[Emma H]

Hi Anastasia,

Your little one will find it easier to fall asleep using the settling pyramid with less resistance if they’re tired. If you know that your little one typically stays awake for around 60 minutes before needing a nap, and their nap routine takes about 5 minutes, I suggest starting the nap routine after they’ve been awake for 55 minutes. This way, they’ll be in the crib when they’re tired rather than when they’re not, which helps minimise protests.

As for how long to persist with the settling pyramid, 30 minutes is a reasonable timeframe to attempt before switching to your usual settling method if it’s not working. Babies can sometimes take up to 20 minutes to fall asleep, but if you’ve tried for 30 minutes without success, it’s a good idea to provide comfort and try again later.

I hope this helps!

Emma

[Emma H]

Hi Katerina,

It’s great to hear that Helen is doing well and has started to take longer morning naps.

If Helen can fall asleep on her own in the crib, continues to have that longer morning sleep (indicating she can link sleep cycles), and isn’t waking frequently during the night, then picking her up briefly during her afternoon nap or when she wakes occasionally at 11 PM or 5 AM is perfectly fine.

One thing you might consider is pausing when she first wakes to see if she can fall back asleep on her own. If she becomes distressed and needs your help, you could try some of the less hands-on settling techniques, such as shushing or patting, before picking her up.

This approach can help her learn to fall back asleep independently over time.

Does this make sense?

Emma

• This reply was modified 1 year, 10 months ago by  Emma H.

[Emma H]

Hi Vivian,

It’s great that your little one has learned to roll over. But as you have noticed, this can impact sleep.

Here are a few tips that might help:

1. Practice Rolling Over: During the day, help him practice rolling from tummy to back. This can help him become more comfortable and skilled at rolling over, making him less likely to get stuck and upset at night or during naps.
2. Adjust the Sleeping Environment: Ensure the crib environment is safe and free of loose items. Using a firm mattress and keeping the crib clear of toys or blankets can prevent any hazards when your baby is rolling around.
3. Consider His Sleeping Position: It’s not uncommon for babies to start sleeping on their tummies once they roll over. You mentioned you can’t settle him using the settling pyramid. Are you trying this while he is lying on his tummy, or have you rolled him back onto his back? If you have rolled him back onto his back, would you consider leaving him when he rolls over onto his tummy and using the settling pyramid to help him fall asleep in this position if needed?
4. Continue to Pause During Nighttime Disturbances: When he wakes early in the morning and gets upset, it’s great that you’re waiting before intervening. Continuing to give him a chance to self-soothe is key. If he remains upset, gently soothing him or rolling him back might help until he adjusts to this new skill. However, try to avoid creating new sleep associations (like feeding) that might be challenging to break later on.
5. Be Patient: This phase should improve as he becomes more comfortable with rolling

I hope that helps,

Emma

[Emma H]

Hi Sarah,

My little one is a lot better now. She just caught a virus, got bronchitis, and started to find breathing challenging. She has recovered now, which is great. She is back to her bubbly self!

It’s great that your little one’s starting to settle in the crib with some shushing and patting. Even if he still falls asleep while you’re walking him around, that’s a positive step forward, as this type of sleep association can be easier to modify.

In the coming weeks, try singing a lullaby as you gently walk him around the room, gradually reducing the amount of walking. For example, you might sing to him while walking just once around the room and then put him down in the crib while he’s still awake and use the settling pyramid to help him fall asleep on his own.

It’s also great to hear that he’s beginning to have longer stretches of sleep. Although sleep patterns for babies around 3 months old start to become more predictable, you might still notice quite a bit of variability, which is completely normal as their sleep habits continue to develop.

The timing of feeding before bedtime really depends on your baby. The key is to make sure he doesn’t fall asleep while feeding. If he stays awake during a later feed, that’s fine. However, if he falls asleep during this late feed, moving the feeding to an earlier part of the bedtime routine would be better.

I hope that helps!

Emma

[Emma H]

Hi Jennifer,

Waking up after an overnight feed and staying awake isn’t ideal, but it’s pretty common.

This situation is often called a “split night,” where the baby’s sleep pressure (which builds during wakefulness) is out of sync with their circadian rhythm (the natural cycle that regulates sleep). Normally, sleep pressure helps your baby fall and stay asleep until the circadian rhythm takes over to keep them asleep until morning. However, if these are misaligned, your baby might wake up after the sleep pressure decreases and then remain awake until it builds up enough for them fall back asleep.

Here are some strategies that could help with split nights:

1. Check Daytime Sleep: Babies between 4-6 months generally need 12-15 hours of total sleep over 24 hours. Too much daytime sleep can mean less need for nighttime sleep, leading to waking periods during the night. It sounds like her naps, totalling 2 to 2.5 hours, are within a normal range, so excessive daytime sleep might not be the issue.

