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Thanks for commenting! When your baby wakes up early from a nap, ideally, you will try to help them get back to sleep until the end of their planned naptime. So if your baby is under 4 months old, you would use the shush pat to help them get back to sleep. If older than 4 months, you would use Pick Up Put Down to help them get back to sleep. If they do not go back to sleep, then you just continue to use whichever method until the end of the nap. This is the best way to stop short naps from happening and to teach your baby to nap independently and to link sleep cycles together. So if you commit to helping them get back to sleep till the end of the nap, then you will just feed them at the planned time, when the nap is over. However, I know that things don't always work out perfectly, so if you do have to end the nap early for whatever reason, I would recommend not feeding your baby until the planned time, even if it is later in the wake window. The bigger issue here is more of the fact that ending naps early will throw off the routine for the entire day. If you always feed after the end of an early nap, then you will be feeding your baby more often during the day (since you will probably also have to add in another nap before bed to make up for all the lost naptime) and you run the danger of creating the snacking problem. But even if you do wait until the planned feed times, nap times will get askew and you'll end up with a more confusing and disorganized day (possibly even with a nap happening during feed time). But if you fix the short nap problem, then you won't have to deal with the snacking problem. Hope that helps!

Thank you so much for your response! It really helped. My 7 month old naps really well, I was just wondering how this will look like with a second baby because then I won’t be able to spend a long time trying to extend a nap. My first only did 45 minute naps until around 4-5 months and it always threw off the routine like you mentioned. So I‘m hoping the second baby will be able to connect sleep cycles sooner!

​@@MichelleRoss-x3o That's definitely where it gets more complicated! I just had my second baby 9 months ago and my whole pregnancy I was wondering how naps would go! I started with the 4 S routine in the hospital and got my baby on EASY as soon as I could. It honestly went so well, it was life changing! I was exhausted in every way with my first daughter but with my second daughter on EASY from day 1, I felt like I was getting so much sleep and I always had the energy to play with my toddler or do chores or even cook. When it came to naps, I had my husband's 8 weeks of paternity leave to get my baby used to the 4 S Routine before he went back to work and couldn't watch our toddler while I did naps. By 8 weeks, my baby was pretty good at napping (and was already sleeping through the night!) but we definitely had a good number of naps that were too short. Not everything was perfect, but it was a giant leap in the right direction. Once we got to 4 months and could do PUPD, my baby didn't need it and was able to start sleeping independently (give or take like 3 total sessions of PUPD, but none even happened in the first 2 days we started it). All that to say, I spent a lot of time worried about how I was going to do naps, but since I was already committed to EASY on Day 1, it helped immensely and gave me sanity. My toddler (who was 20 months when my baby was born) adjusted well to the fact that I had to spend the time helping our baby get back to sleep, and she would often just sit next to me in their room while I shush pat. I made some videos about the whole transition, so you can check them out below! Putting my Baby Down w My toddler Around: czcams.com/video/F4_DJE4_02Q/video.html EASY w a 4 Month Old: czcams.com/video/DYnhTdj1-Os/video.html 5 Tips for the First 2 Weeks: czcams.com/video/wv0RpRVVfeQ/video.html 3 Problems in the First 8 Weeks: czcams.com/video/aJjYkmm_61g/video.html

Wow thanks! That’s encouraging. I‘m really excited to implement the Baby Whisperer from Day 1 with my next baby. (I found out about the book when my first was already 4 months old) When were you able to go for 3h between feedings with your second? Because I‘d love to have a routine as soon as possible but her sample schedule says it‘s meant for a 4 week old baby, so I was wondering if for the first few weeks you‘d need to feed on demand?

@@MichelleRoss-x3o The first week or so was 2-3 hours during the day, till the evening when it was every 2 hours to cluster feed before bed. Then it was every 3 hours at night (and she often did at least 1 4-hour stretch or more at night as well!). It was a definite every 3 hours by 4 weeks, but with a cluster feed in the evening to tank her up as much as possible. By 8 weeks, she was sleeping 8 hours at night and always did 3 hours during the day! (I'm sure there was a night here or there where she woke up once randomly for a feed but that definitely didn't happen anymore after 10 weeks!)

Hey there! During nighttime feeds, I wait for my baby to wake up first. Usually she would start to make some noises before a full-on cry, so I would do my best to get to her quickly. I would keep her swaddled, turn on a very low light, and feed her as usual. I do my best to keep her as sleepy as possible so that she can just fall back asleep right after she's done eating. I usually do not change her diaper unless I have some reason to believe that she pooped. Of course, there were some nights when I was done feeding her that she was wide awake. I would still just place her back in her bassinet and I would lay in bed until she started to fuss a bit - then I would use the 4S Method to help her get back to sleep. Hope that helps!

@@xtinaxbabies I’ll try this. Thanks for the advice!

