u/Honest_Potential8710

6m old for context w/ a 7am wake up, 3 naps. Seems to do well with 12.5-13.5 hours of total sleep a day.

Is it better to stick to a consistent bedtime over following wake windows? Bedtime seems to vary quite a bit because his naps vary and shift things (if I can’t save nap 1 and or 2 for example). I try to ensure his 3rd nap ends at 4:15 but it doesn’t always work out this way and bedtime could vary anywhere between 6:15-7:45.

So for example, let’s say I can’t save any nap and he only naps 1.5 hours that day, his bedtime might end up being much earlier than usual, say 6pm - what do I do in this case? Is it better to squeeze a catnap in and push bedtime?

I really hope he gets to a point where he can connect sleep cycles for the daytime.

FTM with a 5 month old. We’ve been using a bedside pack-and-play and really started co-sleeping around the 4 month mark - mostly around the 3am/4am wake up, I’d pull him into bed, nurse side-lying and inevitably feel asleep till about 7am. The set-up isn’t the safest for co-sleeping long term though as baby starts to become more mobile, as the bed isn’t on the floor, no guardrails, etc. so once baby starts becoming more mobile, we’ll need a more optimal set up.

I’m trying to determine what does the next few months look like - do we want to continue co-sleeping and set up a sidecar situation or temporarily ditch the bedframe and put the mattress on the floor or should I try sleeping in a completely different room than dad with a mattress on the floor… OR do we sleep train and encourage independent sleep.

I love co-sleeping but if the goal isn’t to co-sleep long term, then is it best to attempt to sleep train (not cry it out) now vs waiting till baby is 1 or 2 years old.

For families that co-sleep/slept, how long did you do that for with your baby? Did you baby naturally want to transition to his/her bed eventually and at what age?