Is it normal for baby to wake 6 times a night after sleep training?

[BoyMama322]

No lectures about sleep training please.

I recently sleep trained my 7.5 month old and he now goes to sleep at bedtime on his own beautifully without crying, however he still wakes 6 times a night. I’m still doing 2-3 night feeds every 3-4 hours as I feel he still needs them but he’s still waking lots between those. He can often self settle within 5-10 mins, sometimes 20 (with check ins if it takes this long) but he still grizzles and cries a bit then. I’m obviously not expecting him to sleep through but I guess I expected him to only wake for feeds? If this is normal, I’m fine with it as it’s still better than it was, but I never hear of people having as many night wakes after sleep training?

I'm not sure, but at that age we started night weaning which might help.

Totally normal.

I thought the whole point of sleep training was they learnt to resettle themselves, not that it stopped them waking.

It was definitely normal for us! 6+ wakes every single night, lasting 2 full months. I night weaned at this stage, as he didn't need overnight milk: the number of wakes reduced dramatically after a week or two

Part of it is also developmental. He's becoming much more aware and able to do so many more things. And, y'know... teething pain.

It's awful I know, but stay consistent. This is a phase. It will end.

I've said this before on sleep training threads but I would never advise anyone to sleep train (in the sense of reducing night wake ups) if they aren't ready to cut out night feeds. It so confusing and unfair on baby if they never know what will happen when they wake. They might get fed or they might get left to cry.

Also if you do it the other way and night wean first then you usually don't need to do much else. There is no need to leave baby to cry as once they realise there are no feeds forthcoming they stop waking as much.

so it’s unfair to confuse them but is totally fair to just let them cry/ignore their calls for comfort as long as you aren’t still feeding overnight?

sleep training is cruel full stop.

@EJRB I personally haven't sleep trained mine by ignoring them whilst they cry. I understand that for some they feel like that have no choice and their own mental health is suffering. I do think if you are going to use this method then you need to be as consistent as possible (so no feeding at 3am if you are going yo leave yo cry at 2am) so they understand what is happening and you reduce the distress.

Please look into the potential costs of sleep training. BASIS is great for evidence based information.

You can't train sleep! They sleep in the womb. Please do seek another path, learn about biologically normal infant behaviour and sleep, Sarah Ockwell-Smith is great for evidence based information. Unfortunately sleep training isn't actually evidence based and does not benefit the child.

Plus at around that age your baby is going to go through a lot of developmental things and separation anxiety will peak - they need you and that's absolutely normal.

Please get out of the sea of sleep training misinformation.

It's recommended to feed on demand especially before 1yrs old as milk is their main source of nutrition. Weaning a baby that young can be very detrimental and lead to malnutrition.

It's a myth that they don't need it at that age, leading health organisations clearly state weaning from milk before one year is not recommended. WHO recommends feeding on demand for at least 2 years.

@mamacat6060 why do you think you know what's best for the OP and her child? I sleep trained my DC (controlled resettling, not CIO) and it worked perfectly. Happy parents, happy baby!

As someone who has studied child development and psychology, I have to respectfully disagree.

I understand that your opinion is coming from a place of bias as you've already sleep trained and it can be hard seeing negative information regarding this, however, factually and scientifically sleep training is just not evidence based and there's no evidence that it benefits the child. Its a tool for the adults, and a fobb off one at that, it totally goes against being responsive and nurturing, parents should be getting appropriate support, sleep training isn't fair on the baby or beneficial at all.

I'll add, my local health service also doesn't recommend sleep training, it advocates for responsiveness. Controlled crying is just another variation of CIO, they are all essentially the same thing.

The caregiver restricting their response to the child.

As the first 3 years their brains are rapidly growing, we also have an input in how they grow. Research has shown that responsiveness is hugely beneficial.

Sleep training doesnt teach them not to wake up. They are still going to want and need things from you - and not just feeds. They might be too hot/too cold/wet nappy/poop or maybe they just need a cuddle?

Still blows my mind that these sleep training charlatans make money from desperate mothers with the promise with the baby they CHOSE to have will suddenly not need anything from them for 12 hours a day,

OP, totally normal. Keep at it!

Right? Even with all the research and information we now have on child development, it's still getting pushed by a money hungry industry that preys on vulnerable parents.

I mean, why not actually support parents appropriately instead of making th believe that they have to put their child through outdated distressing practices. It's so wrong... we and our babies deserve better than that.