Thanks for commenting! A couple things come to mind: 1. Is he eating enough during the day? - He may be waking up at night habitually or out of hunger, especially if you find yourself consistently feeding him at night. At 7 months, he should be having breastmilk/formula 4 times a day, and eating solids 3 times a day. All meals should ideally take place between 7am-7pm, and should not need to happen at night. If you find he is not eating enough during the day, or not taking in full feeds, then you may need to cut him off completely from eating at night so that he learns to eat during the day and does not wake at night anymore. 2. Is he on a consistent routine during the day? - It seems like you are doing naptime well, but are his wake times and bedtime consistent? He may be waking at night because he is getting too much sleep during the day. At 7 months, he may be on a 2-nap or a 3-nap schedule, but if he is sleeping too long, he won't be able to sleep at night. He should not be napping more than 3 hours during the day, so that he can get a consistent 12 hours at night. 3. Did you ever try a dreamfeed? - Usually 7 months is when the dreamfeed is dropped, but if you never did one before, he could still be struggling with sleep. A dreamfeed usually happens between 10-11pm (assuming a 7-8pm bedtime), and involves you going into his room while he is still asleep and giving him a full feed (breast or bottle) and just putting him back in bed to sleep the rest of the night. If you haven't tried it before, it may be worth a shot, so that you can get him to do a longer stretch at night. This is not something you would want to keep for very long, and of course, you need to prioritize making sure complete feeds are happening during the day. 4. Is he waking at the same time every night? - If none of the above ideas help solve the issue, this may just be a habitual wake-up that he is used to, especially if he's been doing it for a while now. If this is the issue, you should check out this other video I have that may help! czcams.com/video/n6R1Zakux6E/video.htmlsi=UoyB7oz_EMEsYH_D Please let me know if you have any further questions!

Wake to sleep works very well for naps! If you haven't already seen my video on it, you can watch it here: czcams.com/video/n6R1Zakux6E/video.htmlsi=s5aWkVXOePuGPKlI

Hey, thanks for commenting! Tracy's approach is that you set the nap time - at 4 months your baby should be taking 2 2-hour naps and one 30-minute nap (you can see my video on it here: czcams.com/video/7oCXgvEIRNg/video.htmlsi=TdEAQgg8YEO9dx4K). If your baby wakes up early, the nap is not over! You have to keep doing PUPD until the end of the nap time. However - if your baby is awake early and is NOT crying, then don't do PUPD until he starts crying. If he wakes up and is happy, just leave him in his bed until the end of the naptime, or until he starts to cry and needs PUPD. He wakes up early because he is struggling to link his sleep cycles together. PUPD will help him link 2-3 sleep cycles so he can have a full nap and get the rest that he needs. I always did PUPD until the end of the planned naptime with my first daughter (my 2nd daughter didn't really need much PUPD). That was the only way to teach her that she was supposed to keep sleeping, as opposed to her waking up after only one sleep cycle. I would have several naps where she never went back to sleep, but she would still be able to go another 2 hours awake until her next nap (some babies may not be able to stay awake a whole wake window after this, so watch your babies cues! it's okay if you put him down for his next nap a bit earlier than planned - just try to avoid him getting overtired). Within a few weeks (maximum) you should definitely see major improvement in his ability to sleep longer during naptimes! Let me know if you have any further questions!

​@@xtinaxbabies Kristina, I can not thank you enough. I appreciate you letting me know about 2 2-hour naps and 1 30-minute nap. This is very-very helpful. I also found your suggestion on letting him stay in the crib, until the end of his 2-hour nap time, to to be insightful. You answered my one and only major question. :) Thank you for that. I am on day 4 (currently David is taking his 3rd nap of the day) and I already see major improvements in his ability to fall a sleep on his own-still with a little assistance coming from me, but I don't mind it. I feel like with every nap, he is becoming more and more comfortable with his space. The very first day I started PUPD method, it was so foreign to him and he cried and cried for the entire 2-hours, and I had to assist him (with PUPD) the whole 2-hours. Now that we are on day 4, he can lay in his crib for at least 10-15 minutes on his own, and only after 15 minute mark, I attend to him ones or twice (but only when he starts crying and by doing "shoooshing" and patting on his thigh, creating a rhythm.) I also noticed that he like to hold on to my finger, making sure I am near by, before he closes his eyes and falls a sleep (kinda sweet.) Krisitina, is this the best way to contact you incase I have a few more questions as I am going through PUPD sleep training? I would love to stay in touch somehow. My instagram is @allatsvor - instagram.com/allatsvor/?hl=en - if this is a good way to stay in touch and be able to ask more questions related to sleep training. I would really appreciate that. :) Have a lovely start to your week!

@@allatsvor386 I'm glad to hear that PUPD is helping you so much! it's always encouraging to hear stories about how it's working. Unfortunately I don't have any social media in this season of life so CZcams comments really are the best way to reach me 😂 they're connected to my email so I stay on top of them pretty well! If you comment with any more questions, I'll be sure to reach out as soon as I can!

@@xtinaxbabies No worries! I'm glad I could message you here :) Kristina, there's a few more questions I would like to ask you... 1. I am planning to transition my (almost) 4 month baby from a 3-hour to a 4-hour routine very soon, and I wanted to ask what could be the issue with him not eatting his "meals" all at ones? I feed him with formula, and he almost never finishes his bottle all at once. It takes me an hour to complete his 5oz feeding. He eats 2oz right away, and then he refuses to continue.. we go for a walk and I offer him a bottel there, and he takes 1more ounce.. we come back home and I get him ready for his nap, and he finishes the rest, making it total of 5oz in that 1.5 hour wake window. I know it is not right. I wonder what could be the reason for him not having his entire feeding all at once and maybe you could offer a few suggestions on that? 2. My (almost) 4 month baby goes to sleep at 7pm (i offer him his last feeding at 6:30pm) and on most nights, he wakes up at around 1am-1:30am for his first night feed, followed by a 4am-4:30am feed. So he needs two feedings. I would like to eliminate those, but I do not know how. Very often, because 4am-4:30am feed is so close to his morning wake up time, which is anywhere between 6:30am-7am, he is not hungry, and I have to play with him first, and only then offer him a feeding. How can I break that cycle? I would like my day to start at 7am and i would like him to get a full feel all at once then. (5oz-7oz.) What are your suggestions on helping me get rid of that 4am-5am feed, so that he is very hungry at 6:30am-7am? Any techniques? (I've been really struggling with that because my whole day is off-schedule because my day starts without any consistency. Would love to hear your thoughts on that.. Thank you so much :)

