Could this be one of the worst sleepers?
Not many 5 month olds sleep soundly through the night. But while you might reasonably expect a few good long stretches at night and during the day, that just wasn’t the case with Arlo.
All through the night, Arlo would wake up every one or two hours. His poor tired Mum would drag herself out of bed each time and feed him back to sleep – an exhausting task by anyone’s measure. By about 2 or 3AM in the morning, Arlo’s Mum would usually give up and carry the little guy into her bed, where she could at least get some shut-eye.
The noise and constant disruptions were too much for Arlo’s Dad, who had to make it through work the next day. He had resorted to sleeping in the guest bedroom just to get enough rest. Despite only being a tender five months old, Arlo was well and truly ruling the roost in his household!
Frustrated, exhausted, ready for a change
Eventually, Arlo’s Mum looked around at options that might help her son to sleep better. Something had to change. She noticed that it wasn’t just her and her husband that were tired; Arlo himself was cranky from a lack of sleep. Arlo wouldn’t even nap much during the day to make up for the restless nights.
Naps tended to be less than 30 minutes at a time, and it was all “utterly frustrating and exhausting.”
At a loss of what to do, Mum called Cara from Baby Sleep Consultant. Cara came in for a two hour daytime consultation to discuss what was happening with Arlo.
Two hours wasn’t really enough time to do everything in, but it was plenty of time to get an understanding of how Arlo and his Mum operated, and to show her what kinds of techniques she could use to help him settle to sleep more independently. Arlo’s Mum was particularly receptive to the idea of the “pick up, put down” technique, as she liked the idea of being able to stay in the room and support him in learning to fall asleep independently.
The rest of the session was spent showing (in a very hands-on way) exactly how to use the technique, which Arlo’s Mum then planned to use later that night.
Immediate improvements
So, just how did the first night go? Unsurprisingly, Arlo still woke up frequently. He had to be picked up and put down five times during the night! But his Mum celebrated a few little victories.
For one thing, Arlo stayed in his cot the whole night. He was also able to settle much quicker than usual. And instead of having to feed him each time, Arlo was only fed twice (instead of the usual six or more times).
It was only good news from there. Cara and Arlo’s Mum saw massive improvements over the week as they worked together. By the end of the week, Arlo had adjusted to waking up only twice during the night, once around 11PM and again around 3AM when his mum would feed him.
Mum was perfectly happy with two feeds – after all, he was only just over the weight we look at dropping to one feed overnight and, at only five months, was not yet having large quantities of solids.
The wake ups never lasted long anyway, so Mum could go back to sleep fairly easily. Arlo learnt to self-settle when he stirred and wasn’t due a feed, so there were no more pick ups and put downs after that. Similarly, during the day, Arlo was now having a lovely long two hour nap at lunchtime, where he used to do 30 minutes at the most.
A whole new Arlo
The effect that it had on the whole family was marvellous. Dad was able to move back into their bedroom, and Mum was incredibly happy with the way that things turned out.
Crucially, Mum reported to Cara that her little one is a very different baby now that he’s getting a proper amount of sleep. “He was quite unsettled and whinged for most of the time he was awake when he wasn’t sleeping well. But that has all changed now and Arlo is a much happier baby!”
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You've changed my life!
“This sleep guide has, quite literally, changed my life!
My baby is no longer catnapping for 30 min a day but sleeping for 2 hours straight. He no longer taking up to2-3 hours to fall asleep being rocked in my arms, but self settles in only a few minutes. I have my evenings free for the first time ever and boy have I binged watched some serious Netflix!!
I cannot recommend highly enough!!!
Thank you SO much guys for giving me a happy, well rested baby and me my life back!!
I’m not exaggerating in the slightest when I say life changing”
I'm no longer a Mombie!
“Before we started with your online program we were nursing to sleep, we had frequent night wakings, naps in the cot were not happening and a 2 hour nap only seemed to occur when we co-slept. Day 2 into our new routine and our 5 month old was self settling, a few days later he was doing the 2 hour lunch time nap, a week later he is self-settling for most sleeps and we even got an 8 hour stretch overnight. I can highly recommend, I no longer feel like a mombie.”
Start with our online sleep program today, download our sleep guides immediately, and gain access to our team of consultants via email for all those burning questions.
Emma Purdue
Emma is the owner and founder of Baby Sleep Consultant, she is a certified infant and child sleep consultant, Happiest Baby on the block educator, has a Bachelor of Science, and Diploma in Education. Emma is a mother to 3 children, and loves writing when she isn't working with tired clients and cheering on her team helping thousands of mums just like you.
Our Baby Sleep Program helps tired parents TO DEVELOP HEALTHY SLEEP HABITS BY FOCUSING ON NAPS, SETTLING AND NIGHT SLEEP.
- Empowered: Feel empowered as a Mum as you learn to understand your growing baby's needs and cues.
- Simple effective settling: Gentle, proven self settling, evidence based techniques.
- Content happy baby and parents: Better sleep creates content babies & happy parents.
- Freedom: Predictable routines and longer nights creates freedom. Solve your sleep problems for more freedom.
