesn’t, see if she’s wet, hungry, etc, and then try again in 10 minutes. Also, bed time for us is around 6:30 and my son sleeps until 4-5 am. I think the more sleep the better for these little ones. Just trust me that you’ll be putting her to nap much more than seems necessary, but it will save you! Good luck!
Courtney
I have a 5, 3, and 15 month old…they slept through the night at just a few weeks old but I know that’s not the norm. When they were a couple months old (like 3ish) I would let my oldest kind of make his own nap schedule. H got to where he napped a long morning and a long late afternoon nap. I just noticed that around the same times everyday he got sleepy and so I would out him down. I never rocked, sang, read a book, etc. my mom warned me that whatever I started doing would be how I would always have to put them to bed…so I opted for the easy way out. My other two have to grab naps where they can bc we are on the go! And now they are used to that. ;)
Tabaitha
I know people are ver opinionated on this subject, but just remember you have to do what you feel works best for you and your family.
That being said, we loved Babywise and it really helped with all three of our kids. Mason started around 6 weeks and both Taylor and Peyton didn’t get used to it until about 4 months. Every child is different.
Love the picture of you and Brooke sleeping together.
Whitney
Hi Janae! I don’t have any kids so I can’t comment but I read healthy tipping point and she just asked for suggestions for her 3 month old son the other week. There are a lot of comments on the post with suggestions and recommendations! Hope you find what you need :)
http://www.healthytippingpoint.com/2012/09/autumn-plus-more-baby-sleep.html
Shauna @ Balancing Bites
We did Babywise with our twins and it worked great. We worked to get our twins on a schedule from day 1, and they were sleeping through the night by 11 weeks. I also breastfed our twins until they were 1 years old. These websites follow babywise, and they helped me a lot. http://www.babywisemom.com/ and http://blogginaboutbabies.wordpress.com/. My kids are still excellent sleepers at 23 months. Love your pictures. She is adorable.
Beth
Babywise is AMAZING! I’m doing it with my 4 month old. When he was first born, we did the 3 hour schedule until he was 2 months. Then he was on the 3.5 hour schedule minus one feeding at night. Now he’s on the 4 hour schedule with 10 hours of sleep at night. I’m a big believer in it! My sis IL did it with her youngest; with her first two, she was an absolute mess. With her 3rd, she was much less crazy (sorry, but she was!) She’s a huge believer in Babywise making her be more sane. =) I loved it! I did feel like a cow during the 3 hour schedule (even though I love that time with him.) You should at least read it and see if it’s for you and Brooke! Then, make a decision.
Jenn@ Run It My Way
Sorry, I have no babies and therefore no helpful advice to offer! I just wanted to admire your beautiful baby :) Please tell me she doesn’t just chill and l0ok adorable all day long – please tell me she shrieks and cries sometimes – your pictures make me want one so badly!! :-D
I think she looks just like little Billy, she’s so precious :) The photos of you holding her are so adorable, I love seeing them!
Liz @ Tip Top Shape
I have no advice for sleeping schedules, but I can say that Brooke is absolutely adorable!!
Elizabeth
I just started following your blog. Your daughter is adorable!!! I had my baby girl 5 years ago. The day we left the hospital the my doctor warned me that the first few nights at home would be hard. Didn’t happen here. My now “big girl” was and still is a great sleeper. She would fall asleep at 8 and wake would wake up at 8. I remember having to wake her up for a feeding, she wouldn’t wake on her own. As she grew older she would would fall asleep at 9pm, wake at 8, with one, one hour nap in the day. She’s five now and in school, she falls asleep at 8 and is up by 7. My nightly routine which hasn’t changed is: dinner, us time, warm bath with lavender baby wash, brush teeth, prayers, and story. She loves it when I massage her back when she is falling asleep. I don’t mind doing it, at 5 I still love watching her sleep.
Aubrey
No advice of my own to offer, but I work at Boston Children’s Hospital and I happened to see this article last week written by one of our pediatricians who has 5 kids: http://childrenshospitalblog.org/when-it-comes-to-your-baby-and-sleep-do-what-you-want-to-do/
She basically says do whatever works for you- if you don’t like making a schedule, that’s fine!
Sandra (Aberdeen)
Daniel was bottle-fed as I couldn’t manage to get breast-feeding up and running (so to speak..). I fed him on demand and he slept through when he was 12 weeks old. I’ll never forget waking that morning after sleeping the whole night through – because he didn’t wake me I thought something awful had happened in the night! I do remember feeling very tired though in the first few months due to lack of sleep and recovery from the c-section.
I think you are doing amazingly well with Brooke.
Jessica Allen
Hi Janae!!! I HIGHLY recommend the book ‘Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child’ by Dr. Weisbluth. It worked for every one of my children and it was perfect!! It helped me see that you really can’t put a baby on a sleep schedule until around 4 months old but he gives you very good info at every age level on what is the right time to put your children down for a nap and bed time and what cue’s to look for so that they aren’t over tired and then refuse to go to bed. It really is good! Hope this helps!! :O) I love Brooke’s hair! And you both look the same asleep! She’s beautiful just like you! :O)
Lisa
I concur..best.book.ever!!
Christy
Yes, I agree. This is the best book EVER!!!!! It goes step-by-step through the different ages. I followed this method and my daughter was sleeping through the night at 3-4 months and has always been a good sleeper.
deirdre @ Oh Well Whatever
She is so sweet. What worked for me was a very organized schedule following a method I heard called E.A.S.Y. – forget the name of the book but I am sure you could google it. It stands for Eat Activity Sleep You-time. I would feed her every 3 hours, if she were sleeping (during the day) I would swaddle and wake her to eat. Then we would have some play time, go for a walk, tummy time, hang out, giggle talk – whatever. Then swaddle and back to sleep and then it is time for mommy to get some “you-time”
I would do this through out the day until about 10pm or so and then let her sleep as long as she would, usually 5 hours or so. Wake time at night would be kept in the dark, client, quick feed, burp, swaddle and back down. Usually 2 feedings at most during the dark hours.
In the beginning she was in pack-n-play in our room and this worked good until she was about 2-2.5 months then I transitioned her to her own room – wanted her in there before I had to go back to work. Then she quickly got the hang of it and was sleeping 7-9 hours at night.
Even still a schedule works really well for her. There are times where I think she doesn’t seem tired, she is happy playing and I will skip a morning or afternoon nap and it never works out well. She is happy when I put her down for her usual naps – now 10:30am and 4:00pm for about 1.5 hours.
I found using the app on my phone Total Baby helped a lot in the beginning to remember and track her schedule.
Angie
I don’t have a baby yet, due in 10 days, but many friends have sworn by Babywise. We’re going to try it and see what happens! Let us know what you end up doing.