@@allatsvor386 great questions! I am assuming he isn't hungry during the day because of those 2 nighttime feeds. I would first try to not give him full feeds at night. When he wakes up hungry, see if he can just be okay with half the amount he usually gets. Then hopefully he will be hungry enough to eat in the morning. (But if he is not okay with half feeds at night, just feed him full feeds so he can sleep well.) Then, at the 7am feed, offer him a bottle and see how much he takes. If he doesn't take the whole thing, then don't offer it again until his next feed (which with a 4-hour routine will be at 11am. I would definitely recommend switching to the 4-hour as soon as you can. I switch my babies around 3.5 months and they take it really well. It will help him take more full feeds throughout the day instead of just snacking). Then he should definitely be hungry enough to take in a full feed. Again, if he doesn't take it all at once, don't offer it again until the next feed. Continue that for the whole day. If you haven't already implemented one, I think a dreamfeed would really help! After his bedtime feed, put him down as usual. Then around 10-11pm, go to his room and try to keep him asleep but feed him a full feed. He should ideally be sleepy enough to not full wake up but hungry enough to eat a whole bottle. If he is able to do a full feed then, hopefully then he will only wake up once in the middle of the night. Then try to just make that nighttime feed a partial feed so that he can take a full feed in the morning. If that nighttime feed doesn't seem to budge after a couple days, then you can drop it cold turkey. He might have a rough night, but at 4 months it's totally age-appropriate to have no nighttime feeds as long as he is getting all full feeds throughout the day!

Hey there - thanks for your questions! I would do the same hand thing with my daughter when we did PUPD at 4 months, probably till she was about 5 months old. I would usually leave my hand on her till I knew she was almost asleep and then I would very very slowly lift my hand so the pressure was lighter and lighter until it was off all the way. That way, she was never startled when my hand was gone. I also was worried at the time that my hand placement would become a prop, but it never did! Eventually, we got to a point where putting my hand on her was too much, so I would just sit there till she was comfortable. Then one day, I could just tell that my presence itself was bothering her so I just left as soon as she was in bed and that was that! I say just have it in your head that your hand being there is something you are working toward getting away from, but is needed for the time being. I think the biggest sign that it's a prop is if he always needs it, even if he's just waking up between sleep cycles and needs to go back to sleep. But if it's just to put him down for bed or a nap, or maybe once or twice throughout the night, I wouldn't worry too much about it now! When it comes to waking up after the dreamfeed, is he crying when he goes back down? If he's not, he may be drowsy (and full) enough to be able to fall back asleep on his own. If he's clearly struggling, then I would start with just resting my hand there, and then move on to PUPD if he needs more help. Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any more questions!

@@xtinaxbabies thank you for your insight! When he was put down after the Dreamfeed he did start to cry a little so I put my hand on him but he didn’t calm so I picked him up and put him down and he stopped and went to sleep lol. Also have you experienced your daughters waking up around the time of the Dreamfeed ever? Wondering if he happens to wake up around when I was about to feed him (let’s say a half hour early) should I just feed him or try and get him back to sleep then feed him after. I feel like just feeding him makes sense but I don’t want that to become a habit. Hypothetical question since he did just wake up at 10pm but did put himself back to sleep but wondering what I would do if he didn’t. Thanks!

Yes they both have definitely done that before! Usually if it's within 30mins I'll just do the dreamfeed then, but I always prefer to do it earlier than later so I can go to bed. I think if it's before 10pm, I wouldn't feed him if I were you, but anything a little early shouldn't hurt! And if you're worried about seeing a pattern with him waking up for it, don't be concerned unless it happens at least 3 days in a row!

@@xtinaxbabies thank you! Also sometimes he falls asleep when I am holding him during the wind down routine. I hold him vertically for a max of 5 minutes but if I see him close his eyes before that I will put him down but sometimes he’s just out and doesn’t stir when I put him down. I’ll try and wake him slightly by rubbing his foot and saying his name but it doesn’t always work (he might squirm a bit). Should I try to wake him more so that he opens his eyes?

@@StephCancilla I don't think that's necessary! If he is able to stay asleep once you put him down (and he doesn't wake up and need you to do PUPD every time between sleep cycles) then it shouldn't be an issue. Just try to aim to put him down sooner before he falls asleep on you! If he's relaxed enough in your arms to fall asleep, he should be relaxed enough to fall asleep in bed. Maybe put a 2 minute limit on holding him and see how that goes!

Hey, I never really had any supply issues when dropping feeds. As long as there's demand, there's supply. Since our feedings are always at the same time, I think that always helped my supply stay in check - it also relied on consistency! With my first daughter, I fed her till she was 13 months (and quit when I got pregnant again), but around 6 months, I stopped being able to pump (I got 1oz total after 5 days of pumping 3 times a day for 20 mins each time) so whenever I had to be away from her (never happened that often), she would get formula. Then while I was away, I wasn't able to pump to keep up my supply, but I never saw any dip or any changes to our feeds. From what I know about weaning, I think you would have to stop completely cold turkey to get rid of your supply. Lots of moms continue to breastfeed just one time a day for years, and always are able to produce that one feed. I imagine that if you suddenly went from breastfeeding on demand to only doing it 5 times a day every 4 hours, that you may experience some engorgement and getting used to it, but you'd definitely still have milk as long as you keep feeding! And that's just assuming you haven't had any issues with undersupply or things like that. Hope this helps!

@@xtinaxbabies Thank you so much for all your help. I'm sorry just one more question, my baby has been catnapping and now with this routine I don't know how to make her sleep longer, any suggestions.

