Hi @Jessica –
Thank you for writing to us and we hope that things are continuing to go well as you continue to gently teach your little one to sleep on his own! We’d love to help, and in a nutshell, both of your plans for how to handle when he pops up out of bed are good ones! Laying him back down at set intervals of time, as well as being quiet while you are there are great ideas. Some parents will move a bit away from the crib, to avoid the close and direct eye contact which may seem awkward. Ou can also think about using a few key sleepytime words at times too if this does not seem to engage him further.
If things aren’t going smoothly, and you’d like more help, I’d recommend that you consider our VIP Members Area subscription, or one of our email or phone consultation packages, where you can get expert help from one of our consultants. : )
Please contact us at any time for more info! Good luck Jessica!

I don’t believe in the Cry It Out or Controlled Comforting (Ferber) methods because of the crying and I feel it does not give the baby a chance to LEARN and OBEY rather than just helplessly flailing until they master it. I want a way to advance while staying in the room (if possible), and communicating clear messages to my baby without remonving all his sleep props at once.

My question is: I have been putting him on his back EVERY time he gets up/starts doing something to distract himself. He cried a lot at first but got over it & barely seems to notice now. But I want to wean him off of that – but don’t know how. I want him to be able to put himself to sleep independently eventually. But I don’t want to just stop everything cold turkey. But I also don’t want him to stand in the crib & stare at me where I am standing and I just don’t respond.

I am thinking…set a time interval & only put him on his back at taht interval. Also, just stand there even if he pulls up on the crib to look at me without saying or doing anything. Do you think this eye contact/my non-responsiveness by just standing there will be confusing for him, and do you think this will be effective?

We have a very strong bedtime & naptime routines that have been in place for several months. He starts yawning immediately whne the routines start so I know he knows it’s bedtime. He does fuss when I go to the bathroom or walk out of sight, however, so I think he is experiencing a little bit of separation anxiety.

I just don’t know what the next GENTLE step is that I can take to get him to falling asleep independently in the crib. Without me leaving the room or doing anything abrupt. I want to transition him/teach him slowly & carefully. 🙂 Thanks again!

Hi @Liz, thanks for writing to us. I’m sorry you’ve been struggling with your 5 month old’s short naps! Here is a link to an article explaining different causes for short naps that you may find helpful: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-naps-2/short-baby-naps-explained/
You’ll find additional links at the bottom of the article as well that will take you to more helpful and related information. Should things persist and you need more focused help, please let us know! We have a TON of other resources and want to help you conquer these short naps because you all need it!! Feel free to contact us directly anytime at contact@babysleepsite.com and we would love to help more from there. Hope this helps!

Hi @Jenn –
Thank you for writing to us! We have worked with quite a few parents of fussy, colicky babies, and also lots and lots with reflux, unfortunately. : (
We will definitely work within your babies schedule which require4s him to not be laid down right after a feed, and we will always work with his abilities and development, as well as take care to be careful not to aggravate his stomach/reflux. You may want to get a green light from your son’s healthcare provider first, just to make sure that he is able to begin learning some new sleep habits in gentle ways. I do believe you will benefit from one of our Sleep Consultation packages, where we will work with you on a detailed plan you can commit to and feel good about.
You can read about all of our sleep consultation packages and purchase directly online here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/services
We look forward to working with you and helping you and your family sleep! Please contact us if you need any help getting started!

Hi @Chole, thanks for writing! Part of my answer is that it will depend on the age of your baby. Some of the night wakings may be a need to eat, so you’ll have to make sure you feed at the appropriate times (if applicable). Whatever you choose to do for the rest of the night wakings (or if you find that your baby doesn’t settle after a feeding) will be up to you. If it were me, personally, I would stay consistent with the sleep training method I chose for the initial bedtime. I hope this helps and good luck!

Hi @Ania, thanks for getting back to me! I’ll reply to all of your comments in one. 🙂 First of all, here is the link to the 4 month schedule: https://www.babysleepsite.com/schedules/4-month-old-schedule/
All babies will have sleep patterns that change around 4 months, but not all babies will have this huge reaction to it, so if it seems like nothing is happening, then consider yourself lucky! My first was a very easy sleeper and then I was hit with a reality check when I had my second, ha! So all babies are different in how they react and adjust to changes in their little bodies.
In regards to that last feeding, it is totally up to you. I looked back at your original comment and saw after that feed she is only waking up about 2 times a night, which is normal at this age, so it doesn’t sound like there’s really anything wrong. With my first (easy sleeper) I nursed him to sleep until I weaned him from breastfeeding at 16 months, because he would sleep through the night and only wake up an age-appropriate amount of time. So nursing to sleep wasn’t a “problem” for him. With my second, that became a habit for him (“Sleep association” is what it’s commonly called) and he started waking up more frequently out of habit, needing to be nursed back to sleep, so I was getting up way more than I should! So I decided that was a problem for us, so I taught him to fall asleep on his own. So you may decide to wait a bit and decide. If she starts waking up more frequently, it may be time to take that step and put her down drowsy, rather than asleep. I hope this helps!

Hi I can’t find a link to 4month old schedule