My 7-month-old still wakes every one to

I'll pull the child-sleep and safety cards before writing anything.

You're not doing anything wrong — at 7 months, waking every 1–2 hours is normal physiology, and most babies don't settle through the night reliably until they're past a year. The problem isn't the waking. It's that you've been changing the method every few nights, so nothing has had time to work. (Sources below.)

Infants 4–12 months need 12–16 hours in 24 hours, naps included — so 2–3 daytime naps is right where you are, not too many. (AASM duration table, via child-sleep card)

---

1) What you've tried vs. a better alternative

Already in your house and worth keeping: sleep sack, white noise, blackout curtains. Those are environment, not method — they don't get "diluted" by trying something else. Keep all three on standby mode tonight.

The one habit to change: stop switching methods. Pick one approach and hold it for 5 nights minimum, ideally 7. Any advice that requires you to change every two days is not advice, it's noise. This is the single biggest thing that will make the next week feel different from the last one.

The filter for any advice you get (this is your screenshot answer to "how do I filter advice?"). Three questions, in order:

1. Does it need holding one method for 5+ nights? If it changes every other day, park it.
2. Is it safe-sleep compatible — baby on their back, on their own firm flat surface, in the same room as you? If not, it doesn't get considered.
3. Does it cost the family more than it gives? More night waking, or a parent who is more depleted, is a no.

Tonight / today (keep each under ~25 min):

• Tonight, first move — put the baby down drowsy, not asleep. Already in their own space, then feed/settle. Whatever you do at 2am tonight becomes the association for the next 3 months. This one change is worth more than any gadget.
• Tonight, protect the sofa and armchair. If you're feeding or cuddling at 3am and feel yourself nodding off, put the baby down in their own sleep space first, before the feed. Never plan to settle there — that's the surface where tired adults actually fall asleep. (NHS / Lullaby Trust)
• Today, cap the late naps. Keep the 2–3 naps, but keep the last wake of the day early enough that there's a decent stretch before bedtime. A nap that ends too close to bedtime is the most common reason a 7-month-old is wide awake at their bedtime.
• Today, morning light + a fixed wake time, including weekends. Screens off about an hour before the bedtime chain.
• Tonight, the chain (same order every night, 4 steps, under 25 min): lights dim → nappy/feed → sleep sack → one or two books. Same order, most nights.
• Sunday is your one asset. Your partner is home — use that block to give one caregiver a properly unbroken 3–4 hours of sleep, with the baby in their own safe space. Don't spend it on a "training" session. The safe version of "let me sleep" is splitting the night so one adult is genuinely asleep and the other genuinely awake — not one adult dozing on the sofa.

A script you can screenshot and both adults use identically (the single response, whatever the wake is):

> "It's okay. Same thing every time: lights still dim, white noise on, sleep sack, back down, one or two books, then quiet. Same thing you did last time."

Say the same words, in the same order, at every wake. The baby learns the *sequence*, not the time.

What success looks like in 24 hours (no cure promised):

• You held one method for 3 nights in a row instead of switching.
• One caregiver got a real unbroken block of sleep.
• At least one wake was settled with less help than the night before.

That's it. Real change here shows up in weeks, not nights. A bad night after a good one is normal, not a failed plan.

---

2) Constraints and the avoid list

Do not:

• Switch methods mid-week. One method, 5 nights.
• Put pillows, duvets, loose blankets, or soft toys in the cot — the sleep sack is the correct thing there, on a firm, flat, non-inclined surface.
• Sleep on a sofa or armchair with the baby, ever, including "just for a minute."
• Bed-share if anyone smokes, has drunk alcohol, or takes anything that makes them drowsy, or if the baby is under 2.5 kg or born early. If sharing happens anyway: baby on the back, pillows and duvet away, no other children or pets nearby.
• Give melatonin, any sleep medicine, "sleeping powder," herbal remedy, or anything bought online without a prescription. At 7 months — no. Doses, supplements and any medicine decision are the prescriber's or pharmacist's call, full stop.
• Use the bedroom as a time-out. The room should predict sleep, not punishment.
• Shorten the baby's time in bed to "train" them. Never do this to a baby.
• Put "sleep through the night" training above safe sleep. If a method asks you to do something unsafe to get a longer night, the method is wrong, not the baby.
• Drive while sleepy — for you or anyone else in the house. Arrange the ride instead.

Non-negotiable safe sleep, every sleep, naps included: baby on their back, own empty cot/bassinet, firm and flat, same room as you (not the same bed) for at least the first six months. (AAP / NHS / WHO)

This is a week to record, not a week to escalate. If you log three nights — time down, wakes, how long to settle, final wake — that record is the single most useful thing you can bring to a paediatrician or GP later. Want me to set up the log, or a reminder for the wake time and the Sunday partner block?

---

3) Red flags — when to stop DIY and get help

Stop the home plan and contact a clinician (GP / paediatrician) this week if you notice:

• Loud snoring, gasping, choking noises, or someone watching the baby stop breathing — or the baby turning blue in sleep.
• A baby who is very hard to wake, floppy, or not feeding / not regaining weight.
• Fever with unusual sleepiness, or any sign of pain — arching, crying that won't settle, a feed that clearly hurts.
• Weeks where you are not functioning: the tired caregiver can't get through a day, or you feel you can't keep going.

Emergency, now: a child who turns blue in sleep, stops breathing, or cannot be woken — go to your local emergency service immediately.

One honest limit: I don't diagnose sleep disorders and I don't interpret any machine readout — a sleep study, a home test, a monitor, a wearable "sleep score." None of that answers "why is my baby waking," and if you already have a number on a screen, that's a question to bring to the clinician, not a verdict to read at home. Likewise I'm not a clinician: the decisions on night feeds, medication, and whether anything medical is going on are the doctor's, not this guide's. (Sources: MedlinePlus Healthy Sleep · NHS sleep apnoea · NHS SIDS)

---

Sources: Infant sleep duration — AASM/Paruthi 2016 duration table via the child-sleep card · Night waking normal in infancy — Newcastle Hospitals NHS Childrens Sleep Service · Safe sleep (back sleeping, firm flat empty surface, room-share, no sofa) — AAP healthychildren.org, NHS SIDS, WHO · Sofa/armchair risk — Lullaby Trust · Bed-sharing conditions — NHS / Lullaby Trust · Bedtime chain and screens — NHS Every Mind Matters, NHLBI healthy sleep habits · Red flags — MedlinePlus, NHS sleep apnoea · Hand-off: nothing here is mine to interpret; the clinician decides on feeds, medicines, and any medical cause, and you take the log to them.