@@cristinavilchez6607 I have a video here I did about short naps! czcams.com/video/n6R1Zakux6E/video.htmlsi=HunQdmK65yCF0QB8

Thanks for commenting! At 4 months, I recommend starting with Pick Up Put Down. This would essentially involve you moving her to her own room and quitting nursing at night altogether. It might be a big leap for you, but it would be super effective right at 4months and get you the sleep you need! I have some videos below you can check out: watch me do PUPD: czcams.com/video/xhu59aFuWCc/video.htmlsi=MuwDbC0S0v7HVm6l About PUPD: czcams.com/video/WSL9EyVPe28/video.htmlsi=NJAXL-e4oKcaaGbq A longer about PUPD video: czcams.com/video/MGMcFfmxSPI/video.htmlsi=pDqfE7qSQFwiqkuX

I have another video all about the 4 S Routine you can watch here - czcams.com/video/MrMrxpDsFn8/video.htmlsi=tH-xTsooNU0dKv79

Hey there! At 5 months, its age appropriate for your baby to be eating every 4 hours, 5 times a day total. The only way I know to kick the grazing habit is to start in the morning with the wake-up feed. Try to get her to eat as much as she can and then do not feed her until it's been 4 hours (you could do 3 hours if she seems really hungry). Since she's been grazing, her stomach doesn't have the chance to fully empty, so she can't even take in a full feed to energize her day. I'm assuming she is also not sleeping through the night because of this. If you give her the chance to take in only full feeds during the day (every 4 hours), she will eat enough to the point where she will not wake at night for food, because she will be receiving all her calories during the day. I have a few videos you can check out that may help with this: 4-hour routine - czcams.com/video/7oCXgvEIRNg/video.htmlsi=zt_s6qgg2byQwuTb PUPD - czcams.com/video/xhu59aFuWCc/video.htmlsi=tgDPrYfsr7cAHhgj

Hey there, PUPD is not recommended for babies under 4 months of age. Until 4 months, they are not developmentally ready to self-soothe or fall asleep on their own without help. The concern here is that attempting PUPD too soon may mess with a baby's trust and make it harder to actually do PUPD once they are ready. If you only attempted it once a while ago, then this will likely not be an issue for you, but is something to keep in mind, just in case. I have a video about rebuilding trust in babies if you think you'll need it: czcams.com/video/w1Q7ex4WHIo/video.htmlsi=Pt5JxRTIiGh1FNhv Before you begin sleep training, you'll need to get your baby on a 4-hour routine. This is usually appropriate some time around 3.5 months. Here's my video on it: czcams.com/video/7oCXgvEIRNg/video.htmlsi=5zAzp1ocDRtUPHwa Once your baby is on a 4-hour routine and is 4 months old, you can begin with PUPD. I have another video here where I talk about PUPD and show myself doing it with my daughter when she was 4 months: czcams.com/video/xhu59aFuWCc/video.htmlsi=ctLsXhzJwZHEWiSb If you'd like to get started with sleep training early, you can start your baby off with the 4 S Routine method, which is the appropriate sleep-teaching method for babies under 4 months. You can start this if you want, but it isn't necessary in order to do PUPD at 4 months, but it can help your baby with the transition. czcams.com/video/MrMrxpDsFn8/video.htmlsi=3HYLkeYLldezIpHr

Yes, I think you're right! I do think the overall tone of the book feels more rigid and exacting, but I did notice they are trying to convey the fact that we should be flexible when needed!

Definitely yes! Both my babies were solely breastfed and started sleeping 8 hours at 7 weeks, and then were regular at it by 8 or 9 weeks old. Then sleeping 12 hours starts to happen around 7 months. The thing they are fed shouldn’t determine if they sleep well (breastfed vs formula), but HOW their feeding schedule is managed (I.e. if they are eating at proper intervals, receiving full feeds, and not depending on feeds in order to fall asleep).

​@@xtinaxbabies See my baby used to sleep for around 4 - 6 hours straight till he was 4 and 1/2 or so. Now he keeps waking up crying every 2 to 3 hours at night and he does sleep by himself. Could you give me any suggestions on what to do please.

There’s a huge mental leap that happens in your baby at 4 months, and they actually start to sleep differently! In addition to this, their sleep needs change and their stomach grows so they can eat less frequently during the day and drop a nap as well! The reason for wake-ups every 2-3 hours is because nighttime sleep cycles can be about 2 hours long, and your baby may be used to feeding every 3 hours. At this age, they shouldn’t need any more calories at night, provided they are on a daytime routine that helps them get all their calories during the day. The thing that helps most with linking sleep cycles is sleep training. I have several videos about Pick Up Put Down, which is the sleep training method we did with our babies at 4 months. Sleep training will help your baby go back to sleep in the middle of the night if he wakes, instead of needing a feed or a different sleep prop. I’m traveling right now so I’m not able to post all the links here, but you can find out more in the following videos I have on my channel: EASY Routine Transition to a 3 to 4-hour routine Pick Up Put Down Watch me do PUPD Or by getting the book The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems!

@@xtinaxbabies Thanks a bunch. I'll check them out

The point of the shush-pat is to introduce two points of focus to your baby to get them to be "distracted" from crying and to help them relax so that they can do the work to put themselves to sleep. A white noise machine could definitely help block out stimulation to calm your baby, but that's not really the point of the shush-ing. But keep in mind, the shush-pat is an optional step, so you can omit it if your baby doesn't need it, or in this case, just use the pats. I found the shush to be completely necessary for my first daughter (even with a white noise machine on). With my second daughter, I only shushed when she was reeeallly upset which was not often - she responded really well to just the pats. The biggest difference between them was that I started the 4 S method with my second daughter from birth (as opposed to at 11 weeks with my 1st daughter), so my 2nd daughter needed less help overall in learning sleep. You can play around with it and bit and see if the shush helps your baby at all. If it's bothersome or if you see no difference in using it, you can drop it. The patting is definitely the most important part, so as long as they are soothed by that, I say that the shush part isn't necessary.

