10 Month Old Routine + Sleep Training Q&A
Raise your hand if you had no idea before becoming a mom that you actually had to train your baby to learn how to sleep? ME! Honestly, before Davis was born (and even for a while after), I had no idea what sleep training was. I just assumed babies woke up when they were hungry and eventually would sleep through the night once they didn’t need to eat anymore. Let’s just say I had a very rude awakening when I found myself 4 months in with a baby attached to my boob all night and waking up every time he moved.
It was around this time that I posted on my. Instagram stories saying I was struggling with this and had no idea what to do next. I saw quite a few messages coming through about Taking Cara Babies ABCs of Sleep and since I was so desperate, I immediately purchased and started this program. I have never had any help with Davis since my family does not live here and was desperate to get my sanity back. I had previously done her newborn program and to be honest, I didn’t realize that she had more programs for when they were older. The ABCs of Sleep program from Taking Cara Babies changed everything for us and within a week I had Davis weaned off of night feedings and sleeping 12 hours through the night.
I’ll share a schedule at the end with what a typical day looks like
To read more about my review of Taking Cara Babies ABCs of sleep along with a Q&A, CLICK HERE.
SLEEP MUST HAVES:
Use discount code: HILLARYC10 for 10% off all Nested Bean products!
We use the ZEN CLASSIC
Wubanub Pacifier
A Bit of Davis’ Background History
As most of you reading this already know, Davis was born 6 weeks premature and spent 48 days in the NICU. He also had brain surgery at 2 weeks old, so needless to say that he has been through A LOT. After sharing more about his sleep patterns on Instagram, I learned that many of you that have had NICU babies seem to mostly be very good sleepers as well.
NICU babies have to sleep through a lot of commotion. There are constant noises, monitors beeping, lights on, nurses and doctors coming in and out, etc. NICU babies also (sadly) have to learn how to self soothe early on because there isn’t always someone there to calm them if they are upset. I remember seeing Davis sucking his thumb one day when I came to visit him at just a few days old. He hasn’t sucked his thumb since being in the NICU, but clearly he was forced to soothe himself.
NICU babies are also on a STRICT schedule. From the day he was born, he was put on a 3 hour schedule and he’s pretty much been on that same sort of 3 hour schedule ever since. So it seems like NICU babies tend to be more routined and overall better sleepers.
Please keep in mind that EVERY baby is different. I know that what I do with Davis is not going to solve all or any of your sleeping struggles that you may be currently struggling with, but I figured I might as well share exactly what we do just in case! I learned everything sleep training related from the Taking Cara Babies ABCs of Sleep program.
Q&A
How old was he when he slept through the night? Did you do anything special?
He was exactly 5 months old! 5 months is the earliest Cara recommends for ABCs of sleep. The main thing before sleep training is to confirm with your pediatrician that your baby can go through the night without a feeding. And yes, we did do something special! We did the Taking Cara Babies ABCs of Sleep program!
Is ABCs of Sleep worth the money?
I know it seems a little odd to spend money on something that isn’t a physical object. I know people may think “I’m not paying $______ to watch some videos.” I hear endless excuses of why people don’t buy this program and I just keep my mouth shut because I have a baby sleeping an average of 13 hours a night and they are complaining about how little sleep they get. Remember: sleeping through the night isn’t just good for you, IT IS GOOD FOR YOUR BABY!!! I think her program is a very fair price and I’d pay it over and over again. CLICK HERE to read my Taking Care of Babies ABCS of Sleep review and Q&A.
How did you cut out dream feeds?
Before sleep training, Davis was basically eating all night long. It was an open buffet. Cara offers several dream feed weaning strategies/plans in her program! The weaning process only took a few days and then he was good to go! She goes over this process quite in depth in her program.
Did you use the SNOO?
