Sleep Training Your 9 Month Old | Tips, Schedules, and More

Sleep training can be a complicated and difficult process no matter the age you start your little one at. However, the older they are the more difficult it feels, as they are developing patterns that you’re working to help them change. If you’re ready to try sleep training for your 9 month old, you may feel like it is a daunting task. But have no fear – we’re here to help! Keep reading to learn more about what sleep training is – and isn’t – as well as tips, schedules, and more on sleep training your 9-month-old.

What is Sleep Training?

First, let’s talk about what sleep training actually is. There are a lot of misconceptions about what sleep training actually is. One of the most common misconceptions is that the term “sleep training” is synonymous with the “cry-it-out” method. This couldn’t be further from the truth! In fact, there are many different ways parents can go about sleep training. 

Sleep Training = The process of helping a newborn or infant learn to fall asleep and stay asleep on their own. 

While this can be achieved in many different ways, you ultimately just want to help a baby feel safe and comfortable in falling asleep on their own and staying that way for their best growth and development.

What are the Different Types of Sleep Training?

There are many different styles of sleep training, however, a few of the most common types include:

• The Ferber Method
• “Cry it out” Method
•  Chair Method

If you want to learn more about each of these and other styles of sleep training, including our recommendation – The Mommywise Method – you can take a look at our full breakdown here.

What Does a 9 Month Old’s Typical Sleep Schedule Look Like?

Before diving further into sleep training tips and recommendations for your 9 month old, let’s first look at what an average 9 month old’s sleep schedule looks like. While every baby is different, this will give you a good baseline to start with and understand what your expectations should be. 

Babies at this age typically wake up on the early side, take both morning and afternoon naps, and go to sleep early enough to get at least 10-12 hours of sleep during the nighttime hours. 

Again, every baby is different, and every family rhythm is unique so it’s about finding the right schedule for your lifestyle while also being able to ensure that your baby gets adequate and consistent rest. 

Tips for Sleep Training Your 9 Month Old

• First, determine the method that you are comfortable using. Different people are ok with different methods, so make sure to do thorough research on the different styles and then commit to the one that feels most comfortable to you. You can take a look at our breakdown of several options here.
• Know that sleep training at an older age like 9 months might be more challenging, but is absolutely possible. You have to truly commit to your bedtime routine and sleep training method though.
• Balancing rest is key. While you don’t want your baby to get overtired, leading to crankiness and making it harder to get them down, you also don’t want them getting too much rest and not staying on schedule. Balance is truly key. 
• Keep teething in mind. This is also a prime age for teething and it could be causing your baby discomfort and not being able to sleep. While you may need sleep training as well, keep teething and its symptoms in mind.

Start Sleep Training Your 9 Month Old

If you feel like it’s time to begin the sleep training process, getting a sleep consultant is one of the best investments you can make. A sleep consultant brings many things to the table that you may not have had access to before, like: 

• Vast experience in sleep training
• In-home presence
• Support

While you can begin sleep training on your own, there is nothing like having an expert who has done it hundreds of times, there to help both you and your baby. 

We offer sleep consultants and training and recently helped a family sleep train their 9 month old. This baby went from multiple wake-ups a night to now sleeping 11-12 hrs straight, self-soothing, going to bed completely awake, and falling asleep on her own.

If you’re ready to help your baby get the sleep they – and you need – we’re here to help.

Sleep Training Success with CLEbaby

Get more information on our sleep training process, services, and consultants, and fill out our info form to get the process started.