2. Adjust Bedtime: On average, babies at this age sleep about 10-12 hours each night. If her bedtime is too early, she may end up awake in the early hours. For example, a 6:30 pm bedtime with a 7:30 am wake-up is 13 hours in bed, which may be too long if she only needs 10 hours of sleep. I don’t believe this is the primary issue here, but to make sure, could you let me know what her bedtime is? And what time she wakes up overnight?

3. Encourage Independent Sleeping: Learning to fall asleep independently can greatly improve sleep patterns. Once she gets the hang of it, those overnight wake-ups and long periods of being awake might reduce naturally. Plus, once she can fall asleep on her own her naps will lengthen, possibly allowing for a later bedtime, which might help her sleep more soundly through the night.

I hope that makes it a bit clearer for you.

Emma

[Emma H]

Hey Vivian,

It’s great to hear that your little one is adjusting to sleeping on his tummy, though I understand the scream-crying before naps and sometimes during the day can be quite worrisome.

Firstly, if he is scream-crying throughout the day and this is a new behaviour, it’s important to consult his doctor to ensure he is healthy—perhaps check his ears or for other common issues. While it’s normal for babies to go through phases of fussiness, they should also have times in the day where they are happy and content to play. So, if the crying is constant, a visit to the doctor can help rule out any underlying problems.

If the scream-crying isn’t constant and occurs only at certain times during the day, it might be his new way of communicating to you his needs. For example he might do it to let you know that he is bored, hungry, tired or uncomfortable.

If the scream-crying isn’t occurring all day, it usually happens at sleep time for a couple of reasons:

• He might not be tired enough: If he continues to scream-cry for a prolonged period while you’re trying to get him to sleep and it takes more than 20 minutes to fall asleep, he may not be ready for sleep. You might need to extend his wake window slightly to ensure he’s tired enough to fall asleep.

• It could be his way of saying he is tired: If he calms down and falls asleep within 20 minutes, the crying is likely just his way of signalling that he’s tired.

To help him through this stage you just want to continue doing what you have been doing:

• Maintain a calm sleeping environment: Ensure his sleeping area is cool, dark, and free from sudden loud noises.

• Stick to a consistent nap and bedtime routine: Predictable nap and bedtime routines will signal to him that it’s time to wind down.

• Continue using the settling pyramid: At this age, he might be more aware of his surroundings, so it could be helpful to try putting him down in the crib and then leaving the room to complete the ‘Watch and Listen’ step outside the room. You can use a baby monitor to keep an eye on him, similar to what I demonstrated in the “Live Example – Reading Cues at 5 Months of Age” video.

• Give him the space to fall asleep: It takes time for babies to fall asleep, and in that process of falling asleep they might move around (trying to get comfortable) and call out. If he screams out and then pauses, just give him some space to try and fall asleep. But if he screams out and there are no pauses, then he is telling you he needs your help. At this point, you would go back into the room and start to move up the pyramid.

• Try to reduce the rocking: If you need to pick him up to calm him, try to put him back in the crib when he’s calm and then step down the pyramid to encourage self-soothing.

• Regular wake-up times: Keeping a consistent wake-up time each morning helps regulate his sleep patterns.

At this age, short catnaps are normal, but consistently using these strategies will help him develop the ability to link sleep cycles as he grows.

I hope that helps!

Emma

[Emma H]

Hey Maddie,

It’s so exciting that she has learned to roll over! I love seeing them start to move around!

Leg lifting and slamming are common in babies. As you mentioned, it can be a self-soothing technique. It can also happen because she is simply playing. She now has the core strength to lift her legs, and the crib mattresses, though firm, are great for bouncing their legs up and down!

It’s usually best to ignore it unless she starts crying or seems distressed, as this gives her space to fall back asleep.

I just wanted to quickly ask—if you place her in her crib during the day for some play, does she lift her legs and slam them down, or is this only something she does at night? If it’s only happening at night, do you feel like it is keeping her awake or waking her up?

Emma

[Emma H]

Hi Elen,

Staying at someone else’s house can make it a bit tricky to follow your usual bedtime routine. However, there are a few things you can do to help her fall asleep more easily:

1. Make the room dark: When you arrive, check the room where she’ll be sleeping. Turn off the lights, close the blinds, and see if it’s dark enough. If there’s still light, use portable blackout blinds. I usually bring two portable blinds when I travel. Remove any light sources you can.

2. Bring her white noise machine: Try to replicate her home sleeping environment. If she uses a white noise machine, bring it along.

3. Follow the same bedtime and nap routine: If possible, stick to the same nap and bedtime routine. This will cue her that sleep is coming, which might make her less likely to resist when you leave the room.