Nope. I knew about the SNOO and I was never once tempted to buy it. I didn’t like the idea of him becoming depending on something rocking him to sleep because I knew that would make it a harder transition to his crib. I haven’t seen any bloggers that have used it and then say that it’s worth it. I also think it’s ridiculously expensive!
What bassinet did you use?
We used a basic model of one of the Halo bassinets. I purposely got one that did not have any vibration because, again, I did not want him to become dependent on movement or vibration to be able to sleep on his own. When we started traveling, we got this basic travel basinet and I loved it so much that I ended up selling our Halo. The Halo is hard to store when you are done with it and this travel one folds up easily! I will use this with our next baby! CLICK HERE for our travel bassinet!
When did you know Davis was ready to sleep in his own room at night?
When I literally couldn’t do another night with a baby attached to my boob lol. I had already been doing naps in his crib at this point and I wish I would have started that even sooner. You want them to learn to love their crib and room and know that that is a safe place for them! I went cold turkey with him only sleeping in his room as soon as I started the TCB ABCs of sleep (this is what she recommends to do).
What is your Nap & Bedtime routine?
For naps, there is no sort of routine before I put him down. I always put him down wide awake (you’ll learn more about that in the TCB program). He typically has 2 naps a day that are 1.5-2 hours long. Sometimes he has a third “cat nap” that is about 30-40 min. Before TCB, I had to rock him in my arms until he was completely asleep and then HOPE he wouldn’t wake up when I laid him down. As soon as he woke up, I had to start this process all over and by the time I got him down, it would be time to eat again. If he did fall asleep, his naps were only about 30 min because he didn’t know how to fall back asleep and self soothe on his own. One of the things Cara said that stuck out to me the most was “imagine if you fell asleep in your bed and then woke up in your neighbor’s backyard. That’s what it feels like for your baby to fall asleep in your arms and wake up in their crib.”
For bedtime, Cody gives him a bottle at 6:00pm while I finish up dinner. If the timing works out, Davis will sit at the table with us while we eat dinner after he finishes his bottle. Around 6:30/6:40pm, we go to his room and put on his lotions and jammies, change his diaper, pray over him and leave. Again, he is wide awake when we put him in the crib. I don’t do a bottle RIGHT before bed because I do not want him dependent on that when it’s time to stop bottles. Most people have bath time as part of a bed time routine, but since Davis has a skin condition (Dermatographism), he is only allowed two baths a week and I do those during the day. Sometimes he cries for a few minutes after we leave the room (usually 2-5 min) and then he falls right asleep, but most of the time he doesn’t cry!
Does he have naps at the same time everyday or do you go by wake windows?
I go by wake windows (this all depends on what time he wakes up in the morning).
If you don’t follow his night time schedule tightly, does it effect his naps?
Since he has been sleeping through the night, we have NEVER kept him up past bedtime. He always goes down by 7:00pm at the latest. This has taken a lot of self discipline from us, but being quarantined has made it easier!
6 weeks old here! Did you start putting Davis down at particular times at this age?
To be honest, before we sleep trained him at 5 months, it all feels like a blur. Before they are able to sleep through the night, you’re just trying to survive! I just let Davis sleep whenever he wanted and made sure to feed him every 3 hours. Hang in there, mama!! Newborn stage is so sweet, but oh so hard!
Did you feed him on demand or did you space out his feedings once he was home?
Since he was on such a good 3 hour schedule from the NICU, I fed him every 3 hours. Keep in mind that I was exclusively pumping for the first few months since he was not good at breastfeeding, so feeding on demand would have been difficult! Once I started breastfeeding, I just started putting him to the boob whenever he would cry at night because I didn’t know what else to do. Those nights were so hard!
What were bed times at different ages?
When he was a newborn and before we sleep trained him at 5 months, we had absolutely no idea what we were doing. We would just keep him up with us and let him sleep while we watched tv at night. We figured if we kept him up later, he would sleep more through the night, but if you take TCB, she explains that keeping them up later actually makes them wake up earlier. It wasn’t until we sleep trained him that we actually had a “bedtime.” Now we always try to get him in his crib by 6:45pm.
