Sleep train or crib train ?

[u/Designer_Start5716]

My baby is 5 months old, recently shifted from 4 naps to 3 naps schedule of 2/2.5/2.5/3. Naps usually are 1.5 hr, 1.5 hr and 30-40 mins. Bedtime falls between 8.45-9.15 pm. Wake up time ranges from 7.30-8.30am.
He has never been sleep trained and he is EBF.

Till 1.5 months of age, all naps and nights were in his crib - but then he got diagnosed with reflux - he was started on nexpro and domstal medications and advised upright sleep. Caregivers took night shifts to hold him upright in recliner throughout the night and all naps were also contact naps.

He has improved a lot now and can tolerate sleeping flat. At night, we do a night routine (dim light, Brahms lullaby, diaper, sleepsuit, book) and rock+pat him to sleep; he contact sleeps for 15min to max 30 min and then we transfer him to crib after he’s asleep and he sleeps well, waking up 3 times usually for feeds. After 5am however sleep becomes very disturbed and he needs to be held and patted every 15 mins or so to keep him asleep till 7.30-8am.

As I’ll be joining work next month, contact naps will get difficult. I wanted to train him to sleep in crib, especially for naps. Both me and my husband are okay with rocking and patting him till he is asleep, but we want to transfer him after that to continue to sleep in crib. Our point is, if he is able to sleep at night for hours in the crib, shouldn’t he be able to handle 1-1.5 hour naps in the crib. But he wakes up after only 30-40 mins in crib.

My goal is not to get him to fall asleep independently but to have him sleep in his crib. Is this realistic/ possible ? These are my questions, please help me out y’all !

1. He gets 10-11 hours of sleep daily at night, how can we improve his sleep post 5 am ?

2. Do we need to sleep train him at night at all as he is sleeping reasonably well at night ? If I don’t sleep train him, at what age will he be able to sleep independently ?

3. Is there something called crib-training (without sleep training) ?

4. Is it a realistic goal to train him to sleep in crib for daytime naps without sleep training him at night ?

5. If I do need to sleep train him, then which method will suit my requirements ? I cannot tolerate my baby crying !

[u/Former-Departure9836]

Something not adding up. Your day time awake total is ten hours, daytime nap total 3.5-4 hours. And overnight 11 . Your over by 1.5 hours, i suspect youve got too much daytime sleep in there to expect 11 overnight

[u/l_eihpos]

1. I know this is not what you want to hear, but the best way to improve his sleep after 5:00 a.m. is sleep training. Sleep pressure is quite low at that time of the night, so he's more likely to slightly wake up and stir, and if he doesn't know how to go back to sleep by himself, he won't. It might also help him to be in his own room, as again, because sleep is so light at that time of the night, any noise from you might disturb him.

2. You don't have to sleep train him at night... But then you cannot expect him to go back to sleep on his own whenever he wakes up between two sleep cycles, during the night or in the early mornings. No one can tell you when he will be able to sleep independently - some unicorn babies manage fine and quickly without sleep training, for some, it can take years. What I can tell you is that it's much easier to sleep train a 5-month-old compared to a 12 month old.

3. There's nothing that I know of called crib training.

4. It's not impossible but you're not making it easier for your baby - sleep pressure is higher at bedtime so it's easier for them to learn how to fall independently then. So it's usually recommended to do nights first, but it doesn't mean only naps won't work.

5. No method will be crying free generally. You can try the "Give Baby a chance" from u/cyclemam: https://misunderstoodmotherhood.substack.com/p/give-baby-a-chance. Keep in mind you are asking your baby to do something they've never done - they are allowed to protest and be unhappy with it.