Kendra
I am a firm believer of baby wise. We didn’t do it as strict as the book but that’s what baby wise is about. Getting a schedule that works for you and your family. Sleep is the most important thing for little babies, they do so much developing while sleeping. My schedule was a three hour eat, wake time, then sleep. I loved that I could lay my son down wide awake and he would fall asleep on his own. I would recommend reading a few books and doing what you feel comfortable with. My guy was sleeping six hour stretches at three weeks, would eat again and then sleep three hours more, so they can go on a schedule when they are little. Whatever you do, be confident in your choice and enjoy this time!
Kara
Beware what you ask for! This is can be a hot button topic amongst parents. I just heard on Good Morning America that 30% (!) of all parents lie about how much their babies sleep bc there is so much pressure to get them to sleep thru the night early on. Sad.
But anyway, what worked for me was a combo of “Baby Wise” and “Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child”. I follow the pattern: eat, play time, sleep. So feed them when they wake, then play with them for 1-2 hours and then when they show tired signs (rubbing eyes, yawning, etc) then put down for a nap. If she gets to the fussy, crying stage, she is over tired. Early on, 2 hours is the longest you should ever keep them awake. If Brooke gets tired after only being awake an hour, put her down then. An overtired baby gets over stimulated and can be hard to put down for a nap. If Brooke is used to sleeping more during the day, then keeping her awake for even an hour may sound like an eternity but she can totally do it. it’s just a matter of stimulating her by reading to her, singing to her, taking her on a walk (an awesome way to keep her awake), etc. This is just like 1% of what I do sleep training-wise so if you need any more tips, just ask! There is such a huge learning curve with your first kiddo. It helps to have other moms that have been there, done that to go to for help. At least it was a life saver for me!
G
This is basically what we did but I’ve never read Babywise. I don’t really plan to read it either – every lactation consultant I know (so, I guess about 6) HATES this book. I found the Weissbluth book to be best. We planned to sleep train (using no-cry solutions first) around 5-6 months but now that we’re there, we’ve found it pretty much unnecessary! Our daughter sleeps through the night many nights, sometimes waking once. We dreamfeed before I go to bed and that’s that! I think there’s a combination of luck (she’s a good sleeper) and following advice. That said, I’ll NEVER deny a hungry baby food…I just try to sooth her with other means (this only worked from 3.5+ months, she was legit hungry before then).
Basically, read some books now if you can but don’t worry about any of this too much. Around three months, things will start to naturally fall into place and if you’re not happy with it then, you can revisit sleep training.
Meggan
I have two kids that are 7 & 4. I loosely used Baby Wise for both. My son I started too early, but he did sleep through the night at 2 weeeks. My daughter I started when she was a month and by 6 weeks she was sleeping through the night. They are both still great sleepers! The importatnt thing with babywise that I somehow missed with my first is to be flexible when necessary. Good Luck! Brooke is precious!
Michelle
BabyWise was really controversial when I had my babies. My hospital actually sent out a memo that said NO BABYWISE. Not sure if that’s still the case!
What worked for me was the 2 hour rule. Until about 4 months – Brooke is not going to have a regular nap schedule or really any kind of schedule. Instead, the focus should be on feeding, alert time, and sleeping — and you should try not to go more than 2 hours between sleeps. The BEST thing you can do is read her cues. Her eyes start to glaze after about a half hour? Or she starts to rub them? Try to put her down for a nap. It may only last 20 minutes, but hey – at least it’s sleep. Another great thing to do is have a night time routine. Start at 7 or 8. Feed her, bath her, massage her, dress her, and rock her. Try to do this every night – it helps establish a bedtime. When she gets older – I highly recommend an early bedtime. Not only does it give you a break and time alone with Billy, but it creates healthy sleep habits and allows that natural nap schedule to form. From 4 months on – my kids have always gone to bed between 6:30 and 8:30. They sleep 10-12 hours a night. Sleep begets sleep! (These are all principals from Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child’ by Dr. Weisbluth — I do recommend the book, but I can be hella confusing). I’m not much of a routine person either – and thankfully, my kids are very much go with the flow, but these tips got me threw that first year with both of them and really set me up with some good sleepers!
Shannon
Brooke is so adorable. I love the one picture where you mentioned her hair and it looks like she is pointing to it saying how she isnt sure how to style it:)
Michelle @ The Cooking Life
Ohmyword, your daughter is too cute!
I have a 5 month old and he has been sleeping through the night since 6 or 7 weeks (I don’t remember the exact day, haha – so sleep deprived back then!). I don’t think it’s anything we did special, but maybe a combination of routine and his personality. I made sure to not feel pressured to put him on a schedule right away. I just fed him on demand. The one constant we did from the get-go, though, was his nighttime routine (bath, feeding, prayer time). Eventually, about 2 months after he was born, I started trying to work on a daytime schedule based on what he did, because I would have to go back to work end of July. I didn’t read any baby books, really. Friends recommended “Baby Wise” for the eat, play, sleep ruotine, but other friends recommended attachment parenting methods. I didn’t want to follow one or the other because I didn’t feel my baby (or I) fit those “molds” exactly. Oddly enough, my baby is on a pretty good schedule (he’s at daycare now) and still sleeps through night, from approx. 8:45 pm to 7 am. Good luck and hang in there! You and Brooke will figure it out :)
Jill
The biggest piece of advice I have is to put her down at night sleepy, yet awake. That makes a huge difference later on when they don’t need you to rock them to sleep every night. With our first we wanted to sit and hold him every night after he was sleeping. Once the doctor advised we start an actual bedtime and put him down in his crib so he could fall asleep on his own he fell into his own schedule so easily. All 3 of my kids have been great sleepers and were sleeping through the night by 3 months even though they were nursing. Starting Brooke off with a good foundation now will be very helpful down the road.
Liz Dean
Hey! She is adorable…but you already knew that.
We started baby wise with Sam when he was about a week old. I mean, you can really just do feed, wake sleep at that point and for about 5-6 weeks after, but we stuck with it and I am such a schedule oriented person, that it really worked for us. Plus, I really, really feel it helped him sleep through the night at 8 weeks…meaning he went for 8+ hours. He was sleeping 11-12 hours by 3.5 months. (7pm-7am) We didn’t do it fully strict and let Sam kind of lead the way with his sleeping habits. I did however and still do protect his sleep like crazy.
Sleep begets sleep and they THRIVE on routine, so the more they sleep, the better it is. Hopefully she’s guiding you to what kind of routine works best, but it’s usually best to really pay attention to her after about 45-mins to an hour of being awake at this point so you can put her down for a nap.
We also kept white noise going for him and his room dark, it really helped at about 6months when his morning nap really started to form.