Did he ever go through a short nap phase? Mine is waking up after 30-45 min
Before we sleep trained, he would only nap about 30-40 min at the max because he had absolutely no idea how to self soothe and fall back asleep on his own if he woke up. This is the KEY reason why doing the Taking Cara Babies ABCs of sleep course is so important. You have to teach them how to fall asleep on their own so that if they wake up, they are not scared and can go back to sleep. During naps, Davis often will “wake up” and roll around, but then he goes right back to sleep a couple minutes later.
Do you wake him up at a certain time in the morning or wait for him?
I wait for him! He usually wakes up some time between 8:00am-9:30am. Sometimes he will “wake up” around 7:00ish and will roll around for a bit and then fall back asleep for another hour or so.
How did you get him to sleep until 8:30am?
He used to wake up around 7:00am, but then he just kept sleeping later and later so I just let him! I’m not really sure what changed. I know though for sure that the later I put him down, the earlier he will wake up and the earlier I put him down, the later he will wake up. This is accurate every single time. That’s why it is so important to us to get him in his crib by 6:45pm and if he is fussy, it will be closer to 6:30pm.
How much does he eat before bed?
Anywhere between 5-7oz! Sometimes he doesn’t want a whole bottle and this has never effected how long he sleeps. Cara explains that it’s not really about the last bottle, it’s more about how much he has eaten that day. So I just always make sure he eats regularly through out the day and never stress about his night time bottle. Sometimes he is just too tired and doesn’t want much of it!
Did you use the crying out method? I don’t think I can do it.
Technically Cara does have you let them cry it out, but she gives you times to “pop in” until they stop crying and fall asleep. Yes, this part was hard but 100% worth it. I would just keep myself busy during this. The best thing to do when they are crying, in my opinion, is to vacuum! This keeps you busy and drowns out the noise. You are not helping your baby by letting them wake up at all hours of the night and you are not helping yourself either. The “pop ins” allow your baby to know you are there. The first few nights SUCK, but they will start getting the hang of things sooner than you’d think!
Cara recommends to NEVER take your baby out of their crib if they are crying because that lets them know that that’s all they need to do to get mommy and then will set their expectations up to believe that if they cry, they get out of the crib. If Davis ever wakes up crying, I wait until he calms down to get him. I was extremely strict with this when we sleep trained him and am still very strict with this to this day. With everything you do, YOU HAVE TO BE CONSISTENT!
How did you transition out of the swaddle?
With ANY type of transition, give your baby time to adjust! I will go over each swaddle/sleep sack we used and for how long.
I tried out about every swaddle on the planet and none compared to the OLLIE. I used this until he was about 3 months old if I remember correctly.
CLICK IMAGE TO SHOP
3 MONTHS: ZEN ONE SWADDLE – Use Code: HILLARYC10 for 10% off
This swaddle is great! It velcros their arms down really well and is very secure for those babies that can wiggle their way out of anything. This swaddle is great too because you can transition them to have their arms up and eventually have them out if you want! *keep in mind that this swaddle runs small!
CLICK IMAGE TO SHOP
5 MONTHS: MERLINS MAGIC SLEEP SUIT
This is what we used to transition from a swaddle to a sleep sack. This is a great TEMPORARY transition piece because it lets them get used to having their arms out. I put a limit on only using this for a few weeks because I didn’t want him to become dependent on it. *He slept in a onesie when we used this.
CLICK IMAGE TO SHOP
6 MONTHS – NOW: NESTED BEAN ZEN SACK (SLEEP SACK) – Use Code: HILLARYC10 for 10% off
Davis LOVES his sleep sack! Keep in mind that this was the hardest transition. It took him about a week to get used to it! I transitioned him to this about a month after he was sleep trained. I just went back to the same “pop in” method that Cara teaches while he was adjusting to this! Now he loves it and gets so excited when I put it on him!