Hey there! First thing you should know is that your baby's sleep cycle is about 30-45mins long, so he is waking up after each sleep cycle, unable to connect 2 together to prolong his nap. If you'd like to use wake-to-sleep in order to help fix this, then you would go into his room at about the 20-minute mark and gently rouse him to restart his sleep cycle. Stay with him until you see him fall back asleep. Try it for at least 3 days in a row. If he doesn't fall asleep, you need to teach him how to self-soothe so he can do this independently. The method I recommend is Pick Up Put Down (PUPD) which you can see me do in this video: czcams.com/video/xhu59aFuWCc/video.htmlsi=JaAcLsDkUKC9ASg3 PUPD will help teach him sleep so he can take longer naps. it's a lot of work but totally worth it!

Christina, thank you for your advice! I tried to wake up my boy 20 min after I'd put him to nap and it worked like 60% times. So it's motivated me to try PUPD method. I watched your videos and started on May 1st after pretty rough night. So I'd say first 3 days gave me the impression that we are on the right path. However today I'm at my lowest... It's been couple of tough nights. He started protesting more to go for naps and today he slept 3 naps 30 min each after going down for about the same amount of time. I'm lost, I'm frustrated. What am I doing wrong? Is it normal to have some sort of regress? We are on a day 9 now. Past couple of nights he would wake up often. Had really hard time to soothe himself. I'm sure that it's teething. Could teething or illness affect this process that way? What to do when he wakes up @3pm and with 2-2.5 hours wake window it's too late to put him for another nap and way too early for night sleep? Any advice appreciated!

@@annaossadchaya7752 Hey there, sounds like you're working hard! I would say some sort of regression is definitely bound to happen, especially the older your baby is (since everything he knows is now changing!). If he's resisting naps, you can take it as a sign of progress! He is trying to push you to see if you will go back to your old methods or if this is his new normal. If you stay consistent, it will end, and he will be comfortable knowing what to expect for bed. Teething and illness are definitely some things that can impact sleep as well - it's best to remain consistent as best as you can through it. If you're comfortable with giving medicine, I find that baby Tylenol always eliminates the pain and discomfort for my babies and it helps them sleep better! In doing PUPD, are you also being consistent with a daily routine? Make sure you have a consistent wake-up time in the morning, and a bedtime in the evening. At 5/6 months your sleep schedule may look something like this: 7am wake up 9am/9:30am-11am first nap 1pm/1:30pm-3pm second nap 5pm-5:30pm catnap 7:30pm bedtime If you have set naptimes, then when you need to do PUPD, you will do it till the end of the planned nap. So if he's meant to sleep 9-11am, and he wakes at 9:30am, then you will have to do PUPD till 11am. What I find with my babies is that the nap is over when I say it's over. So even when I've spent 1.5hours doing PUPD and they don't go back to sleep, they aren't significantly more tired during their next wake window, and can usually last till the 1pm nap (or maybe a bit before). You still might have those days where you end up with a bunch of 30minute naps, but if you stick with PUPD till the end of each nap, you will create more predictability for your child, which in time will result in better sleep. Hope that helps!

For nighttime sleep, Tracy Hogg suggest going in an hour before you expect them to wait, so in this case, 4:40. You could try 5am if an hour feels too early. The way she explains it, you would rouse your baby and stay with her till she falls back asleep. But I think there's a danger here that she might see you and wake up more? I would wake her up a bit and then leave the room - assuming you have a video monitor, I would just watch to make sure she goes back to sleep. If she doesn't, and she fusses then you could do PUPD, but if she's not crying, I wouldn't do anything! I want to note that it's actually pretty normal for babies to wake up around 5/6am and talk to themselves for a bit. Sleep to wake might help correct this, but it also might not. If it doesn't work (or if she just has her talking session earlier than usual when you attempt it 😂), you could try still waking her up at 7am, even if she's just starting to fall back asleep. She might be tired, but she would probably learn after a few days to not wake up early (or at least not stay awake for so long!). On another note, my toddler was an early morning talker and still is! I hear her a lot from 5:30-6:30 and sometimes she's even still awake at 7. She's always happy and just yammering away about something and giggling to herself. As a baby, I would still get her up at 7 and I don't really remember it ever being an issue. Although she's awake, she's still resting in bed so she might not be as tired as you think she will be if you still get her up on time!

@@xtinaxbabies thank you so much!! I’ll try 5am the next few days and I’ll wake up her at 7! I wish you had a pr box so subscribers could send you stuff! You’re such a big help! :)

@@xtinaxbabies also I’m assuming if I take her out at 7, I should try to gently push her to get to her to her next wake window?

@@Karina-jb4sc yep! and definitely take note of if she's seeming tired early, and if her early wake-ups improve over the following few days!

@@Karina-jb4sc glad I can help!

Yes! If it's not a full feed, then the cluster feed is probably not needed. Don't be afraid to go off schedule a bit if baby is just hungry earlier, though! My 5mo often cannot wait till 7pm for her bedtime feed, so I find myself feeding her early (around 6 or 6:30pm) a few days a week. I know a cluster feed is not needed in this instance because she can still wait until 10:30pm for her dreamfeed. If she was hungry again around 8/8:30 and took a full feed then AND also another full feed at 10:30, then that would be a proper cluster feed. If she just snacks at 8/8:30, then she probably could have waited till 7 and been okay till 10-ish. Hope that helps!