4. Shift nap and bedtime slightly later on the first day: It’s not uncommon for toddlers to protest more when they are placed in an unfamiliar environment to fall asleep. One way you can reduce the likelihood that she will protest is by shifting her nap time and bedtime 15 minutes later that first day. This will just increase the chances that she will be very tired when it’s nap time or bedtime and she will fall asleep without much fuss.

5. Reduce Environmental Noise and Your Discomfort – On the first day, see if you can have everyone move to the room farthest from where she’s sleeping or head outside to the backyard while she’s falling asleep. This can be challenging, but if possible, it can alleviate your concerns about her being upset on the first day she gets used to the new sleeping environment.

I hope you enjoy your time at your brother-in-law’s!

Emma

[Emma H]

It’s my pleasure!

[Emma H]

No worries! Hopefully my answer was not to difficult to understand

[Emma H]

Hi Anastasia,
I hope today went more smoothly!

Remember, learning to fall asleep in her sleep space is a skill your little one is developing, and it takes time and plenty of practice.

Just take it one sleep at a time!

Emma

[Emma H]

Hi Jennifer,

Thanks so much for answering my questions.

From these responses I think the reason she stays awake for 2 hours after an overnight feed is because she’s not tired, as she has already had a large chunk of sleep. As a result, she is staying awake from a full wake window to build up enough sleep pressure to fall back asleep.

I also agree that it’s very likely your husband finds it easier to settle her to sleep because she has been awake for 2 hours and is then tired enough to fall asleep.

Teaching her to fall asleep independently in her crib could make a big difference. Typically, once babies learn to self-soothe and fall asleep independently, they naturally reduce their overnight wakes because they can fall back to sleep between sleep cycles on their own.

You mentioned that your husband has successfully used the settling pyramid to help her fall asleep for her morning nap. Are you happy to start using this technique for bedtime and any other naps she has in the crib during the day?

Once she learns to fall asleep on her own in the crib, I expect those overnight feeds will start to reduce and her naps will start to lengthen again.

Does that make sense?

Emma

[Emma H]

Hi Angela,

It’s so good to hear that she’s settling well in her sleeping bag. Sucking on her hands and stroking the back of her head can definitely be self-soothing behaviours.

It’s also great that you’ve been able to help her fall asleep with less rocking and sometimes just with shushing. And that you’re able to calm her back to sleep with a pacifier and some gentle patting if she wakes up after you put her in the crib.

Regarding her earlier wake-ups overnight, it could indeed be related to hunger, especially if she’s having a longer feed at these new times and falling back to sleep after the feed.

Hopefully, the coming weeks keep getting easier.

Emma

[Emma H]

Hi Emma,

It’s fantastic that you’ve identified your little one’s CMPI and that he is starting to settle better without dairy. Did the person who diagnosed him give you an estimate on how long it might take for dairy to be fully out of his system?

You should find that, once the dairy is completely out of his system, he will be easier to settle and sleep for longer stretches. It might be a good idea to hold off on trying the settling pyramid until his body has fully adjusted to being dairy-free.

It’s great that he’s content when placed in his crib and that he’s comfortable with you shushing and patting him. When you say he’s not responding, do you mean he’s happily looking around the room and playing (indicating he isn’t tired), or that he occasionally cries and is tired but can’t settle to sleep? If it’s the second scenario, is his bedroom dark enough that you can’t read a book? Making the room darker might help him fall asleep more easily and reduce the time you spend shushing and patting him. Babies can take up to 20 minutes to fall asleep, so if he’s content, remember to move back down the pyramid rather than continuing to shush and pat him.

I do have a video on YT that shows you how to teach a bub to roll from his tummy to his back. In this video it also shows you have to roll them over. Here is the link:https://youtu.be/H9O0cPh2bsM

I hope this helps!

Emma

[Emma H]

Hi Elen,

It sounds like moving the nap time later is really helping your little one.

It’s fantastic that you’re giving her a chance to settle herself back to sleep when she cries out during naps. I expect that as she gets used to this new nap schedule, the crying before and during naps will decrease and eventually stop.

She may have cried at bedtime because she wasn’t tired enough to fall asleep. Pushing her bedtime later could be beneficial in ensuring she’s ready for sleep.

As for waking her up at 6:30 am, I recommend sticking with this since it aligns with her natural wake-up time.

The reason behind shifting her nap time later was because she wasn’t falling asleep at 11:30 am, which suggested she hadn’t been awake long enough to build sufficient sleep pressure. By delaying her nap, you’ve increased her morning wake window, allowing her enough time to feel naturally sleepy, and this adjustment also syncs well with the natural dip in her circadian rhythm. Now that she’s napping later into the afternoon, it’s necessary to shift her bedtime back so that she has enough awake time to build up the sleep pressure to fall asleep at bedtime and stay asleep.

Does that make sense?

Emma