The Nested Bean products all have “cuddle pads” on them, which are lightly weighted pads that help soothe your baby. This is what makes them so special! If your baby is a tummy sleeper, just reverse the sleep sack so that the cuddle pad is on their back! Davis keeps flipping back and forth, so I just leave it on the front! I recommend getting two so that you always have one in case one gets dirty!
I will probably keep him in this until he’s old enough to sleep with a blanket just because I don’t want him getting cold!
CLICK IMAGE TO SHOP
Does he sleep in a black out room?
I have blinds and black out curtains in his room, but honestly quite a bit of light still sneaks through and it’s never been an issue for him. Sometimes I accidentally will leave his closet light on and it’s never a problem. Again, this is probably thanks to being in the NICU for so long. Cara recommends to have it dark enough to not be able to see your own hand in front of your face. I would recommend trying to get their room as dark as possible.
I sleep trained my baby too, but he still wakes up twice a night for milk. Any advice?
My best advice is to use one of the weaning plans that Cara recommends.
My baby keeps waking up earlier and earlier. How do I get him back to his normal wake time?
I would recommend putting him down earlier and really trying to stretch him out if he wakes up early! When I say “stretch him out,” I mean try to leave him in his crib for a bit after he wakes up .
Do you limit his day time sleep to a certain amount of hours to ensure he sleeps through the night?
The only limit I have is that one nap can’t go longer than two hours. This is what Cara recommends. He doesn’t always have a third “cat nap.” Sometimes if he is fussy at that time, I just put him in his crib and he will just roll around in there for a while haha!
Does this routine only work if they are in the nursery? We cosleep.
In my opinion, yes. I believe it is very important to get them into their own crib and room as soon as possible!
Has Davis always been able to put himself to sleep? If not, how did you help him be able to?
NO! He had NO idea how to put himself to sleep before we sleep trained him! This is the main thing that the TCB ABCs of Sleep program teaches you! This is the key to getting them to be good sleepers!
What do you do now if he cries in his crib?
Every once in a while he will wake up in the middle of the night or midway through a nap and cry, but it doesn’t last long. If I know he needs to sleep longer, I just let him cry until he falls asleep. I know it sounds cold, but that’s what we do and it always works! He never cries longer than 10 min max now. I don’t do pop ins anymore unless I think something is wrong.
How do you know he’s dressed right for sleeping temp?
Their room should be between 68-72 degrees. Our monitor tells us the temp in his room, which is super helpful. He pretty much always sleeps in footie pajamas and we have never had an issue. *With the merlins magic sleep suit, he slept in a onesie.
6 Month old refusing third nap and barely making it to bedtime!
The ole witching hour!! Davis starts to crash after 4:00pm. Walks ALWAYS cure fussiness and if I need to kill more time and he’s still super fussy, I will put him in his crib and let him tire himself our for 20-30 min and then probably put him down earlier for bed!
WHAT A TYPICAL DAY LOOKS LIKE:
*keep in mind that this changes slightly depending on when he wakes up. This is just a rough schedule, but varies day to day. I always follow wake windows and his sleepy cues for naps.
8:30am – Baby wakes up
8:45am – First bottle feeding
9:00am – 10:30am – Wake window (play time, walk, baby food, etc.)
10:30am – 12:00pm – First nap
12:00pm – Second bottle feeding
12:15-1:45pm – Wake window (play time, walk, baby food, etc.)
1:45-3:30pm – Second nap
3:30pm – Third bottle feeding
3:30-4:30pm – Shorter afternoon wake window (play time, walk, baby food, etc.)
4:30-5:30pm – Optional short cat nap. If he has had longer naps or is not fussy, we will try to stretch him out until his last feeding
6:00pm – Last bottle feeding
6:30pm – lotion and pajamas
6:45pm – in crib for bedtime!