Sure, being on a schedule isn’t always fun, but remember you are trying to raise and take care of this little tiny thing and she needs you to help her, to “train” her in many, many ways. If you like your sleep, I’d recommend trying to start something soon :)
Oh, and all of my sisters and in laws have followed some sort of babywise schedule. It just worked for all of us. Sam is 2.5 and we still religiously nap him at 12:30 or 1 everyday…he thrives!
Jessica
I read this article, and it kinda breaks down babywise in the way she did it… I think it makes a lot of sense, but definitely with adapting it to how it fits in with your life! http://delightfulmomstuff.blogspot.com/2012/02/newborn-sleeping-through-night.html
Fiona @ Get Fit Fiona
My favorite photo is the one where it looks like she’s deep in thought – so cute!
Rachel
Oh, boy. This can be such a hot-button topic, but since you asked…
I think Baby Wise is awful! I tried it for about 3 days with my first, and just didn’t have the heart to continue. That’s not to say there aren’t some good things to take from it, but really, all those sleep training books have some good things to offer. Baby Wise just felt too cruel to me. Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child has lots of good info, but is soooooo BORING! If you can get through it, I will be really impressed. Read, The Happiest Baby on the Block, just because it’s an awesome book (or you can watch the DVD while you run!), and then continue to go with the flow figuring out the whole sleep thing. She’ll put herself on a schedule soon enough; you just need to pay attention to her cues. She’s still too little for serious sleep training anyway. Enjoy this time because it’s over before you know it! (Are you sick of hearing things like that yet?) Trust your instincts and take “expert” advice with a grain of salt because YOU know Brooke better than anyone.
On a different note… I can’t get over how much Brooke and Brooklyn really do look alike OR how amazing you and Brooklyn’s mother look so shortly after child birth! I’m loving seeing you as a new mom. Reading about your adventures sure makes me nostalgic! You’re at such an amazing time in your life. <3
Megan D
I read Baby Wise and I liked some of its concepts. I liked using ideas and tweaking them to fit our family. But I think that is how any parenting book ShOULD be. Use it to get ideas and fit it to your family. You know Brooke. You know what would be best for her and no one – not the book that everyone reccommends is going to be able to tell you that.
And with each child, it will be different. With Anna, is was like she craved routine. She liked being on a schedule. I fed her every 3 hours – I would waker her up during the day to eat and she slept through the night at 2 months. That is what gave her structure and made her feel safe (still does). With Evan, he was a very go with the flow kind of kid (still is). When I tried to feed him every 3 hours, it made him ornery. Would he have slept through the night earlier if I would have woke him up during the day to eat? Probably. But was it worth him being upset when he was ALWAYS happy otherwise? Nope. So we just followed the routine of when he woke up , he ate, then played, then slept and I never woke him up to feed him until he was ready. This still gave him a routine, but he set the time. And he basically put himself in his own ‘schedule’ (he woke up and took naps about the same time – but he set it, not me). He slept through the night just after 4 mo. And before then he only woke up 1x a night around 4:30 or 5 AM, so not bad.
We really liked ‘The Baby Whisperer’.
I am sure you are going to get a bajillion comments about this and I hope that it helps.
Love all the Brooke pics – as usual. I love all the poses and what not. How is she so hilarious already?
Whitney
How cute is she? AHHHH! No idea on baby sleep schedules, because I don’t have one! But just wanted to talk about how cute those pics are!!!!
Retta
I have 2 boys and am expecting a girl now. What works for us is no schedule, escpecially since I breastfeed. We just let baby tell us when he was sleepy or hungry so that helped w/ my supply. I didn’t try to do a schedule until about 1. But different things work for different families.
Lauren
Please be very careful with Baby Wise. Most pediatricians DO NOT recommend it and I have even heard it being compared to abuse. It is a very strange method. Do your research before beginning!
Emily
Hi! I’m a new reader to your blog and wanted to comment on this post. We used the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child (I think the author is Weissbluth or something like that). He takes you through all the different ages and sleep science behind what’s going on. I followed his method and my LO slept pretty well through the night at about 2 months (he would have one night feeding, but otherwise slept from 8 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.
Good luck figuring out what works for you! My son is now 2.5 and I still reference this book!
Missy
Babywise is a great book but kind of intense. It’s good to use to get on a schedule eat, play, sleep but I wasn’t as strict as the book suggests…just did the best I could. My oldest started sleeping through the night at 3 months and my youngest at 2 months. I have friends that swear by baby wise and they followed it a T and their kids were sleeping through the night at 8 weeks. If you are not into schedules Baby Wise is a good place to start and then develop your own schedule with what works for you and your family. Good luck!
Stephanie
Oh, I can not wait until I get to meet Spiky when we are in San Fran…at least I hope I get to meet and play with her :) I LOVE all the pictures of her!!! I am a very scheduled person. I found that the more I followed a schedule with my babies the better off we were. Since it’s been a while I don’t exactly remember what our schedule was but I tried to put them down for naps and bedtime at the same times each day. Bath time was always at night, to get them nice and sleepy! I think you will figure out what works for you. As far as sleeping through the night goes, my first baby was sleeping through the night at 6 weeks old…awesome! My second didn’t sleep through the night until he was 10 and half months old. The day I stopped nursing was the day he slept through the night. I don’t think, actually I know, that my milk was enough to fill him for long. Had I known he would have slept through the night with a bottle I would have quit nursing at 3 months or so. Good luck figuring all of this mommy stuff out. You are the cutest little mama out there!!! I sure do miss you and hope you are hanging in there!!
MoFish
I tend to think pretty pragmatically about this stuff. All babies are different and I think books can give you ideas, but you know Brooke best and you should trust yourself to come up with something that works for you. You won’t break her! That being said, I think a “schedule” is different than a “routine”. I would try to get on a “routine” – maybe have a bath, read a story, play quiet music and rock her, feed her, whatever…but be consistent in what you do before bed and she will start to associate those things happening with it being bedtime. The timing of when this is could be different based on her naps during the day, teething, her age, where you are, etc., but she’ll know it’s time to sleep. Good luck – you’ll both do great!
Emily
I highly recommend “Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child.” It has lots of good advice and information. We didn’t start our daughter on a sleep schedule until she was at least 4 months old. First, we started with sleep training at night using the Ferber method (let her cry for 5 minutes, go in and sooth her, then 10 minutes and go in, etc). It only took us 2-3 nights to get her to be able to fall asleep on her own. We didn’t start a nap schedule until she was closer to 6 months old, and even then it wasn’t strict, more following her cues.
My favorite time was in the morning while my husband got ready for work too. My daughter and I would snuggle in bed just like you and Brooke :)
Rebecca
I think I remember that they have to be older than Brooke to start putting them on a schedule. I can’t remember if it’s 3 or 6 months. Babies that are nursing tend to need to feed more often than formula babies, so for a while you have to go with the flow (ha ha). I do think that, if sleep deprivation is causing the mom to feel upset or depressed, then it’s a good idea to start some sort of routine.
danielle
Babywise is amazing!!! Jack was giving us 8-9 hour stretches by 8 weeks and has been doing 12 hours a night since he was 13 weeks.
