Sleeping issues

My baby is reaching 5 months. He started to have sleep regression around 3.5 months when he was learning how to flip. Now he can flip well but still wakes up a few times at night. I co-sleep with him and nurse him to sleep as I have work the next day and this is the easiest agreement. Will this arrangement be undesirable as he may associate sleep with nursing and still can't fall asleep on his own? He may also be accustomed to co-sleep and refuse to sleep on his own in the future. When will he be able to sleep throughout the night? Should I train him to fall asleep on his own?

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You are right. There is a chance that he may associate nursing with sleep. What you could try is to shift the night feed 30 to 45mins earlier and try to establish a new sleep routine. A quick bath (unless you baby gets energize and excited from having a bath), brushing gums/teeth, changing in his pajamas are some common rituals you can try having. These will help relax and prepare your baby for bed. Next, you can read him a bedtime story, sing to him or just talk to him in a soft and soothing voice to encourage him to fall asleep. A quick recap of his day or telling him about yours are some good "conversational" topics. :) As for sleeping on his own, you can first try having his cot in your room and placing him in his cot when he is about to fall asleep. For now, perhaps you would want to make gradual changes and first focus on establishing a new routine before getting him to sleep on his own. Slowly work towards that so that he will not be overwhelmed by too many changes. As for waking during the night, it is common (even for adults) to wake up at the end of each sleep cycle. For babies, they are still not as "secure" and would check to see if their caregivers are around (just part of their survival instinct). With time, he should be able to comfort himself back to sleep (just like how we adults do).

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