Both of my babies slept 8 hours for the first time at 7 weeks. They were more consistent with it at 8 weeks. 3 hours isn't very long at night at that age (especially if your baby was not premature). My biggest tip for helping him go longer at night is to make sure he is eating enough during the day. You'll need to feed him every 3 hours during the day, and even if he is sleeping, you need to wake him up to eat. I have a video I posted where I mention some other tips that might be helpful to you: czcams.com/video/aJjYkmm_61g/video.htmlsi=dBGqTa73LhUNAok8 If you have any further questions, let me know!

In EASY, but do you see any harm if Sleep comes after Eat? Coz my baby follows ESYA apparently, he’s just so sleepy always after feeding.

​@@jenniechong2240 There are definite dangers if you do feeds before sleep and more benefits to feeding at the beginning of the wake window - - Your baby will be more likely to take a full feed at the beginning of their wake window, when they are the most alert - They can use their energy from a feed to play better during their activity time. - If your baby eats before sleep, they may associate the two together and be dependent on a full belly in order to sleep. - You may be more likely to use feeding as a sleep prop in order to get your baby to sleep. ...and I'm sure there are a few more reasons I can't quite think of! Start in the morning when your baby wakes up (set an official wake-up time and always wake your baby up then!), they will always need a feed first thing in the morning (no matter when they fed last at night). Do your best not to feed before naps - if he is taking in a full feed in the morning, then he will not need to eat for 3 hours. If feeding him puts him to sleep, wake him up! Especially if he just woke up in the morning. Babies are a bit sleepier in the mornings and more alert in the evenings, but they still need to have full wake windows that are age-appropriate, or else they will wake up at night and have them then. If he's 7 weeks, you are probably looking at a wake window between 1-1.5 hours long. Make sure he gets that length, because then he will sleep better for naps and bedtime sleep, and wake up needing a full feeding.

A dreamfeed video is a great idea - I'll have to do one soon! Doing a proper dreamfeed is more about the time you do it. The action of dreamfeeding itself is pretty simple, and just involves trying to keep your baby to sleep while you feed them (some babies may need to be woken up a bit to take in an efficient feed). Between 10 and 11 is the perfect time for 3 reasons: 1. It's usually 3-4 hours after your baby's last feed. A bedtime feed at 7pm is pretty standard starting at 4 weeks, and lasting (for some kids) up to 1 year! Doing this feed 3-4 hours after bedtime means that your baby's stomach is empty enough to take in a full feed, which will ideally last them the whole night until 7am. 2. It's when your baby is in their deepest stage of nighttime sleep. Doing the dreamfeed at this time will not wake them up much or even sleep deprive them. 3. For parents who do not do a dreamfeed, they will end up with a 3am feed when their baby starts to sleep 8 hours, which of course, continues to contribute to our exhaustion as parents! 10-11pm is the range in which we as adults may naturally get tired, so if we do a dreamfeed before we head off to bed, we can help ourselves get the 8 hours of sleep we need to be well-rested. Hope that helps!

Hey, I totally get that! I mentioned in the video that this was just a quick update, unfortunately I didn't have the time to delve in too deeply. Here are the links to my other videos about those topics- 4 S Method: czcams.com/video/MrMrxpDsFn8/video.htmlsi=yjx4L-l-F-B3jm-C PUPD: czcams.com/video/MGMcFfmxSPI/video.htmlsi=ziHZuEHRQ1CGO_2p Example of PUPD: czcams.com/video/xhu59aFuWCc/video.htmlsi=84u7hM2-aU_AyxO8

Hey! The big no with swings/rockers are when it comes to sleep. Never use them to get your baby to go to sleep, or else you won't be teaching them proper independent sleep. They can definitely be used during the day for entertainment purposes, or if you need your hands free for a bit. I use a bouncer here and there for my baby mostly as a chair for her to sit in when she's tired of tummy time and I'm too busy to hold her!

Thank you!:)

Hey, good question! The goal is to put your baby down before they fall asleep, so they learn to fall asleep in their own bed (and also they won't be startled if they wake up in a new location). When you start off, this can be a bit tricky, though, so it's totally okay if your baby starts dosing off on you, as long as you're working toward your ultimate goal. I found around that age that half the time, my daughter was asleep when I laid her down, and the other half of the time she was drowsy and awake. As you and your baby get used to doing this method, you will figure out the best time to lay him down for sure. An easier goal is to try to go the 4 S method without doing the Shush pat. If you time naps correctly and do a proper wind-down, this should be pretty easy! Then you can focus on laying him down at the perfect drowsiness level. Obviously, every baby is different, so you'll have a different experience than I did. We just hit the 4-month mark with my daughter and she started sleep independently the same day I decided to start doing PUPD (just posted a video on this). I didn't do the 4 S method perfectly every time AT ALL, and put her down asleep or sometimes even too awake a lot. She still was able to learn to sleep independently, despite my imperfections. Whatever, you do, just try your best and be consistent- you got this!

