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Hi Maria,
Thanks for sharing so much detail about your little one’s sleep. It sounds like you’re doing a great job tuning into her needs and creating a responsive routine.
Unfortunately at this age, there isn’t a set sleep schedule because sleep is largely driven by sleep pressure, which is influenced by factors like how long and restful the previous nap was, what activities she was engaged in during her wake periods, and a few other variables. The best approach right now is to combine your knowledge of her unique cues with age-appropriate wake windows and the general patterns that tend to emerge. In the module titled How to Read Your Baby’s Cues to Know Exactly When It’s Sleep Time, I walk you through this process step by step. Have you had a chance to watch this module?
One thing I will say is that at 7 weeks, you may notice that she doesn’t always follow the wake-feed-play-sleep cycle during the daytime. She might just wake up, feed, and then fall straight back to sleep. This is completely normal at this age. Over the coming weeks, you’ll likely see her gradually having more awake time after feeds, and that’s when you can start following the wake-feed-play-sleep routine more consistently during the day.
Although there’s no fixed nap schedule at this stage, you can encourage a more predictable rhythm by waking her at the same time each morning (within about a 30-minute window). Doing this helps reset her still-developing circadian rhythm, making that first nap of the day more consistent. Over time, as the first nap falls into place, the rest of the day’s naps will start to follow a more regular pattern as well.
Another benefit of a consistent morning wake time is that it supports the maturation of her circadian rhythm, which in turn helps bedtime become more predictable and encourages longer stretches of sleep overnight.
You mentioned that you’re not yet following a nap routine and that you’re currently helping her fall asleep in your arms as you walk around. Although it may seem like a small change, introducing a simple nap routine now can help make it easier to transition her to falling asleep in the crib over time. Would you be happy to tweak the way you’re currently helping her fall asleep slightly when you’re at home? A routine like this could help:
- Wrap her in her swaddle.
- Walk into your bedroom, dim the lights, and turn on the white noise machine.
- Hold her in your arms while gently walking around and singing a lullaby or song.
- Once the lullaby ends, continue holding her while walking, but add gentle bottom pats and shushing.
- As she starts to calm, gradually reduce your movements:
- Stop walking and just continue patting and shushing.
- Then stop patting while continuing to shush.
- Finally, stop shushing—all before she falls asleep.
By gradually reducing the amount of movement and input she relies on to fall asleep, you’ll be helping her learn to settle more independently. This approach not only makes the transition to the settling pyramid smoother when you’re ready but can also make it easier to transfer her to the crib if she falls asleep in your arms.
If you feel ready to try the settling pyramid now, you can take the next step by placing her in the crib right after finishing the lullaby, rather than continuing to hold her.
Does this sound possible?
Emma