Kiddos love routines. Schedule sounds so strict and regimented, but they really like routines–knowing what is coming next. At 7 months ,he knows what when we go upstairs and read books at 6:30, bath time is next. Every night, he sprint crawls to the bathtub–it’s really cute!
Kay
Good luck and I hope you all find something that works out best for everyone!! (Sorry I know nothing about setting baby schedules hahaha).
Kristin
Breastfed both my babies and did Babywise with them, and it saved my sanity! It was tough to get it started, but once you’re on it, it’ll be wonderful. They both slept through the night by 9 weeks.
XLMIC
Surprised I forgot tomention it and surprised no one else has either, but…
The Happiest Baby on the Block
There is a video and a book. I think it’s by Dr. Harvey Karp.
Kate
I have some pretty stinkin’ cute nieces and nephews, but Brooke may get the Cutest Baby Award. She’s so cute, I can’t even handle it!
Caroline
I am a mom of 2
I am a fan of schedules…babies do well on schedule..they “learn” what to expect kind of.
I used babywise with both my kids and it worked. It is hard in the beginning because you have to wake the baby during the day and it is tempting to let them sleep. also it is hard at first to keept them awake….but my boys were sleeping 7 to 7 very early and they are still good sleepers at 6 and 8.
Sromney
I have been reading your blog about a month before you had Brooke ( who is so cute). I have never commented until now. (now I feel bad!) Im 26 and a Mother to three beautiful kids 7, 4.5,and 2. My first born was the exact same size as Brooke at birth and never cried…just fussy when it was time to eat and thats it. Everyone kept on telling me I had it good because it was very uncommon to have a baby who didnt cry. I of course didnt know any different! She slept 10+hours a night starting at 8 weeks! I didnt put her on a schdule I just followed her hunger cues and fed her when she wanted to eat which was about every 3 hours. Due to infections and latching issues I stopped nursing her at 6 weeks (I still feel bad about it this day) and gave her the bottle. Her feedings went from three hours to every four and she was the plumpiest baby. My second was born and became very ill a few weeks after birth, he too was a easy going baby and never cried. When he turned 6 weeks he started screaming every night for about four hours straight and nothing could make him calm and quiet. Out of despair and lack of sleep I searched the internet and found the book The Baby Sleep Solution. I had read babywise before and didnt like it. But The Baby Sleep Solution had a proven program to teach your baby to sleep 12 hours a night! Thats what I wanted just like my first born. I bought it! It was the best book ever. The lady who wrote the book had five children by the time she was 26. The youngest a set of twins. She now gets hired to come to peoples homes to help sleep train babies. The method works. My son was sleeping 12 hours a night by 11 weeks. He was back to his easy going self and happiest baby ever. My third I used the book again it took a little bit longer for her because I was exclusively nursing. She started sleeping 12 hours a night by 14 weeks. None of them are no longer babies but still sleep 10+ hours a night. The book breaks it down by weeks. I have expereinced that babies who are bottle fed vs. nursed dont have to eat as often. And that usually that have to his about ten pounds of so before actually sleeping all night. I think that with the first its easier to go with the flow of your baby because you dont have any other children to take care of. Just because some suggest that babies need to be on a schedule it doesnt mean they have to. What always works for one baby or parent wont work for the next. From reading your blog Brooke seems to be a very good natured baby, you probably can just follow her cues and needs and not have to set a schedule for her. If your exhausted and feel like you never get a break then maybe you should. Trust your instincts you know her the best. And there is no such thing as holding a baby to much or spoiling a baby! Good luck! (sorry I wrote a long novel)
Courtney LeDuc
We did BabyWise (basically just eat, play, sleep in that order so you have a good guess as to what the need at a given time…like if she just slept and she’s crying, it’s probably not because she is tired, etc.) when our daughter was around 2 months old and you’re more settled in from the crazy feed all day/night phase. There were a couple days in the beginning where she cried a little bit until she fell asleep, but it was so worth it (for her benefit!) because she is the most amazing sleeper I have ever seen, hands down. My pediatrician encouraged me to fight through those first tricky days when you are starting them on a routine (routines are so so so important for children) and resist the urge to pick her up (as long as I can see her in the monitor and know she is truly just fine) and I’m so glad I did because it definitely paid off. My friends who didn’t do the eat-sleep-play routine (which is also in “Baby Whisperer” as well as BabyWise) seem to be regretting it when their one year olds still don’t sleep well…. At the end of the day though, there isn’t ONE right way to be a parent so you’ve got to do what’s best for your family…and the main thing is that you just love her with everything you’ve got, which you are already doing ;) She is too too too cute!
Kelly
“the baby whisperer” was the best book for us. There are so many out there it is hard to know what is best. Babywise was to strict for our family. I liked the baby whisperers EASY method. Check a few out from the library and see which works best with your parenting style.
Monica
We were lucky and Luke started sleeping through the night when he was 6 weeks old. We didn’t do anything to encourage or train, he just slept that long and has continued to do so unless our routine varies a ton. As far as a schedule, he basically has established his own. He naps a lot and at the same general time of the day. I would have been more inclined to try to impose a strict schedule, but my husband is home with him all day and he is not that type. Luke seems to be doing great and the two of them worked out a routine that was best for them. I think the key is figuring out your own baby’s individual needs. As long as you are both happy and thriving, I wouldn’t worry about pushing a strict schedule.
Shellie
The first few weeks after our daughter was born were spent sleep deprived and mostly her sleeping in her swing, until I finally got the courage to let her start sleeping swaddled in her crib, and having the “white noise” of a tower fan really worked for her. She would wake up a few times a night, so I would feed her and put her back in her crib. Pretty soon her night feedings became less and she was sleeping longer! She started sleeping through the night at 3 months and I am very blessed to say that she has always been an excellent sleeper.
mindee
I loved baby wise! We started it at 8 weeks, and thats when she slept through the night for the first time. However babies are kinda like roller coasters, nothing every stays the same for long until they get older, so hit and miss nights are normal with sleep. I would get the book on amazon if I were you, its cheap. read it and talk about it, if you want to try it start when she is old enough, like 2-3 months. the later to start the harder it is to get on a routine. I learned fast that the better your day routine is in the beginning, the better the night training goes. but every baby is totally different, i have a feeling brooke will enjoy her sleep though : ) good luck janae,s he is beyond darling and dont worry the sleep will come!
Steph F.
