5 month old sleep needs

[MM321]

Does this look about right? Top line is total sleep, second is night sleep then bottom is day sleep. Baby is 5m and still wakes in the night for feeds. Goes down about 7.30pm (give or take about 20 mins), feeds at 11pm and 3am, wakes at 6.30/7am and naps 3 times a day.

His wake windows vary - usually shorter one (1h45mins ish) before first nap the after that he can do anything from 2/3 hours depending on the day. Naps can be anything from 30mins to 2 hours.

I have a couple of friends with kids about the same age and they’re telling me he should be having a total of 15-16hours sleep in 24h still?! I’m assuming this is just an “every child is different” situation?

(The Maximum sleep on there is the day after vaccinations so that was a one off 😊)

[ElphabaTheGreen]

Oh my days...sack that app! Why on earth are you tracking sleep like that? Just be led by your baby, sleep cues, behaviour after being asleep/awake etc. If someone comes on and says, ‘Hm, far too little sleep!’ what are you realistically going to do, unless the app sedates your baby as well? You’re going to drive yourself mad keeping a log like that. The best advice I got with my non-sleepers was ‘don’t look at the clock during night wakings - it doesn’t stop them waking, it just makes you feel desperate’. I only paid attention to that with my second and it made a world of difference to how I felt about the whole awful situation.

[MM321]

@ElphabaTheGreen We only use the app to track baby’s day 😊 it actually started just tracking nappies because baby was having issues with constipation on reflux medication. We 100% just follow sleepy cues and hunger cues. But if I leave DH with baby for the morning of whatever, I come back and have no idea what’s gone on because DH has a memory like a sieve 😅 It can have been say 3 hours and DH can’t tell me if baby finished his feed, if he changed a dirty nappy, or what time baby went down to nap. Baby can’t link sleep cycles during the day at all so I prefer to be on hand to help get him through to the next. Sometimes works he continues napping, other times he’s wide awake and smiley I assume nap is finished. It was really just out of interest to see what other people’s babies were like 😊 I can’t force more sleep on mine 😅

[Fullofthejoysofspring]

I did this with my first - used an app to track everything and literally sent myself crazy. DC4 is 12 weeks and I haven't tracked a single thing since the early feeding schedule (she had jaundice). I can tell by listening to her and looking at her if she's tired or not, or if she's hungry or needs a nappy change. Like you say, you can't force a baby to sleep so I wouldn't stress yourself out with this.

[ElphabaTheGreen]

But if I leave DH with baby for the morning of whatever, I come back and have no idea what’s gone on because DH has a memory like a sieve 😅 It can have been say 3 hours and DH can’t tell me if baby finished his feed, if he changed a dirty nappy, or what time baby went down to nap.

But why do you need to know if your baby is clearly still alive and well having been left with your DH?

Honestly, tracking all of that on an app is madness. You’re generating a lot of completely unnecessary pressure for yourself for things you have no control over.

[daffodilsandprimroses]

If it’s the huckleberry app then everyone here has been recommending it for a while. I didn’t find it brilliant but ds does his own thing I have learned

[MetalRat]

I’m guilty of using something similar It’s useful for nap timing (currently also working on linking sleep cycles). @MM321 your sleep times are similar to our nearly 6 month DD, did you go through 4 month regression?
We’re also feeling the 15hr in 24 sleep thing pressure (initially from our HV) but we vary from 10 to 13 hours). It feels like DD is slowly getting better (and the app proves it) but my god she’s a rotten sleeper!

[MM321]

@Fullofthejoysofspring @ElphabaTheGreen I was just asking out of interest to see what other babies of similar age are like 😊 as I said, we go completely off of his sleep/hunger cues etc, we don’t use the app to tell us when he needs fed or a nap 🙈 he does what he does at the end of the day 🤷🏻‍♀️ I just like to keep note of it. He has bad reflux and we have trialed various things to help it so I find it useful knowing what he’s taken in feeds and if he’s had any significant sickness etc 😊 hes also prone to constipation due to the reflux treatment so I just find it useful keeping track of dirty nappies so that I can do something about it if he isn’t as regular as usual 🤷🏻‍♀️ Each to their own with these things I guess 😊

@MetalRat That’s a shame that you’re getting that pressure from your HV!! Our HV is incredible!! We’re not allowed face to face visits here right now due to covid (unless there are welfare concerns) but she calls or texts us every couple of weeks just to see if we are doing ok and offer any advice we might need. She hasn’t once pushed any kind of sleep/feeding suggestions which I know a lot of others do! We had quite a rough time with the 4 month regression but seem to be through the worst of it 😊 did your DD? DS sleep seems to be improving week on week at the moment which is nice! I really felt like his sleep was pretty good hence my interest in what other babies are like after friends commenting that it’s far too little sleep 🤷🏻‍♀️🤣 DS is happy and content during the day and goes down quite easily at night usually so I’m assuming he’s getting what he needs even if it’s not the “recommended amount” 🤷🏻‍♀️

[MM321]

@daffodilsandprimroses it’s not the huckleberry one 😊 it’s just some random one I found that let’s me track what I want to 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Ginfilledcats]

Hi op, I use the app too, like you said it doesn't tell you when to do things etc you just record when things happen. I, like your husband have a terrible memory and I can't remember what time I last changed my child ms bum and if it was wet. I was scarred by baby losing loads of weight and being unwell at the start and was humiliated for not knowing off the top of my head house many nappies she had done in a 24 hour period. It's saved my sanity.


I'd your baby is happy and growing and you're giving him opportunity to sleep then he'll do what he wants to do. My baby sleeps loads and always has, my friends baby is 4 weeks younger and maybe cat naps for 20 mins twice a day if she's lucky. They're 9 and 10m old

I've attached mine for reference

[Ginfilledcats]

@MM321 ours are so similar with sleep and my 10m old is fine, relax you're smashing it

That screen shot was from month 5 z

[MetalRat]

@MM321 good to hear your DS’s sleep is improving! And also that he’s happy during the day, that’s the main thing isn’t it? I’m beginning to think that some babies just need less sleep!

My DD has never been a good sleeper and the 4month regression threw out what semi-routine we had going (nights went from waking every 3 hours to waking every 1 hour :( But this last week has been much better (last night hit a record 6 continuous hours so fingers crossed they get better (until the next regression... )

[MM321]

@Ginfilledcats Yeah I just think it’s one less thing for me to have in my head if I know it’s all recorded there if I need it 🤣 And because DH has it on his phone and it’s linked it’s super useful for us 🤷🏻‍♀️😊 as you say, all babies will do what they want to do 🙈 I figure, if he’s content then he’s hopefully getting what he needs!

@MetalRat 6 hours?! 😮 you lucky mummy!! Haha. That’s unheard of in this house 😅 DS has started managing just short of 4 hours. But he feeds every 4 hours day and night and this little grubber won’t miss a feed for anything 🤣🤣