@@xtinaxbabies thank youu! 💕

You actually are doing PUPD, just the modified version at 9 months! As your baby ages, it essentially becomes "PD" where they pick themselves up and then you put them down. Kudos to you for taking the time and effort to work on this with your daughter! I didn't experience this exactly with my oldest, but here are my thoughts: 1. Is she on a 2-nap schedule now? Sleep needs tend to shift around 8/9months. The catnap should be totally gone, and bedtime should be moved up to account for it. If she's on a 3-nap schedule she may be not tired enough to sleep and therefore she plays in her bed. If she's already on a 2-nap schedule, are her naps too long? If you're looking at 12 hours of nighttime sleep, she may not need more than 3 hours of naps total during the day. 2. Is she able to play by herself and then fall asleep on her own after a bit? My toddler sometimes is not very tired at nap or bedtime, but after talking to herself and rolling around a lot, she puts herself to bed, so I don't do anything to help her. If she's able to sleep independently after playing in bed, you may want to not interfere. 3. If you didn't interfere and do the modified PUPD, would she be lacking sleep? Would she be crabby and clearly affected by it? Does she actually need the help to sleep? Or maybe the help to sleep sooner? If so, keep at it! 4. Remember developmental milestones will often affect sleep! If this hasn't been happening long, it may pass soon! She will always practice her new skills in her crib and that is totally okay. Unfortunately, it can affect sleep. If that's the case and she is clearly tired by it, then doing the modified PUPD will definitely help her adjust and keep on the right track. With my 4mo, she recently started rolling back to stomach and started practicing it in her crib (the week after I started PUPD). She would cry and I would go in and watch her because I wasn't sure if she needed help rolling to her back or not. If I tried to help her roll onto her back, she would just go back to her stomach. She slept on her stomach for 3 days and then started rolling onto her back (she hadn't mastered that skill yet) during the day, which then translated to nighttime sleep. Now it's definitely not interrupting her sleep anymore, but I didn't need to do any PUPD for it. I would recommend (if you haven't already) just observing her during her nap, seeing if she sleeps, seeing if she's lacking sleep, and then only interfering if it's clear she needs help. Also, working on her crawling and sitting skills while awake will definitely help it all pass and help her adjust to her abilities! Hopefully this helped, let me know if you have any more questions!

@@xtinaxbabies Thank you for always being so thorough and thoughtful with your responses! You’re so helpful! 1.I’m actually in the process of dropping her cat nap. This past week we did for a few days then she really needed it one day since she was up earlier. But it’s been 2 days now since she’s had it. So that could be playing a factor for sure. She typically sleeps 10 1/2-11 hours a night, she’s never been a 12 hour sleeper at night which I think is her natural circadian rhythm. So she typically goes to bed around 8-8:30 depending on the day. So now that I’m dropping her cat nap I’m trying to slowly push back her bed time. My only worry is she’ll start waking up closer to 6 rather than 7. I’m also trying to figure out how to lengthen her wake windows since we’re trying to drop the cat nap. Before I started to drop the cat nap her 1st wake window was 2hr 15min and the rest of her wake windows were 2hr 30min. I’m trying to lengthen her wake windows by 15 minutes and see how she adjusts. Do you remember what your first daughters wake windows were around 9 months? I remember you mentioning in a previous video that you dropped the car nap around 9 1/2 months.

@@xtinaxbabies I know all of these things play a factor and on top of it she started to be more mobile and playing in her crib, so I just need be patient it’s just a lot all at once for her and I. 2.Before she started siting up and crawling in her crib she would always play and babble to herself and then eventually fall asleep. I did notice once now that she’s sitting up in her crib, I don’t think she quite understands how to lay back down once she’s up. I was watching her on the monitor and she was awake for 30 minutes and was finally just sitting with her head down dozing off and then she would wake herself back up and doze off again. So I had to go in there and lay her back down and she fell asleep. So I’m gonna have to work with her to learn how to lay back down which is something I never thought about happening 😂 it is new to her so I totally understand this is a learning curve for her! She’s known how to sit up and play outside of her crib but when it was nap/bed time she would only lay down and not try sitting up at all.

@@Karina-jb4sc ah yes that makes sense! I bet as soon as she figures out laying down, then it won't be a big issue! I think in the meantime, you'll have to continue helping her with it, but I'm sure she'll figure it out soon!

@@Karina-jb4sc yeah for some reason I was waiting for her to drop her own nap so i waited so long 😂i was able to just drop it cold turkey with her at that point and her wake windows just adjusted accordingly. I think she would be up 7-10, then 11-2, and 3:30-7 at that point (so 3-3.5hr wake windows). I think doing the 15min pushback is good when your baby needs that slow adjustment. Something that's helped me with that is using distractions to help them forget they're tired. So maybe going outside for a short walk around the time they start to get sleepy, or something like that. If her bedtime is still around 8/8:30, then her naps will have to make up for that lost time. If you shorten her naps, you might find her wanting to go to bed earlier! I get it though, I think my youngest might be an 11-hour sleeper - she's supposed to go to bed at 7:30 but never does till 8. I'll have to wait and see if that is always the same, but I'm definitely going to try to get her to a 7pm bedtime 😂

Good question! First, make sure he is taking a dreamfeed. A dreamfeed between 10 and 11pm at this age should help him last until 7am. If you aren't doing a dreamfeed, and his last feed is at 7pm, then he won't be able to last till 7am until he's 7 months old. Adding in that dreamfeed will help extend his sleep so he wakes up at the proper time. At this age, he should be able to go 8-9 hours without a feed as long as he is getting enough calories during the day. Second, make sure that your baby is actually hungry if waking up at 5 or 6. It's pretty normal for infant sleep to get lighter this early in the morning and he may just be having trouble falling back asleep. If it's not true hunger, then definitely don't feed! If he still can't last until morning, the best way I have found to eliminate that 5/6am feed is to still always feed at 7am. If he wakes up around 5 or 6, you can feed him and put him back to sleep until 7 when his day starts. You can try to make the early feed as short as possible so he isn't hungry, and then do your best to do a full feed at 7. Eventually, he should learn to rely on the 7am feed and will slowly be able to make it to that time. There's a 30-minute grace window with that 7am wakeup though, so if he wakes at 6:30, then you can consider that his 7am wakeup. This actually happened to me this morning with my 4-month old but it doesn't happen often. Additionally, with that grace window, it can go the other way. So if he takes a 6am feed and he's back down by 6:30ish, then you can wait until 7:30 at the latest to feed again (just to be sure he will eat more at that point). Obviously you want to try your best to get to 7 as close as possible, but it may be a slow inching game to help them get there. Hopefully all of this helps! Let me know if you have any more questions!