I am pretty schedule oriented so I read plenty of books with my first, but most were way too prescriptive…I remember one book had a sample schedule that literally had the entire 24 hour day planned down to 15 minute intervals. It was insane! Anyhow, I finally picked up Tracy Hogg’s Secrets of the Baby Whisperer and LOVED it! Her EASY plan (basically where you structure baby’s day around three hours chunks of eating, doing an activity, sleep, and having *your* time!) makes so much sense and it really is easy : ) Plus, she has a great sense of humor so it’s a helpful read that is fun, too. I started the EASY plan around 3 months with my first, and unfortunately not at all with my second child since we were always on the go with #1 :) As a result, my first daughter was sleeping through the night by about 8-10 weeks, and my second…not until about 18 mo. (eek!).
kelly b
mybabysleepguide.com – it has reviews of all the books, schedules, theories, yadda yadda… cuz lets be honest, we dont have that much time to read every sleep book out there. ok, i did. Loser. anyway, my favorite of the three i read was Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child. because it was based off of research and not just a persons theory. I did the aspect of BABY WISE in that I never nursed Cason to sleep. I liked the schedule in HSHHC better though. It seemed more natural.
Rachelle
I don’t know anything about anything but I do know that Brooke is freaking cute! Seriously stop with the adorable pictures because your tempting to steal a baby and I do not need to end up in jail!
Sarah G
You’re going to get as many different answers as people answering your questions, but here’s my .02 worth. With all of my four kids it wasn’t a certain age that they started sleeping longer, it was weight I kid you not. When they each reached 12-13 lbs they started sleeping longer, not necessarily through the night but definitely more than 2-3 hours at a stretch, more like 4-5. The bigger they get the longer they sleep.
Sara
My now 28 month old was a Babywise baby and he started sleeping through the night at 8 weeks old. I highly recommend Babywise to all of my friends. We did a “loose” version but the main points were the eat-wake-sleep pattern and the “schedule” part is how often your child eats. I bet you know already how often she likes to eat so you just base the schedule on that time frame. The eat-wake-sleep part helps the child learn to fall asleep on their own, without thinking that food equals sleep. It is definately worth at least giving it a try and if you find its not for you, then you will find something else. Good Luck!!
Helen
She is too young for a schedule – go with the flow!! Babies also have a four-month sleep regression that will make you want to cry, sorry. And I’m surprised your friends recommend Babywise – most people I know stay as far away from that book as possible. It just isn’t a good method.
We did Ferber – some people think it is cruel to let a baby cry. But we tried it, it broke my heart, so we stopped. Then we pulled it out again a month later when I just couldn’t take the lack of sleep any longer and it worked like a charm. If a baby is old enough and needs less food at night and you know they can sleep longer, plus you are all at the end of your rope – then it is time for sleep training!
FoodFaithFitness
My last two children started sleeping through the night when I weaned them, at 11 mos. They would always nurse through the night. I don’t believe in letting a baby that young, cry it out. Everyone is different and you have to find what works for you.
Amylee
She is so cute! Wish I could come over and snuggle her for a bit.
I liked Baby Wise, too. My babies were polar opposites- Will slept through the night just before he turned one, and Annie slept through the night at 6 weeks. For me, I NEVER wake my baby up at night for a feeding, but I do during the day. After awhile, they just start to “get it.” I think you should just do what works for you!
Sharsti
I used baby wise, but I didn’t know about it till Jackson was 6 months. It SAVED our lives!!! He finally started to sleep through the night, and it taught me how to keep him on a great schedule which allowed us to go with the flow when we needed to. When you keep your baby on a schedule the baby knows what to expect and will easily adapt to whatever schedule you may need for the day.
I didn’t follow the book strictly, but instead found what worked for me and my son. I think the biggest thing I learned was CONSISTENCY, just like with running;)
Sharsti
I forgot to mention that it was difficult in the beginning to let him cry it out. So for awhile I’d sit by his crib and hummed to him or just sit there and he’d fall asleep. As he got older (about 10 months) I let him cry it out if he ever cried in the beginning. and it only lasted a couple of nights and each night it was less min than the night before. He was so much happier during the day though because he’d sleep so much better at night. You know Brooke and you’ll find what works for you both.
Angela
BabyWise was not for me. It was much too intense and it felt…mean. They’re so tiny! The No-Cry Sleep Solution worked very well for us, and I have a 5 and 3 year old who sleep well, never co-slept with us, and quickly dropped night feeds when they were ready and it was developmentally appropriate.
Enjoy the tiny baby time. The schedule will come!
Kami
There are lots of opinions out there on this subject, so you just need to find what settles best with you and baby. I am a total Baby Wise believer! I think a schedule is the best thing for you and baby. I’m not talking only feed your baby at X,Y and Z times–but following a general pattern of eat, play, sleep around every 3ish hours during the day. I am also an advocate of letting babies cry it out and learn to soothe themselves to sleep. It sounds harsh, but you’re giving your baby a really valuable gift. In the end, everyone is more rested and happier! BTW, my baby has been sleeping though the night (8pm-8am) since he was 5 weeks old. In fact, he has only woken up in the night twice EVER since then and he’s over 4 months old now. I totally believe in the Baby Wise method!!
Kami
P.S. I think that most people who say Baby Wise is bad haven’t actually read the book or applied it too rigidly. I think it’s a great tool and works best when used with your intuition. My awesome, sleep-through-the-night-since-5-weeks baby is also in the 90th percentile for weight, so no worries about failure to thrive there. :) Good luck!
Cheryl
Baby Wise and its author, Gary Ezzo are hugely controversial and have been linked to failure to thrive and some abuse cases. Please do your research before you consider using this book. There is tons of info on it on ezzo (dot) info. (Replace the dot with an actual one!) Love that beautiful baby, feed her when she’s hungry…they do eventually sleep better, and the baby days pass all too quickly.
jan
I let the baby create the schedule. I think it’s especially important while nursing. When they go through a growth spurt, they are going to want to eat, even at night. I didn’t feel right trying to force the babies on a schedule of MINE. I wanted it to be about them. That being said, I did work so they fell into a schedule a bit because of that, but it happened naturally and w/out tears.
That’s just what I did–you do what feels right to YOU. Don’t let anyone tell you what to do and do what feels right. You’ll know. If it feels sad or hard, it’s wrong for your family.
Justine
I don’t think there is a one size fits all for babies because they are all so different. One baby will follow the Baby Wise method super happily and another will absolutely refuse to go along with it. Ask your mom, I’m pretty sure she will back me up on this. I only had two kids and they were completely different babies.
I am not a big believer in crying it out, however, I did let my firstborn do so on occasion, but only when she was determined to eat and play and was at least 6 months old. She was born a night owl and still is, but I didn’t encourage it by staying up to play. My second child probably never cried it out. He was born a good sleeper. I couldn’t have followed one sleep prescription with them both. In both cases, if they were hungry I fed them.
