Can you sleep train a 5 month old

[Rachel1210]

So my little 5mo is a terrible sleeper...at night he wakes every 1-2 hours and has done since birth. Every 3 hours or so it’s usually for a feed but other times it’s just because his dummy has fallen out or he’s just awake and can’t self settle. I’m really exhausted at this point. I know some people may say that this is normal for a 5 mo but I really am struggling...I wondered whether to go cold turkey on the dummy and allow him to cry at night? He cries before every nap so I think that’s just his way of settling. He wears a love to dream swaddle so can still suck on his hands for comfort if the dummy falls out. I’ve read that sleep training shouldn’t start until 6 months but I don’t know if I can keep up with lack of sleep for another month...he’s a very active little boy and is non stop all day so resting in the day doesn’t really happen!

No because it would be quite cruel to let him cry it out at 5 months. (I think crying it out is frankly not a great idea at any age). You can go cold turkey on the dummy but he’s using it to self soothe so think of how else he might self soothe then. (Also at some point he’ll be able to put the dummy back himself). You can create better sleep habits without sleep training what is a very small baby. I used the Pantley pull off from the No Cry Sleep Solution to stop the dummy reliance with one child and with the other went cold turkey on the dummy but he has a muslin cloth he uses to rub on his face.

You’ve misunderstood me...I’m not suggesting I let him cry it out. But instead allow him to cry but be by his side whilst he does this and try and soothe him without his dummy. I agree he’s very young and I wouldn’t suggest leaving him to cry by himself. But I think he needs some help because at the moment he’s not doing any long stretches of sleep which can’t be beneficial for him

I did at five months and got rid of the dummy at the same time as I was at my wits end and me and baby were so sleep deprived. She’s not really a cryer so I’m quite lucky. Day one took her dummy away, rocked until drowsy put down in cot and then ssshhhed an held her hands on chest until asleep. Done this for a few days and she started going from sleeping for an hour or two to sleeping five to six hours.