Disclaimer: I am in no way a baby sleep expert. And I’m not claiming to be. I am writing this from my own personal experience and the experience of 7 very close friends who used the exact same sleep training method.
You’re newly expecting. It’s your first child and you’re over the moon excited! You share with someone that you will be welcoming a sweet little baby in X number of months. Their response – “oh congratulations! Get all your sleep while you can.” or “That’s awesome! You’ll never sleep again.”
Why? Just why is that everyone’s response? Not only is it mean and cruel, but its highly annoying! You just sucked all the life out of this conversation. Literally! And I kinda want to slap you. Nothing used to tick me off more than THESE comments! And to this day, this is the LAST thing I would ever say to an expecting mom or dad. Because, quite honestly, I don’t think its the truth.
Before I get started on our experience with Moms On Call, I feel like I should insert a PSA here! This blog post is in no way meant to brag, gloat, or boast about my parenting tactics. This actually has nothing to do with me except for my ability to read a book and follow a protocol. This is not my chance to royally annoy all the sleep deprived families out there. But it is my chance to share with you the best kept parenting secret I’ve EVER been given!! I can only speak from my experience with one baby. BUT, I can attest to the fact that 7 of my closest friends have used the same method and gotten the EXACT same results.
I just truly believe in this program! And I honestly don’t think any amount of words I could write here would be enough to express how much I believe in it!
I’ve seen it work. And beyond it “working” I saw how calm and confident it made me as a first time mom. I had NO clue what I was doing, but I knew that if I followed the book all would eventually turn out ok. And it did. And it wasn’t just me. Tom is more of an advocate for the program than I am. Y’all should hear him telling every one of his first time dad friends, “man. you gotta get this book. its the baby bible.” I’m honestly so passionate about this program that I would become a consultant if I could. ha ha. But instead, I’m going to shout it from the rooftops because I want every mom to have the sleep experience that we did!
Far before I ever found out I was pregnant (or even wanting to be pregnant for that matter) I was quite literally terrified of the amount of sleep I was going to supposedly miss!
I love to sleep. I need to sleep. Everyone around me is much happier if I sleep.
So the minute I found out I was expecting, the ONLY thing I researched was sleep training. I didn’t really care to know at what stage the babies eyes developed or what their heart rate should be. But how to get the crazy little monster to sleep —- yea! Give me ALL of those details!
So lucky for me, our crazy little baseball lifestyle makes the sleep training thing even that much more important. Tom usually gets home from a game around 11:30pm, goes to bed around 2am, and then his day starts around 10am. I was imagining all the awful scenarios of staying up late with Tom and getting up super early with a baby. I knew I couldn’t function like this, but I also didn’t want to miss out. So also lucky for me, baseball surrounds you with a bunch of like minded, problem solving, take the world on head first women. And the minute you become pregnant their baby training knowledge is coming at your like water from a fire hydrant.
So in comes Bridget. A very VERY dear friend we played with for one season. But one season was long enough to build one of the most important relationships of my life. Bridget is an amazing mom of two, a nurse in school currently getting her masters, and a coach for a program called Moms on Call. A year before Bridget had her daughter Miller, she watched another baseball mom use this program successfully with her daughter. Bridget tried the program – saw amazing results – became certified and has since positively impacted the lives of myself and 6 of my friends.
Bridget and her gorgeous daughter Miller at my baby shower
Learn more about Bridge here. Please contact her for your consultation!
Once I saw how consistent, and EASY, baseball life was for Bridget and her daughter, I knew I needed some of that! The scientist in me likes facts. I need proof. If you have clinical proof that something consistently works with a decent sample size —- I’m in. What I was not down for was “trial and error.” Especially not when it came to sleeping! I have a sister, a mom, a grandma, a MIL, 3 sister in laws, and countless friends who have had kids.
The last thing I wanted was to constantly filter through 50 thousand suggestions on how to get your kid to sleep.
Trying one thing for 3 days. Not knowing if its working. Is my kid different? Is there something wrong with them? Am I doing something wrong? Do I ask the family member who suggested it? Then giving up and trying another method. Yea. That’s not for me! I wanted ONE tried and true method that I could follow from start to finish and confidently tune out all the other chatter from my “village.”
And thats what I did! I read the MOC book about a month before I was due. In fact, this is the ONLY book I read for 10 months of pregnancy!! And the minute my crazy little lady was here, I referenced it at least 5 times a day. It was our bible. If something happened, Tom’s first words were “where’s the book? What does it say?”
So what is Moms On Call?
Moms on Call is a comprehensive sleep training program designed by two nurses and moms out of Atlanta, GA. These two ladies developed this program from their experience as nurses working with babies and the constant baby questions they would get from friends and family. With the program you get the set of 3 books and the swaddle. And trust me – their swaddle is FAR different from any swaddle on the planet!! You can also request a personal consultant (which is what I did). This person is available to you 24 hours a day via phone or email. You can ask them ANY question from how to cut your babies toenails to latch technique to why is my kid waking up every 2 hours to eat still. And the best part – every single consultant must be a registered nurse and mom. How amazing is that!
notice how thin these books are
Ok – so the set of books takes you through toddlerhood but I personally think 0-6 months is the clutch book. The book is SUPER thin, simple to read, and straight to the point. It walks you through every aspect of baby life from 0 – 6 months. From how to set up a simple bath situation to what you need in your medicine cabinet. They walk you through both breast feeding, bottle feeding, or transitioning between the two. I mean literally EVERY aspect is covered.
