The Seven Nights blog
Plain, practical guides to baby sleep, written for tired parents of 4–12 month olds.
- Night wakings
Why your baby wakes every 1–3 hours (and what actually helps)
Frequent night wakings usually aren’t about hunger or a “bad sleeper.” Here’s what’s happening between sleep cycles and what helps.
- Sleep basics
Wake windows by age: a simple guide for 4–12 months
How long your baby can comfortably stay awake at 4–5, 6–8 and 9–12 months, and how to adjust when naps or bedtime go sideways.
- Sleep basics
Sleep associations: why the way your baby falls asleep matters
Why babies fed or rocked to sleep often need the same help at every wake-up, and which sleep cues stay put all night.
- Sleep basics
The 4-month sleep regression: what’s really changing
Around 4 months, baby sleep often falls apart. It’s not really a step backward. Here’s what’s changing and what helps.
- Routines
A 20-minute bedtime routine that works at any age
A simple, repeatable bedtime routine for babies 4–12 months: feed first, then bath, pajamas, book, song and crib.
- Routines
Feeding to sleep: how to move the feed without dropping it
Your baby only falls asleep while feeding? Here’s how to move the feed to the start of bedtime, so they eat just as much and fall asleep in the crib.
- Routines
What time should your baby go to bed?
For most babies 4–12 months, bedtime lands between 6:30 and 8:00 p.m. Here’s how to find the right time for yours, and how to move it gently.
- Approaches
Timed check-ins, explained: how they work night by night
Timed check-ins are the fastest of the three gentle sleep approaches. Here’s how they work, what to say, and what the first nights usually look like.
- Approaches
The chair method: stay-in-the-room fading, step by step
The chair method lets you stay in the room while your baby learns to fall asleep in the crib. Here’s how it works, where the chair goes, and what to say.
- Approaches
Bedtime fading: the gentlest way to teach sleep
Bedtime fading starts at the time your baby naturally gets sleepy, then moves bedtime earlier in 15-minute steps. Here’s how it works and who it suits.
- Approaches
How to choose a sleep approach you can actually stick with
Three gentle ways to teach your baby to fall asleep in the crib, how they differ in pace and protest, and how to pick the one you’ll keep doing.
- Approaches
Is sleep training harmful? What the research says
A calm look at what studies have found about sleep training, attachment and stress, and how to teach sleep in a way that feels right to you.
- Safety
The safe-sleep checklist every parent should know
A simple checklist based on AAP safe-sleep guidance: back to sleep, a bare crib, room-sharing and the products to skip, for every nap and every night.
- Sleep basics
How to set up your baby’s room for better sleep
Dark, steady, cool and calm: a simple guide to setting up your baby’s sleep room so the cues around them stay the same all night.
- Night wakings
Why your baby wakes at 5 a.m. (and how to shift it)
Early morning waking is common and fixable. Why it happens, how to treat 5 a.m. like the middle of the night, and when to start the day.
- Night wakings
Night feeds: when to keep them and what to ask your pediatrician
Night feeds are a health decision, not a sleep-training step. Here’s how to keep them, what to ask your pediatrician, and how to tell hunger from habit.
- Night wakings
Baby standing in the crib at night? Here’s what to do
Pulling up to stand is a big new skill, and babies love to practice it at 2 a.m. Here’s how to keep nights calm and the crib safe.
- Night wakings
Sleep when your baby is sick or teething
When your baby is unwell, comfort comes first. Here’s how to pause your sleep plan, when to call the pediatrician and how to get back on track.
- Sleep basics
How naps affect night sleep
Naps and nights are connected. Here’s how nap timing shapes bedtime, why skipping naps rarely helps, and what to adjust first.
- Routines
Getting both parents on the same sleep plan
Babies learn fastest when every night looks the same. Here’s how to agree on a sleep plan together and stick to it at 2 a.m.