whoops, i never noticed that! Thanks for bringing that to my attention! Yes, most people I know love Babywise but I also have never been a fan of CIO. There are a lot of similarities between the 2 though! I actually do have another video where I compare the two of them. You can watch it here: czcams.com/video/Zill1OL1pnI/video.html

Thanks for commenting! Have you put her on a 4hr sleep routine yet? This will drop a daytime nap and move bedtime to 7:30pm (you can start the bedtime routine at 7). This routine is age appropriate for babies who are between 3 and 4 months old, and you should make the transfer to it by 4 months. You can watch my video on that here - czcams.com/video/7oCXgvEIRNg/video.htmlsi=dktF5sUQvEf7CNoK As you get her on this routine (if she's not already on it), keep using PUPD to help her establish regular sleep times and to put her back to sleep if she wakes early. Unfortunately, PUPD isn't magic, so you may not see the effects of it after only a couple of days. What PUPD does is helps your baby develop independent sleep skills, which will take her time to learn. It's also a skill for her to be able to link her sleep cycles together, so it will take time for her to do it well consistently. Naptime sleep and nighttime sleep happen in different areas of the brain, so that is why she can sleep better at night than during the day. As for those short naps, the only thing you can really do is do PUPD until the end of her projected nap time. If she's supposed to sleep from 9-11am, and she wakes at 9:30am, you need to commit to PUPD until it's 11am, even if she never goes back to sleep. I know this is easier said than done, but it's the only way to teach her that she should still be sleeping. If you are consistent in this, and you don't rely on sleep props or give up early, then you will definitely see results (i'd assume) in less than a week! When it comes to bedtime problems, my guess is that she is struggling with a 7pm bedtime because it's too early for her (assuming her morning waketime is 7am). It should be 7:30pm at this point (or 12.5 hours after her morning wake time). Her brain is treating her early bedtime like another nap, so she wakes up again after 30mins. Assuming she's not on the 4-hr routine right now, making that change should help fix the bedtime problem. If she's already on it, then try to help her stay up until when her bedtime should actually be. If she seems too tired in the evenings, it's likely due to the short naps during the day. Working on extending those should also correct evening-time drowsiness. When it comes to the early wake-times, the only way you can beat those out is also with PUPD. Doing PUPD in the middle of the night is so hard, especially when you know feeding her can get her back to sleep faster and with less effort. The problem is that she will learn to wake up for food if she keeps being given it. And this is the case with any sleep prop (we struggled with pacifiers with our oldest). Doing PUPD during these early wake-times is hard but should pay off fast, especially if she has already proven she can sleep through the night. When I started PUPD, I only had to do it one night with my daughter, even though she was waking up 3-4 times a night for a pacifier for about a month beforehand. It took her more time to get used to PUPD during naps and bedtime, but she got the message really fast with the nighttime PUPD. I'd hope this is the case for you! I'd be surprised if it took more than 3 middle of the night PUPD sessions, but every baby is different so you never know! The thing that helped me the most is thinking - I could spend some time and effort to do PUPD for up to 3 nights in a row and be done with nighttime wakings (basically) FOREVER or take a shortcut so I don't have to be up for as long at night, but I'd never know how many more nights I'd have to get up and do this. One more thing to consider: I also used shush pat in tandem with PUPD, but PUPD should always be what you start with. Just be careful about her depending on the shush pat too much - it may seem like PUPD isn't working if the shush pat is actually getting in the way and becoming a prop. Hopefully some of this will help! Please let me know if you have any further questions!

I'm planning to do an update soon moving from a 3-hr to a 4-hr routine! At 8 weeks, you should drop the cluster feed and have your baby be able to go from 4pm to 7pm without a feed. that's really the only major change at this point! It was a bit difficult for my daughter to last till 7 at first, but I moved her feed time back slowly over the course of about a week and now (at 12 weeks) she's starting to show she could last even longer!

I would start by getting her comfortably on the 3-hour routine first. For feeds: Time your feeds so you know how long a full feed should take (or measure by oz if you bottlefeed). Then do your best to encourage her to go 3 hours between feeds. There may be a bit of trial and error here - if she seems hungry and you feed her but it's not a full feed, then essentially that's what you're trying to prevent. The next time it happens, you can try to distract her away from snacking and encourage her to wait till she's closer to 3 hours. There may be some times where she can't wait the full 3 hours and that's okay as long as she's truly hungry! Then once she can go 3 hours regularly, try slowly to stretch it to 4 hours. For naps: You'll have to teach her to link her sleep cycles so her naps are no longer 30-45 mins. You can use the 4 S Method (and PUPD if you think she's ready) when she wakes up too early from a nap to help her go back to sleep. She should be napping up until her feed times, so this may also help her wait longer before she eats. Once she is taking the naps for a 3-hr routine regularly, then transition her slowly to the 4-hr routine naps at the same time you get her to go 4 hours between feeds. Since she's basically 4 months (age adjusted) now, you may not have a very smooth 3-hr routine, since she is almost ready to be on the 4-hr. Since she's so small though, my guess is that she will do well with the 3-hr feeds for a few more weeks before she's ready to move onto the 4.