Please help me sleep train my 7 month old!

[MrsTwentyNine]

Hi everyone. Please can someone give me a sample nap schedule to get a long stretch of sleep for 7 month old ? I'm reading varied versions of nap lengths! I've seen 30-40mins nap around 9am (if waking up at 7 ish) to someone else suggesting minimum 90mins at 9am! He is on 2 naps now but due to major life events, haven't been able to control his nap lengths so does around 1.5-2hrs both times and then wakes up SEVERAL times at night!

Is below ok?
7am wake
9-9.45 - nap 1
12.30 - 2.30 - nap 2
7pm - bed

The sleep trainer suggested to me is so expensive that I at least want to try without the help of one!

Many TIA!

Hi, I’ve just done night one of sleep training my 7 month old using the Ferber method. It went pretty well overall. I think 2.30-7pm is a long time for baby to be awake so could be that he’s overtired at bedtime? My LO naps 10am, 1pm and a quick 30 mins or so around 4/5pm. (That’s a rough timings ideas it doesn’t always happen like that)

Does he fall asleep in the car/pushchair? Could you take him for a drive/walk around 4/5pm for half an hour to see if you can get a third nap in? How does he fall asleep at night? We decided to sleep train as my back can’t take anymore rocking to sleep. I’m a FTM myself but hopefully some of my advice might be relevant for you x

@BeckyBoo16 thank you! FTM here too. Thats great thanks! How long does your LO nap for at each of their first two naps? Currently rocking is the only way he falls asleep and same here with the back! He is on the 95th centile and is the average weight of a one year old...

@MrsTwentyNine the past week or so I’ve tried to move away from contact naps in preparation for Ferber. So he has his first nap in the bouncer usually 40 mins. Second nap I aim to go out for a long walk so he gets 1.5-2 hours depending how long the walk is, I am hoping to use Ferber this week for his second nap and put him in the cot to see if he’ll fall asleep that way.

Does he go down in the cot for his naps in the day after being rocked? Just thinking that if you’re holding him (nothing wrong with that either) that maybe he’s not used to sleeping in the cot as much so could be why he’s waking at night? It’s just all a guessing game isn’t it!

At 7mo my DS would stay awake around 3-4 hours max before needing a nap or bedtime (and he's always been able to stay awake longer than average) so based on my experience I would say there's too big of a gap between the last nap finishing and bedtime.

It's worth experimenting but remember it's a moving target. We had a few weeks of good nights once we fell into a consistent 2 nap day, but at almost 10mo he's now dropping his last nap so we're having to figure things out again.

I really recommend The Baby Sleep Solution by Lucy Wolfe. It really helped us with our little one and 7mo is the ideal time. Good luck xx

We have an 8 month old who was on the schedule below.

7am: wake
9:30-10 nap
12-30-2:30 nap
6:15- bath/bedtime routine/usually in cot around 6:45

When we had established schedule we did CC which worked pretty quick as I think the schedule was so consistent. So she is put down for all sleeps awake and gets herself to sleep within 10 mins.

I was desperate for a sleep consultant but put off by the price and worried we wouldn't gel. But I found Baby Sleep Consultant on insta one very sleep deprived night and used her programs. I found it much better as it was way cheaper you get great information to understand your child's temperment and what approaches are best, and you can email their help desk if you have any questions. Recommended her to a friend of mine who did a phone consultation for her 2 year old and he's gone from getting up several times a night to sleeping through in his own bed, in less than a week. So they seem to know their stuff.

Definitely worth a follow if nothing else as she gives loads of free advice/resources.

@MrsTwentyNine any improvements since your first post? We're having issues with my 7month old...early wakings and taking ages to get himself to sleep at bedtime (he's good at getting to sleep for naps though!).
I'm always confused about what to do for the last wake window. We don't normally have time for a third nap but often find the wake window too long!

Thank you for all your kind replies. Sorry haven't been able to even respond as I'm so sleep deprived!! I caved and booked a sleep consultant. I'll let you all know how it goes.

@AbcXyz123456 no improvement sadly...I'm trying to tweak naps and see but I'm clueless! He just needs to learn to self settle overnight and I don't know how to force that

This is prime age for all sorts of sleep disturbances sadly! 7-10 months is typically the worst they sleep in the first year. Learning so many new skills, being able to stay awake longer, teething, separation anxiety... Things should start to improve on their own by 10-11 months and you don't have to do anything for it to happen. It may seem like a long time, but it really isn't! Mine just turned 8 months and I've seen improvements in the last week! Wake ups are shorter and he only wants milk once overnight now instead of the 3-4 night feeds he was still having a couple weeks ago. The sleeps have stretched from 2-3 hours to 3-5 hours! He's now able to sometimes put himself back to sleep when he wakes up.

I've opted not to try to 'force' sleep on him. I can just see myself stressing about getting him on a solid schedule just for him to then decide to drop a nap and having to start again, so I let him lead! He naps when he wants to, but has put himself on a consistent bedtime anyway, and the days seem to just shape around that regardless of what happens with the naps.

Are you on three meals yet? That was the big thing that created more of a routine for us as he has breakfast, lunch and dinner now at pretty set times (give or take half hour)

@GinnyBee thank you. Yes sort of 3 meals of fine purées count!

Just to update - I caved and got a trainer. It was expensive but the best money we spent as he is sleeping through the night (except I messed up his nights today so might not happen tonight!!)

Appreciate all your advice and to the struggling mamas, hang in there!!

Did you know it's advised not to sleep babies in bouncers or car seats? Airway obstructions and no back support

Hi @MrsTwentyNine, which sleep trainer did you use out of interest? Getting desperate ha.

@Allthesweets sorry late reply! I used Arti @ Sleepy Munchkins

Great thanks. Wondering if anyone knows if you go in to do a check in and shush and the baby falls asleep does that negate the point of the self soothing?

In our training, you do that after x amount of time , gradually increasing the time each day until you no longer need to. He has been sleeping through the night since!