Sleep training failure?

Baby Sleep - all input welcomed

I paid for a sleep trainer and started sleep training my baby at 17 weeks. Yes, I know that’s early but I was going back to work and felt like I had no choice. He’s 23 weeks now and sleep has not gotten better.

He can technically “put himself to sleep,” so if that’s the only metric then I guess mission accomplished. But the sleep trainer does kind of promise sleeping through the night and 90‑minute naps. Meanwhile:

My baby will not nap longer than 30–40 minutes. I’m lucky if I get one or two 90‑minute naps a week

He still wakes up 1-2 times a night

He will cry at least once a day for one of the naps or before bed and I don’t let him cry it out so I go in there and try to sooth him.

Every time I ask the trainer what’s going on, she gives me a new explanation about sleep pressure or wake windows or something but I am following the plan and wake windows to a T.

I feel like I wasted my money. I feel like a failure. And I feel so alone because everyone talks about sleep training like it’s this magic fix.

Please tell me I’m not the only one who sleep trained and still has a baby taking crap naps and waking at night. I just need to know this isn’t all on me.

Posted Apr 8, 2026, 2:46 AM UTC

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