First of all you have to ask yourself why sleep train a 5 month old baby? There is absolutely nothing wrong with doing so in my humble opinion as long as it is done responsively and you feel comfortable. And of course if you do not see any positive change within 4-10 days then STOP! There will be reasons why and that needs further looking into.
But let me answer the immediate question here… you may be a new mum or seasoned mum with a 5 month old baby and you just can't see the wood for the trees. You have no idea where the days end and the nights start because sleep is so chaotic. Naps are short, multiple waking's in the night, you are co sleeping because you feel it is just easier to do this, you wake up in the morning feeling completely lethargic and just at a loss as to what to do. Grumpy, irritable and annoyed at the world around you is a given.
Lest we forget your baby here… broken sleep is just as detrimental to them. Feeding may be impacted because it is happening every 2 hours in the night and there is no rhythm in the day, overtiredness feeds into multiple waking's, clingy and irritable through the day just to name a few “symptoms”.
These are all valid reasons to sleep train and it does not have to be harsh at all. It can be done responsively and following your parenting style the whole way through.
So can a 5 month old be sleep trained
The answer is YES! While many parents and sleep consultants train as early as 4 months I have found this to be very hard on both parents and baby and it is a confusing time with sleep cycles changing and normal sleep for this age is short naps and days that are different during this “4 month regression”. Once 5 months comes we are through the shifting ride and on a straight path to SLEEP!
So what sleep can you expect from your 5 month old baby?
Grab my Ultimate Nap Guide that will give you more information on naps for sure! Aside from a 3 nap routine that you can gently guide your baby into at this age you are looking at 11-12 hours of sleep at night. Yes! You read that right..11-12 hours at night! Now I will caveat that by saying most babies this age will still need 1-2 night feeds. I am not in the business of cutting out all feeds at night just because your baby is X weight or Y age before they are 12 months (then it is something I look at)
Your 5 month old is absolutely able to self settle to sleep independently for naps in their own cot and at night also. Now it is possible that you may not need to do any sort of “formal” sleep training at this age. It could be that some tweaks to the day and optimising naps and feeds in the day that can really help.
It is also important to ensure your baby actually gets exposed to daylight and fresh air at appropriate times which all help with night sleep. I would also look at sleep habits that can help with independent sleep like the bedtime routine and how your baby is falling asleep.
When it comes to sleep training it means teaching a baby to fall asleep without the need for you to do it for them such as feeding, rocking, patting, co sleeping, driving around in a car at 2am…and yes…it's normal for these things to happen and work but it is also normal for a baby to not need these things.
Sleep training is controversial in some worlds and while I am not in the business of using methods such as “extinction” or closing doors so children feel isolated and make parents feel uncomfortable, the sleep clarity coaching programs I support parents with are responsive and can be done as gently and slowly as you want it to be.
So what is the best way to sleep train your 5 month old?
I first look at your baby’s sleep in a holistic way which means I take the night and day as a whole, I look at your parenting style, your baby’s temperament, medical and health, even the birth can and has an impact on your baby’s sleep.
Then you need to look at your daily lifestyle and how a 3 nap schedule will fit into that remembering of course many 5 month old babies are still on 4 naps a day. Ensuring your baby is not over tired at night will help your nights immensely because an over tired baby is going to struggle to stay asleep due to the chemicals and hormones that will be racing around their body.
Feeding schedule needs to be addressed and also room environment. What should your baby's sleep space look like? Find out here
What should your baby wear to bed? Find out here
When all these things have been addressed and you have worked out the root cause of your baby's sleep challenges then you need to address that…the root cause. If that includes sleep training methods then you need to choose an approach that fits with your baby's temperament, your parenting style and what you feel confident and comfortable to do.
And don't forget you MUST be consistent. You simply can not try one thing and then a couple days later try something else. You will never gets results and it just confuses your baby and leaves you feeling even more frustrated and feeling like sleep is never going to happen and I can promise you this one thing…your baby can sleep.
What to do if nothing seems to work?
I have coached and supported hundreds of families in my 7 plus some years to date (Nov 2024 at time of this blog publication) of sleep coaching and all with positive results.
If you need help please get in touch. You can book in a free sleep assessment call HERE and know this is the first step towards better sleep!
Just imagine…you could all be sleeping in 2 weeks!
Chat soon,
Rachael,
Your paediatric sleep consultant
xx