Angie
I tried Baby Wise, but it did not work with my personality / my kids. I found the best solution to be letting the kids come into their own schedule, but realizing that a day for a baby is wake, and some combo of eat-poo-play/look around – eat again? and sleep. It’s 1 1/2 – 2 hour cycle. I think it averages out to 4-5 naps a day. Night time sleeping should be for longer periods than the day time naps. I had to feed my oldest son every 1.5 hours. My second son was hungry every 2.5 hours. I fed on demand because I felt like I wanted to honor their hunger signals. It becomes more obvious when they want to nurse for comfort or to be close. My pediatrician said that by 6 months, if they don’t sleep through the night, it’s OK to start the sleep training with crying. It sucked, but we did it. I swear my kids love me more for teaching them how to go to sleep by themselves. The boys are 8 and 10 now- crazy… it feels like yesterday. good luck
Alli Heim
First of all I love your blog!! Now…I breast feed my son until he turned 1! We did baby wise not as strict but loved it!! He slept thru the night at 5 weeks!! It was wonderful! It was hard work but worth it!
Tali
Janae,
As always you are just the cutest and I can’t even believe how adorable baby Brooke is! I’m Allison and Alex Wilcox’s sister-in-law and although I don’t comment often, I have been a faithful HRG reader from the beginning! :)
Anyway, for what it’s worth, I am one of those who just decided to go with the flow. To me it was just too stressful to try to weed through everyone’s opinions and all of the books and theories. Once I did that, life with my babies was so much more enjoyable (I have 2 boys, ages 3 and 1). I fed them when they were hungry, and just tried to go with the flow with their sleep schedules and before I knew it a schedule just kind of naturally came about. No, my babies didn’t sleep through the night by 6 weeks, not even close, but again, I found that we were both happier and more relaxed not focusing too much on establishing schedules, crying it out, etc. etc. They are this tiny for such a short, short time — to me there is plenty of time for schedules! :) Every baby is different of course and I’m sure you’ll get lots of great ideas and advice, but I just wanted to let you know that if in the end you just decide to follow your instincts, chances are everything will be fine.
I hope you guys are enjoying Cali and that law school is going well for Billy. My husband went to law school too and it was a great adventure! All the best! Tali
Maria
Baby wise is hard core, I read Happiest Baby on the Block and loved it! My daughter started sleeping 8 hrs at night around 6 weeks old. I did eat play sleep, she always ate when she woke up and only ate to go to sleep at the last feeding before bed. She is 3 now and an awesome sleeper! We were pretty good about schedules but not super crazy, I think middle of the road. It worked for us. Best of luck, don’t let too much info get to you. Do what is comfortable for you and your family and enjoy every second! :)
Becky
Honestly, keep doing what you’re doing!!! Go with the flow, feed her on demand, and let her sleep when she’s tired. You & Billy already go places, do things, have people over, and are living your life. Brooke will learn to adapt to all of that and you’ll likely end up with a laid back, well-adjusted baby who can stay up a little late one day, sleep in a little another, but be okay with a routine most days!
As everyone has said – babies don’t really have a regular schedule anything until 3 months or so.
C didn’t start sleeping through the night (consistently) until 6 months. I didn’t feel comfortable sleep training him any earlier because he still seemed SO little. At 6 months, it only took 4 nights and he slept for 12 hours.
You know what’s best for you & Brooke. Schedules get you a baby that can’t handle dinner at 6:00 instead of 6:00; routines help baby know what’s coming but they can be flexible about it! My motto is routine, not scheduling.
Amber
Baby wise is mean!! Read “healthy sleep habits, happy child” by Marc weisbluth. Gets your baby on a schedule without being so strict about it
Meredith
Hey girl!! I know this topic is one that can get mommies riled up for some reason, but we did Babywise with all 3 of our kids. All 3 slept through the night by the time they were 12 weeks old and all 3 stayed on nap schedules until they went to school. They love their sleep and do not need any “props” to get them to sleep which has made bedtime easy, easy, easy!! They do well if they had to stay with grandparents as there was no secret solution to getting them to bed. Sleep is simply not an obstacle for us. I feel that Babywise helped us give our kids a healthy relationship with sleep and is not one bound by bargaining, bribing or coaxing. I truely believe that healthy sleep is just as important as healthy eating and kiddos need a little help getting into a routine. Plus, that is when their little bodies do the majority of their growing!! Hope that helps! If you ever have any questions, feel free to contact me!
Adina
Our daughter is 18 months now, but we have had great success with “Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child.” she’s been sleeping on schedule since about 4 months, and through the night since 6 months (I was nursing, so she woke up once a night for feeding from 4-6 months).
I read baby wise, but had to find something a bit less rigid – yet still scheduled. HSH,HC worked for us. I really liked that it focused on what was best for the family as a whole.
Best wishes & good luck!
Jennifer
Hi! I definitely recommend the book “healthy sleep habits, Happy Child” Worked wonders for me and my son (now 8 months). I can email for further details if need be, but if not, check it out!
Crissy
Agreed! This book really helped me out a lot and it gives you options. This is a topic that can get mommies riled up as Meredith says, but honestly, you have to do what works for you. I had to go back to work full time in 8 weeks, so I really needed my daughter to sleep through the night—and fast! This book did the trick. I kept a sleep journal as the book suggests and I still have it and I think that is kind of cool!
Stacey
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child…worked like a charm!
kelsey
Oh, sleep . . . such a huge topic among mothers everywhere! I loved the program “Sleep Sense” because frankly, it made sense to me. But I feel strongly that babies who are less than three months old (infant stage) shouldn’t be “sleep trained.” There are little things you can do to help them get the feel for what it’s like to sleep on their own, but when they cry at night, they’re hungry! Especially breastfed babies, they need that milk in the night to get them through it. After three months when they can go that long without being fed, I am ALL about it. Both of my girls were sleeping 12+ hours a night all on their own, without props, at 8 months. With my second I wanted to try sooner (about 6 months) but we were in the middle of moving and it wasn’t the right time. They are 4 and 2 now and are great sleepers. They nap well, go to bed between 6:30-7, and sleep until 12 hours later. It’s great. I’ve heard great things about Baby Wise too. It’s hard to ever hear your child cry, but knowing “why” they are crying eases your mind a bit and makes it easier to let them learn how to fall asleep on their own. GOOD LUCK. It’s hard, but well worth it for years of restful nights afterward.
I have to say though, when they’re so tiny like that . . . just enjoy them. It only lasts about five seconds, then you never get that time back nursing them in the middle of the night. So as tired as you might be, try and cherish it. I’m sure you’re already realizing how fast she’s growing up!
Kelly
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child!!! :o) Love that book, and keep going back to it for my toddler and am re-reading it with number two!
Hope you find something that works for YOU!
