Reply To: Struggling to apply settling pyramid during 4 month sleep regression at night sl

[Emma H]

Hi Giedrė!

I’m so happy to hear that things are improving with bedtime and nighttime sleep—well done!

Thank you for tracking and sharing all those details. Based on what you’ve described, it looks like her wake windows have naturally stretched, to around 3 hours in the evening. It’s great to see that her bedtime is settling consistently between 8:00 – 8:30 PM.

Evening Wake Window and Bedtime

To help keep bedtime smooth and easy, I recommend maintaining that final wake window at around 3 hours. This means ensuring she’s awake from her last nap by 5:30 PM at the latest, which will help her be ready for sleep around 8:30 PM.

Extending the First Nap

I noticed you mentioned that her first naps are sometimes shorter, which can impact the timing of her third nap. One strategy to extend that morning nap is to gradually stretch her first wake window. Instead of having her first nap at 8 AM after waking at 6 AM, try gradually pushing that nap to around 8:30 AM. Sometimes, a slightly longer wake window in the morning can result in a longer, more restorative nap.

If pushing her wake window by 30 minutes all at once feels too challenging, you can adjust it in smaller increments. For example, extend her first wake window by 15 minutes for a few days, then add another 15 minutes after that. Once you reach an 8:30 AM nap time, keep it consistent for about 3 days to see if it positively impacts the length of that first nap.

Managing the Third and Fourth Naps

Since the fourth nap is becoming difficult, it’s perfectly fine to let her have a longer third nap when needed instead. If you find that a longer third nap followed by an earlier bedtime works better, I would definitely continue with that pattern.

Using the Settling Pyramid After 6 Months Of Age

Regarding your question about whether the settling pyramid will continue to work after 6 months of age—yes, it can definitely still be effective as your baby grows. However, you may need to make a slight adjustment as she becomes more aware of her surroundings.

As babies get older, they can become more aware of their environment, and having you in the room during the settling process can sometimes be distracting or even distressing for them. If you notice this happening, you might want to modify the settling pyramid by adjusting how you complete the “watch and listen” step.

Here’s how to adapt the approach:

1. Complete the usual bedtime or nap routine, place her in the crib, and then leave the room. At this point, instead of staying in the room, you’ll observe her from outside, using a monitor.

2. When you’re watching from outside the room, keep in mind that if she calls out but pauses between her call-outs, it doesn’t necessarily mean she needs you right away. Often, this is just her way of adjusting to the new routine or settling herself. Babies can take up to 20 minutes to fall asleep, so giving her space is often helpful.

3. However, if she calls out continuously without pauses, that’s a sign she may need your support. At this point, you would enter the room and move up and down the settling pyramid steps as needed. Once you’re back in the room, it’s best to stay until she falls asleep, as opening and closing the bedroom door can be distracting and alerting, making it difficult for her to fall asleep.

My Daughter’s Sleep

Thank you for asking about how things are going with my little one!

Regarding her sleep, I’ve definitely encountered the usual challenges that come with growth spurts, teething, and sickness—these can naturally cause some disruptions. During these times, my focus has been on staying as consistent as possible with her usual sleep routine, which has really helped minimize the need for retraining afterwards.

If she was uncomfortable due to teething (which meant she was also uncomfortable during the day and clingy) or sick (evident through coughing or a constant runny nose ), I would give her pain relief if needed before naps and bedtime, then proceed with her usual routine. Sometimes, I would rock her a bit longer, but I always tried to put her down awake in her crib, helping her fall asleep with gentle patting if needed. This way, she maintained her ability to self-settle even if she needed a bit more support in the moment.

I was also careful not to introduce a night feed if it wasn’t previously needed. As introducing a feed when it wasn’t needed overnight could have created a new sleep association, resulting in the need to ‘retrain’ if she didn’t naturally return to sleeping without it once she was well again. Instead, I would settle her back to sleep in my arms if needed and then put her back in the crib.

When she moved into her own room around 12 months, there were occasions where I’d sleep on a mattress in her room if she was very unwell (like when she had croup). This allowed me to be close by without changing her sleep environment or routine, so when she got better, she could easily return to her usual pattern.

Overall, I’ve had about 12 occasions now (which have lasted 3 – 7 days) where I had to provide more comfort than usual when she was unwell or in pain. However, she naturally returned to her usual sleeping pattern once she was well again or those teeth came through!

I hope this helps!

Emma