When my little girl was 6-11 months old, she started waking up every two hours. As a mum, it was exhausting (and it was for my husband too), and I knew something needed to change. I often googled things like ‘help my baby sleep without cry it out’ when I was exhausted and awake for the 4th time in a night.
I’m not a sleep consultant, just a mum and a reflexologist, but these three things made a huge difference for us. I hope my experience might help other parents looking for gentle ways to help their babies sleep longer, too.
Here’s what worked for us—without using the cry-it-out method!
1. Moving Her Into Her Own Room
At 11 months, we moved my daughter into her own bedroom. I was nervous at first because we had been co-sleeping and I was still breastfeeding. But I noticed before this that every time she stirred, I would wake up and instinctively breastfeed her to get her back to sleep. Moving her into her own space allowed both of us to sleep more soundly (and I don’t think she could ‘smell’ boob anymore). She started waking less frequently, and I think she felt more settled having her own quiet, undisturbed space. She wasn’t hungry at night, she just got into a routine of waking and then needing me to go back to sleep.
2. Daddy Took Over Nighttime Wake-Ups
Another big change was when her daddy started handling the nighttime wake-ups, at the same time we moved her into her own room. We chose to start this on a Friday night, so he could sleep during the weekend if he needed to. Up until then, I was breastfeeding her back to sleep every time she woke.
At first, I thought it was the only way to soothe her and we were nervous to try this. But when my partner started going in to cuddle her back to sleep, she learned to settle without feeding. It was tough at first because my mama instincts were telling me to go in, but after a few nights, she adjusted, and the wake-ups became less frequent (she actually slept through on the 3rd night but on average woke once a night to begin with). This also gave me a chance to have much needed unbroken sleep, which helped me feel less like a zombie during the day.
3. Reflexology to Help Her Relax
As a reflexologist, I’ve always believed in the benefits of touch, so I started using reflexology on my little one much more consistently. I focused on points linked to relaxation and sleep. It became part of our daily routine, and I noticed it really helped her wind down and settle. Reflexology is such a gentle and nurturing way to support your baby’s relaxation, and for us, it made falling and staying asleep easier. If you’d like to learn more about how reflexology can be part of your child’s sleep routine, I offer plenty of helpful resources on my website, relaxyourtot.co.uk.
Final Thoughts
This is just my personal experience as a mum and a reflexologist. I’m not a sleep consultant (I used one myself), and I didn’t follow any strict sleep training methods like cry-it-out. Instead, I found that creating a calm, consistent routine with reflexology, moving her into her own room, and having her daddy take over nighttime cuddles made all the difference. If you’re looking for gentle ways to help your little one sleep better, I hope my story inspires you to try something new and means you don’t need to keep googling ‘help my baby sleep without cry it out’ too.
For more tips on reflexology and gentle sleep support, feel free to check out my resources on relaxyourtot.co.uk.