Cara
We used Babywise for our first two children and are now using it with baby #3 (born the day after your cute daughter). It is a wonderful guide. The older kids (ages 5 and 2) are awesome sleepers. Good luck!
alissa
We didn’t use any book, just went with the flow. I’m very much like you in that aspect. We both work full-time too and survived :)
Coreyanne Armstrong
I love it when someone asks about this with an open mind because it’s the only time I can really talk about it – because as another of your readers said, it can really rile people up, and offering advice when it is unasked for can really tick people off. We used the Babywise methods for all five of our children and are now using it for our 6th who was born July 17. He was two months old today and slept through the night 7-8 hours starting on Friday night (he did it Saturday and Sunday night as well, so I think I’m going to officially say that he’s “sleeping through the night” now on my own blog :)) It is a topic about which people feel very strongly one way or the other, so don’t be shocked if you talk to lots of people who are completely against it for many, well-thought-out reasons. I have found that so much of my mothering for the first few years stems from the philosophies found in these books, so if I have friends who think the opposite of me on this issue, it is hard to share any parenting tips with them because we fundamentally disagree on so many things that are related to sleep, schedules, etc.
I should just say – I am generally unscheduled – even though I homeschool them as well. It’s not my style to stick to a rigid schedule, so I’ve taken parts of the Babywise book that help me and adjusted the schedule to meet my “unscheduled” lifestyle :) I stick to the first “wake time” of the day within an hour — so I have it scheduled for 7am, and I call the baby “awake for the day” if it’s any time between 6 and 8 when he wakes – then I readjust my schedule for the rest of the day based on what that first wake time has been and what we have going on that day, including fitting in my run :) And I change it throughout the day, even sticking in an extra feeding before a nap (a no-no in the babywise mindset) once a day to make up for the fact that my milk supply is lower in the afternoons. Same with the last bedtime – it adjusts as the day goes on but is plus/minus an hour from the “planned” bedtime. I follow the general eat-wake-sleep pattern for the baby the whole day and work really hard to get good “wake times” after each feeding, and that is what causes the nighttime to eventually work out :) Good luck!!
Andrea
Yeah, I dunno about Babywise – it IS controversial because the American Academy of Pediatrics found it offensive enough to write a letter of concern about it. http://www.salon.com/1998/08/06/cov_06feature/
Definitely agree with most of your commenters: when babies aren’t even 4-6 months old and are being nursed (good for you!) they should be taken care of in the night. I did the Healthy Sleep Habits/gradual ‘cry it out’ when both my kids were 6 months old and they picked it up in a few days and have been excellent sleepers ever since. Give her time, enjoy those night time bonding sessions – she’ll be sleeping through them before you know it.
Lauren
Wow. I am reading this article and Babywise sounds absolutely terrible! It completely blows my mind that parents are willing to completely disregard the advice of doctors in favor of parenting manuals written by people who have no medical expertise. Scary!
Ashton
She is seriously SOO SOO CUTE! I don’t know anything about schedules or babies, really…I just come to your blog to look at Brooke now. Even if you stopped typing and just put up her pictures, I’d stop by here religiously.
Jaeme + Randy
All the pediatricians I have worked for recommend Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby. Babywise is very strict and a little over the top in my opinion, especially if you aren’t good with schedules. But honestly, I haven’t tried to get Kate on any schedule yet so I can’t talk from personal experience, only work experience :p.
Jaeme + Randy
Sorry I think its Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child
Lisa
She is stinking cute!!! We read baby wise ourselves with our first. Re-read with second and third when we went to with the fourth we started finding that there are a lot of people out there that take it to extremes. It has some good ideas and techniques. My recommendation is to read it but do what you are comfortable with and what fits with your (all three of you) personalities. Good luck, and remember that it could take time to find your groove. Pray for the best, prepare for the worst. Good luck!
Lisa
Side note, I considered my kids as sleeping through the night when they would get up for nursing but go right back to bed. I would do everything I could to discourage them from wanting to stay up and play. We kept the lights low or off, just enough for a diaper change, and kept it nice and quiet. We got them to go back to sleep right after feeding.
Lindsay
I say read and try what you want (I’ve read and tried it all with four children) but trust your instincts. It just hurts too much sometimes when those babies are crying, but eventually they are old enough that it feels okay to let it happen to some extent. For me, that’s when they are closer to a year. I try to do what I can before then, but it seems with nursing especially, they are just gonna take a while to sleep really well. Mine don’t sleep through the night until after a year if they are still nursing, and naps are not always great either. I feel like that’s just how it is, and I try to accept it. Good luck!
Madeline @ Food Fitness and Family
I actually loved the Happiest Baby on the Block over Baby Wise … however, I used parts from both. We started getting a “loose” schedule around 8 weeks. We followed the “eat, play, sleep” mindset and it worked for us. Emmalyne started sleeping 7-8 hours at a time around 4 months old. I think the biggest thing is just to watch your baby’s tired cues and follow them. You’ll see that Brooke naturally puts herself on a schedule for you! Good luck :)
Jade
Not sure what Babywise is? I breastfed (babies need to eat more often), so
my daughter Braelyn I think was at 3months when she slept through the night. I followed her schedule pretty much, but it seemed to match up with ours, so I think doing the same thing every day got us synched up (? make sense) My husband didn’t get home until 8pm, so she went to bed about 9pm with last feeding, wakes up at 2am for feeding, and slept until 9ish am, woke up ate, nap at 11-2ish, wake up and awake most of the afternoon, napped at 4-6ish, and awake until bedtime. As she got older I realized that if she missed her naps, she would NOT sleep at night, and at 2.5years old it’s still like that, if she’s overtired at night, it’s guarenteed she’ll be up lots at night.
kderoll
I read Babywise and gave the cliftnotes version to everyone else. Basically we took away two points. Fist, eat, play and then sleep. The hardest part was keeping her awake while and after sleeping. Second, don’t help her sleep. In the beginning we would try everything to get her to sleep at night and she’d fall asleep on my chest, but then if I moved her to the crib she’d wake up. At about three weeks we just put her in the crib and after awhile she’d go to sleep. I don’t remember when she started “sleeping through the night;” I still don’t know exactly what that means. It gradually just got longer and longer and one day I woke up at 7 a.m., thanked my husband for getting up with her last night and he said that he didn’t get up. Now she is 5 months and sleeps about 10-11 hours at night. Our night-time routine consists of one of us saying, “looks like its bed time”, we say goodnight, put her in the crib and she goes to sleep. Sometimes she’ll lay there and talk or squalk for a bit, but she falls asleep on her own.
susan
I think under 3 months it is not appropriate to sleep train – especially for breast fed babies. If you let her, she will guide her to the schedule that works best for her (and you). I have a 9 month old who is a great sleeper (I just need to work on the husband and the dog). He still wakes up one or two times a week after we put him to bed (6:30ish pm to 7ish am) and then CHUGS a bottle and immediately goes back down (usually he also has a dirty diaper). I figure he needs it and it is not a consistent thing.
