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We sleep trained our 5.5-month-old about 10 days ago. We started with a gentler method, but he became extremely upset, so we switched to a modified Ferber approach. He can now fall asleep independently, although we still do check-ins if he’s fussing or crying (takes about 25mn to put himself to sleep and will rub his eyes the whole time). His schedule is typically 2/2.25/2.25/3. The last wake window is usually closer to 2.5 hours, but because he often takes around 25 minutes to fall asleep, it ends up being closer to 3 hours. He gets about 3.5–4 hours of daytime sleep. Bedtime is around 7:00 p.m., and he typically wakes for the day around 5:30 a.m. We usually leave him in the crib until 6:00 a.m., even if he’s crying. Our main issue is that he can’t seem to go longer than 2–4 hours without feeding overnight. Even after taking a 5.5 oz bottle at 6:00 p.m., he’ll often wake around 10:00 p.m. and take about 3 oz. He then wakes again around 1:00 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., usually finishing a full bottle at both of those feeds. (around 28oz total per day) We typically wait 10–15 minutes before feeding to see if he’ll resettle on his own. During the first few nights of sleep training, we sometimes waited over an hour, but he never settled. It feels like he’s relying heavily on night calories. His daytime bottles are usually around 4.5 oz each. Would it be reasonable to cut the night feeds and let him cry it out, or is he still genuinely hungry? I’m concerned that he’s reverse cycling. We worked very hard to eliminate a strong feed-to-sleep association (including for naps), and I’m worried that the 10:00 p.m. wake-up may now be more habitual than hunger-related. Is three feeds per night still within the normal range for a 5.5-month-old, especially when his first stretch is often only 3–4 hours? How can we encourage longer stretches of sleep and later wakeup? Part of me feels like this could be a scheduling issue, but if we try extending his wake windows beyond about 2.25 hours during the day, he has a complete meltdown. Thanks a lot!
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