Camp Snooze night three: six babies, six starting points
Jun 04, 2026Camp Snooze · night three
Night three of Camp Snooze is done and dusted, and we have just come off roll call. It is not only the coffee. I am on a high, because everybody is doing so well and everybody is so happy.
So let me tell you about them. Every family arrives at a different starting point, which is the whole reason the plans are individual. Here is where six of them began, and where they were this morning.
Baby boy L, nine months
- Was Held and rocked to sleep in a chair, dummy replugs all night, then co-sleeping for a big chunk of it
- Now Two naps, self resettling mid-nap, asleep four minutes after going into the cot
Yesterday he napped 9.40 to 10.15, then 12.45 to 2.35, when he was woken to collect his big sister from kinder. During that long nap he actively resettled himself at the 45 minute mark and again at an hour and 15.
He was into bed at 6.15pm and asleep at 6.19pm. Mum wrote, and I quote, WTF, he is asleep.
He has also popped two teeth, had some Nurofen and a small bottle at 3.30am, and went back down until 6.45am. He has historically been fussy on the bottle, and at 7am he took 200ml.
Baby boy S, 17 months
- Was Fed to sleep for naps and staying latched, bounced, rocked and sung to, 5am wakes
- Now Self settled within 20 minutes, slept to 6.35am
He had been sleep trained as a younger baby, then hit some toddler regressions and went back to breastfeeding around the clock. Two naps or one? Nobody was sure.
Last night he self settled within 20 minutes, had a quick cry out at 5.25am, went back down, woke at 6.35 and even tried to drift back off at 6.54 before mum got him up at 7am.
We have been using a sideways step, a car nap, to break the feed to sleep association for that nap, and he has responded beautifully. Today we work on self settling into the cot with a low threshold to rescue the second half. First comes self settling for a nap, then comes linking the sleep cycle.
Baby girl S, seven months
- Was Waking every one to two hours with frequent overnight feeds, short naps, close sleeping, and stubborn 9 to 10pm wake-ups that took a very long time
- Now Self settled in eight minutes, straight through to 1am with no feed
She waved at me on the call this morning. She is cutting a tooth and was grumpy yesterday, so naps took a hit even with mum assisting them.
Into the cot at 6.50pm, asleep at 6.58. Brief wakings at 8.55 and 9.18, a full feed at 1am, a brief waking at 2.55, then she heard her dad get up for work at 4.55, had a small feed and slept past six.
Going through to 1am without a feed is now her benchmark. And every one of those blips, she self settled back to sleep. No lengthy resettles, no ending up co-sleeping.
Honestly, I am always a bit grateful when these real life nights happen. It is how families learn what to do when the day has not gone to plan, instead of adding five new things into the mix at 2am and starting again.
Baby boy F, six months
- Was Pick up put down, which was overstimulating him
- Now Self settling for nap one and nap two, asleep in five minutes at bedtime
On the call yesterday we asked mum how she felt about moving from pick up put down to a timed interval check. She said it had already worked so much better, and it was a penny drop moment, because we had looked at her logs and suspected the pick up put down was overstimulating for him.
She said the penny dropped, of course it is. She made the pivot and he responded beautifully. Two overnight feeds are still in the plan, and tonight's next step is to resettle all wakings before midnight.
Baby boy W, seven months
- Was Fed to sleep, rocked to sleep, short naps, waking multiple times overnight
- Now Slept all night with no feed, for the first time
So we move forward with no overnight feeds. Instead we tank up lunchtime solids, and tomorrow we add breakfast at 7.30.
Baby boy B, five and a half months
- Was Awake every 30 minutes, this time last week
- Now Through to 1am without a feed, settling in the cot for naps
I asked dad how he felt about the progress. He said they are incredibly happy, because this time last week they were up every single 30 minutes.
They started with a pick up put down for all non-feed wakings and two feeds overnight. What they have found is that this baby responds better to a hand on the chest and a dummy replug, so we are staying with that. I have asked dad to speak up if they plateau, because we are always looking to offer a little bit less, within each family's comfort level, as a baby's skill set strengthens.
Dad says he is a very ritualised baby who knows exactly when his bottles are coming. He has responded beautifully to the reshaping of the day, which is ultimately what makes the technique work at bedtime and overnight.
What all six have in common
Nothing, except that we met them where they were. We work with every sleep scenario going. If you are experiencing it, I guarantee somebody else is too.
We started on Monday. Today is Thursday. These are the kinds of results that can happen in three nights, and one of our babies is about to attempt a self settle for nap two for the first time, so I am keeping an eye on the forum.
Sally x
Adapted from a Camp Snooze roll call I recorded for Instagram. Every family is identified by a single initial only, never a name, and details are shared with their knowledge.
Written by Sally Woods, internationally certified sleep consultant and former paediatric nurse.