- Work with your babies circadian rhythm: Work with your babies biological clock for faster easier results.
- Awesome naps & nights: You'll create consistent naps and nights with our support.
Try our online sleep program, complete with FREE email support.
My baby has reflux can you help?
When your baby has reflux, feeds can be difficult and your baby can be in a lot of pain both during and after feeds. This pain can cause feeding aversions and failure to thrive. This is why true GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease) needs to be treated by a doctor. Once your baby's doctor is satisfied your baby is feeding well, and you have the right medication or formula then we can start a sleep plan and you will be successful.
My baby has colic will this help?
Colic is defined as 3 or more hours of crying per day in infants. Crying subsides in the second second trimester. If you are still experiencing colic symptoms speak to your baby's doctor about whether this could be reflux, an allergy, or over tiredness. We can help you work on better sleep with this program at the same time as your doctor investigates the pain and crying.
What if the program isn't working?
We have a dedicated help line to ensure your success. Just email our team via the details in your program and a certified, experienced and friendly sleep consultant is ready to stare you in the right direction to ensure your success!
My baby was born early, can you help?
Sleep is neurological so we always work off your babies neurological age, that is their corrected age. When you look at our sleep programs purchase the program that your babies corrected age fits into.
What if I have questions or need more help?
Our sleep programs come with private email support. You don’t have to post in any public forums or groups, just email the exclusive helpline that our team of certified sleep consultants look after and we’ll answer all your questions and help you on your way.
Can this program help with my babies night sleep?
Yes, all our online sleep programs contain night sleep plans. We will teach you how to move from multiple night feeds to 2 or 1 or none (depending on what is age appropriate and appropriate for your baby.) Don’t worry we will show you to figure this out too. If your baby is unsettled at night but not feeding, our plans will help you with consolidate night sleep and self settling when age appropriate.
My baby is cat napping can you help?
Cat napping is a very normal physiological stage that your baby goes through. At this stage (3-8 months old), cat napping can start to be a long term issue and compound into over tiredness and affect night sleep and your babies happiness. Good news, this is a great age to work on re-settling, self settling and better longer naps!
I have 3 children, can this work with my family?
I totally understand how busy life is with 2, 3 or more children! Even if you need a flexible schedule we can still work on settling regular naps (some on the go!), and better evenings and night. Flick our consultants any specific questions about your family's schedule of activities and we can help you work out what is possible nap wise.
I don't want a fixed routine, can you still help?
Yes. A fixed routine is one option, regular naps and regular awake times is another. Both are valid and you are welcome to do what works for your family. We understand you are all different and what works best for one family won't be best for another.
I'm formula feeding, can you still help?
Yes we have specific advice for formula feeding parents, and we support your decision to feed any way you choose. We even have a special video series on formula feeding and everything you need to know. Just ask our consultants about this extra if you need it.
I'm exclusively breastfeeding, can I follow your plans?
Yes! While breastfeeding babies need to feed frequently they still need quality sleep day and night. We have specific advice for breastfeeding mums and an exclusive discount on Julia Daleys breastfeeding course if you need extra help.
I'm bed sharing, can your program help me stop?
Yes. We often fall into bed sharing, we call this reactive bed sharing. Or we have simply changed our mind, and moving on from bed sharing we need some support. Our programs and consults will guide you through gentle sleep methods, which are more appropriate for most bed sharing babies who are moving towards independent sleep in the cot.
I'm feeding to sleep, can you help me stop?
Yes. Feeding to sleep is a common sleep association and one that works well for lots of newborns. Often we need to move on from feeding to sleep when it starts to cause short naps, or prolonged settling or frequent night wake ups as baby looks for their association to go back to sleep over and over again at night. We can teach you how to teach your baby to self settle and move on from feeding to sleep when the time is right.
I'm rocking to sleep, is their a solution?
Yes. These are common sleep associations, we refer to this as assisting to sleep. Let us show you ways you can develop independent sleep and settling strategies with our online sleep program, or one on one consult.
Is this program based on Cry It Out?
No. Cry it out is the common name for a sleep training method where you put baby down and don’t respond or check until they are fast asleep. There is no CIO involved in this program as we feel this should be only done under proper supervision. Instead we have included all our very gentle approaches and more mainstream techniques for you to choose from.
Is this based on Science or Art?
Both! As a scientist I (Emma) have spent over 8 years researching the science of sleep. I have educated and certified over 500 consultants around the world as sleep consultants, and have worked with thousands of clients. I love the scientific explanations of why we see the sleep patterns we see, and this science helps us to shape plans and solutions that we know will work. But there's an element of art to getting a baby to sleep, understanding the right combination of things that will work best, and this is where your instinct comes in.
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About the Author:
Thanks so much for this, I thought I was literally the only one up this much at night, it is so nice to hear from other mum’s who have gone through this too. I have just downloaded the sleep program, I can’t wait to get started.
About the Author:
I just finished my week with Cara, she is the best!!! Thank you Cara, I never thought I would have a good sleeper and I do!!!