I do think it helps to get on a schedule for breast feeding and try to make a larger feeding before you put her down for the night. Usually the first chunk of sleep you get will be the longest. If she “snacks” all day, she is less likely to sleep for longer periods.
If you are happy with the way things are going, don’t worry about it! It will all work out in time. I think you need to work on sleep scheduling when YOU need more sleep!
I loved “The Happiest Baby on the Block” by Karp. It was the only book I read specifically geared towards kids 0-3 months. I also read Ferber and Weisbluth. You take something from everyone and figure out what works best for you and your family.
Laura
A schedule didn’t seem to work until my baby was in the 3 to 4 month range. I used the general ideas from the book “Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Baby”. Worked tremendously well. Baby started to almost sleep through the night around 4-4.5 months and was a completely solid sleeper by 5 to 6 months. Plus he was super colicky so that book worked miracles for me! Good luck!!
Melissa
Personally, I think that the only way babies know how to tell us what they need is by their cries…and I could never ignore my babies when they were “in need”. I let all four of them dictate their schedule…and we all turned out just fine. I never felt sleep deprived or frazzled. I never had any problem transitioning them to their own beds, they eventually figured out how to put themselves to sleep, they ate when they were hungry….it all just worked itself out.
One book that I remember liking was by T. Berry Brazelton. I don’t even remember the title. My ‘baby’ is now 12 and my oldest is 18…so it has been a long while since I’ve had tiny ones.
Alex
My daughter is 10 months and sleeps 7pm-3am, nurses, then sleeps til 6:30am-ish. I wish she would sleep through the wee hours but I figure breastfeeding is the best nutrition I can provide for her and if she needs a midnight snack so be it. I trust my instincts and she’s on a pretty regular schedule these days but she set it herself.
Mere
Congrats on the baby! She is a cutie and I love all of that hair! My hubby and I had our first baby in July and have been doing Baby Wise. Our Dr. said it was a great book and we have really enjoyed it. She is not sleeping through the night just yet but is on a pretty good routine. I have learned that my baby LOVES a schedule so we try to stick to it! Best of luck!
Lindsey
Oh boy, one thing about having babies is there are an infinite number of opinions because every baby is a bit different. And that’s the thing. No one knows your baby. You do. So, read some books maybe Baby Wise (meh not my favorite), maybe Happiest Baby on the Block (good for the 5 soothing things), maybe Healthy Sleep Habits (pretty good), Secrets of the Baby Whisperer (mostly good) etc. I read them all. I have two kids who were crappy sleepers. Either you get good sleepers or you don’t. You can’t parent good sleeping all the time. You can help or hinder by doing or not doing a few things but mostly just establish a routine (things in the same order not at a set time) that’s a good thing for everyone in general but don’t be a crazy person about it and just do what you can live with. If you have some habits you’re fine with, then fine. If not, then find a philosophy you are comfortable with that doesn’t make you feel guilty and use those to fix things. (read: if you read something and you feel like a terrible mother throw the book away). This is a good article too: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jj-keith/new-moms_b_1850227.html Good luck, you’ll be fine!
Laura
I’m a go with the flow kinda gal with my baby. Whether or not you do decide to sleep train (I haven’t yet, haven’t felt the need to do anything structured really) now is FAR too young. Babies as young as yours shouldn’t be sleep trained, they don’t understand what’s going on. Letting them cry is just cruel. Cruel cruel. I’m sorry but I don’t know how anybody could let a 1 or 2 month old baby “cry it out”.
I’d suggest for now just snuggle your baby, swaddle her, rock her, nurse her – do whatever to make her sleep peacefully. When she gets closer to the 6 month point, then if she has sleep issues you can look into options. Ferber is highly recommended by many. But I believe he recommends babies should be at least 4 months of age before trying any training.
For me, my LO is 5 months old and she doesn’t STTN. However I am nursing her so i suspect that is why. She wakes once or twice, eats (takes 10 mins now that she’s older) and goes right back down.
Hope breastfeeding is going well for you! I recall the first few weeks of breastfeeding being quite hellish for me. Though now I love it.
Oh and Brooke is so freakin adorable. I just can’t get over that head of hair she has, it is so so cute!!!
Lori
No books here and no sleep training or props. Honestly I don’t believe in it. I let my baby lead the way and we were both happy, and he turned into a great sleeper. I never let him “cry it out” and I think you cannot “spoil” a baby. But I also think it is a matter of preference and what you think works for you. You’re already my hero!
Carissa Pugmire
I am the same way..go with the flow. I made sure my kids always had their naps but they were sleeping through the night by 4 weeks. My response will be of no help since I didn’t use any “program”. However, I swear by swaddling. This is why both my babies were such amazing sleepers. I swaddled them so tightly and they loved it. When it comes down to it though, whatever works for you and your baby is better than anything that worked for anyone else!She is adorable! Such a lucky little girl to have a mom that loves her so much!
Shannon
My kids are now 11 and 14 (yeah an old-ster); they never cried it out. I don’t believe in it…this little tiny person that you made wants YOU for comfort; you don’t leave them alone in a crib. Ouch!!! My kids slept with me for 6 months in our bed so I could nurse easily and go back to sleep. We never rolled over on them and we were always super aware of where they were. Actually, each one nearly always ended up sleeping right under my arm (no matter where they started).
Was my sleep whole or fantastic? NO. Was I rested and refreshed every morning? NO. Would I go back and do it all again for just a few minutes with those precious little angels sleeping under my arms, waiting to nurse every few hours? HECK YEAH!!
They grow up so, so, so fast!!! It is heartbreaking. It seems like yesterday my 11 yr old son was a baby. A baby!! Now he’s 5′ tall, 95 pounds of sweaty, athletic, b.o.y. Don’t push them out of your arms. It’s 100% natural for them to want to be with you. Both kids cherish a bedtime with my husband, now. You can’t spoil them and honestly, if you spoil your children with your time, is that really such an awful thing? Neither of us mind one bit that they want a little alone/talking time with us.
My daughter is 14 and I rocked her to sleep every night (even after she stopped nursing) until she was 3 (then my hubby took over cause I was nursing my son). It was my time with her; quiet and peaceful. I would do that again, too!! Hold them in your arms every minute you can, Janae. It goes by way too fast!
Honestly, I am teary as I write this. It was the most amazing time with them. Now they’re big, sassy, smelly and still quite lovable; but in a totally different way.
Off my soap box now! :)
All the best with that precious gift from God!
Ashley @ My Food N Fitness Diaries
Janae, just re-read this post as my little guy is now 5 weeks old and am having the same questions… Did you ever end up following any sort of “schedule”, method, or training to help Brooke sleep?