My 7 Month Old No Longer Sleeps Through The Night After Co-Sleeping
Mary, a mother of a 7 month old in Northern Beaches, Sydney says:
“I think I may have made a bad judgement call.
About a month ago, maybe more, my son was sleeping through the night in his bassinet. He would go to bed around 9pm and wake around 7am.
Since growing out of his bassinet, he’s been sleeping in our bed between my partner and I. I thought it would be really cute to have him there and get the cuddles.
Guess what? He no longer sleeps through the night.
He’s currently 7 months old and wakes around 3–4am every single night and won’t settle back down unless I feed him.
He still wakes around 7am to start the day, so I’m losing sleep again.
We don’t have a cot yet — only a pack and play. I want him to sleep in there because I’m tired of being woken up getting slapped in the face all night, but I feel bad because it just doesn’t look very comfortable.
I miss sleeping properly and honestly, I miss my cuddles with my partner too.
My partner starts graveyard shift work in March, so I think I need to start making some changes before then.”
Baby Sleep Consultant Raquel Tara Responds
You can absolutely make some changes here and start getting more sleep again.
From what you’ve described, it sounds like a combination of bedtime timing, overnight resettling habits and the change in sleep environment has gradually shifted his sleep patterns.
The first thing that stands out to me is bedtime.
For most 7 month olds, 9pm is too late.
Once nighttime sleep becomes overtired and fragmented, everything else tends to become harder too — including resettling overnight.
At 7 months, many babies still wake for one overnight feed, particularly sometime after 2am. That part is actually still developmentally normal.
What we want to focus on is helping your baby learn how to settle and resettle more independently at bedtime and overnight, rather than fully relying on feeding or constant contact to transition back to sleep.
Once babies are tracking well for weight and getting enough calories during the day, I often find that overnight feeds naturally begin reducing once independent settling improves.
This does not necessarily require abruptly “weaning” feeds.
Often it’s more about changing the overall sleep structure and associations surrounding sleep.
Does Co-Sleeping Always Cause Sleep Problems?
Not necessarily.
Some families co-sleep successfully and safely for long periods of time.
But for many babies, particularly around 6–9 months, increased awareness overnight can lead to more waking once they are sleeping directly beside parents.
Babies can become more aware of movement, feeding availability, smell and proximity overnight, which sometimes leads to increased waking and feeding dependency.
This does not mean you have “ruined” your baby’s sleep.
It simply means your baby adapted to a new sleep environment — and now may need some gentle consistency around new sleep habits again.
What About The Pack And Play?
Parents often worry that bassinets, cots or pack and plays look uncomfortable compared to adult beds.
But babies actually sleep safest and often best on a firm, flat sleep surface.
What feels emotionally difficult for parents is often more about the transition itself than the sleep space being inadequate.
Consistency and familiarity are usually what matter most.
Can You Get Help With This Overnight?
Yes.
Raquel Tara provides overnight, in-home baby sleep support where she works directly with babies overnight while parents sleep.
Rather than simply giving parents advice to implement alone, Raquel physically comes into the home and supports the settling, resettling and overnight sleep changes in real time.
Raquel works with families throughout Australia using a FIFO/DIDO model, including Sydney, Canberra, Byron Bay, Melbourne, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and regional areas.
FIFO stands for Fly-In Fly-Out and DIDO stands for Drive-In Drive-Out, allowing families outside major cities to still access experienced overnight baby sleep support in their own home environment.
You Don’t Have To Figure Your Baby’s Sleep Out Alone
I work with your baby overnight in your home, implementing changes in real time and taking the burden off your shoulders while you finally get some sleep yourself.
View Overnight Support Australia Wide