But – the entire principle of their book is to get your child to sleep! The guarantee is that if you follow their program, your child will sleep 12 hours through the night by 3 months old. So every concept that they cover, bath time, feeding time, play time, it all builds a schedule that leads to 12 hours of sleep each night!
Their swaddles and swaddling technique are CLUTCH! Like none other.
And it works! Parker was sleeping 12 hours by 10 weeks old. And to this day, she sleeps 12 hours at night and takes a 3 hour nap during the day.
And it wasn’t just me. I’ve seen 7 other friends have the same results with this program. Two of them were sweet enough to write their opinions on the MOC program:
“As a first time mom & long time control freak, Moms on Call helped me tremendously. The most valuable aspect is the schedule! It gave us clueless parents a road map that allowed for detours daily. I started using the schedule when Ella Rose was about 2 weeks old and passed it on to anyone who watched her so that her schedule was consistent, even if ours wasn’t. The books have been very helpful, too. Kids don’t come with manuals, unfortunately, but the Moms on Call books are as close as it gets. I read the 0-6 month book while I was pregnant and it, unlike most unsolicited advice, helped prepare me for those crazy first few months of motherhood. Highly recommend!”
– Lindsay
“MOC was the best recommendation I received as a new mom. It is very concise and easy to read and reference. Ideal advice for feeding, sleeping, illnesses, and general newborn care. Our reflux baby was sleeping through the night by 10 weeks and has slept 10-12 hours a night since. I tell all expecting parents about it. I am a believer! (and get the swaddles!).”
– Kate
So here are a few things that I personally loved about MOC and why I recommend it to everyone:
- As I said before – it eliminated trial and error. As a sleep deprived mom, no one wants to be experimenting with sleep. Trying cousin Suzie’s suggestion for 3 days and then wondering if its working or not. Switching to Aunt Mary’s suggestion for 3 nights. Yada yada yada. This was a tried and true, proven method that I clung to like a life raft. And it worked! It eliminated frustration for both me and Tom and it gave me a sense of confidence as a brand new mom who literally had no clue what I was doing.
- It set a beautiful schedule that made my life insanely easy. Part of the program is that you wake the baby to feed them during the day (yes my mom nearly died when I told her this). But, this made my days so easy. If Parker was crying I knew, for the most part, if she was hungry or wet or something else. If it was around her scheduled time to eat, she was hungry. If not, likely something else. This structured routine also made it easier for me to get out of the house. I knew that if she was scheduled to eat at 1pm I either had to a. be done with my errands and home to feed her at 1:00 OR b. I had to stop my errands and feed her in the backseat of my car in a parking lot – which I did countless times! But the schedule took out a TON of guess work and also gave me structure to my day. We also traveled a TON when Parker was a baby (23 flights before she turned 1 to be exact – read my travel tips here) and the schedule stayed the same. It allowed us to go from home, to spring training, to baseball season, and countless hotels and grandparents in between. But Parker knew there was consistency along the way. She always knew her schedule and what to expect no matter where we were. Which made for a happy baby and a much happier mom!
- The book explains WHY everything works. Like I said, I’m a scientist at heart and I like proof and reasons why. And the nurses who wrote the program explain just that. But in simple terms that are easy to read. For example, they tell you that by 12 weeks old, your baby’s GI tract should be developed enough to consume enough food during the day to keep them satisfied for 12 hours of sleep at night. I didn’t know that! And it made me feel totally comfortable with my child sleeping all night long!
- The book gives you insights that only experienced moms would know. When you’re a first time mom, struggling to simply survive, the last thing you can think about is date night. ha ha. But it will happen again and the experienced ladies who wrote the book know that. So along the way they give helpful tips that are setting the stage for easy transitions in the future. Transitions that a brand new mom can’t foresee. For example, they suggest that dad give the last feeding of the night in a bottle – even if you are breastfeeding. This is for multiple reasons (all explained in the book) but one of them is that in the future, when you want to go out for dinner or have a date night, the baby is OK taking a bottle from a babysitter and not nursing. Genius right! Who knew?
- As structured as the program is, it actually allows a LOT of flexibility. This was my biggest concern with our crazy lifestyle. What would I do if it was Parker’s bedtime and it was the 9th inning of a game and Tom was pitching and I couldn’t leave? No worries! The genius ladies who wrote the program incorporated what they call “crazy days”. Days that go off schedule. They explain where you can make adjustments to accommodate your schedule. And proof that it works – we transitioned Parker from a 7am-7pm schedule during the off season to a 10am-10pm schedule during season and back to an 8am-8pm schedule the next off season. Its a structured plan with wiggle room.
At the end of the book it maps out a “typical day” for each stage of the first 6 months. But it also incorporates “crazy days” for days that go off schedule.
Here is what you need to get started with Mom’s on Call:
Go to the Moms on Call website to get connected with resources:
- books
- swaddles – a MUST have – yes it is different from other swaddles
- a personal consultant to walk you through every step
Mom’s On Call suggests these products and I agree they are a must!
a white noise machine is clutch for peaceful sleeping
black out curtains – these are the ones in P’s room – from PBK
bottles – even if you breastfeed, they recommend a bottle for the last feeding of the day – and we found this to be MOST helpful
Please reach out to Bridget if you have any questions. Or shoot me an email or leave a comment below. I truly can’t rave enough about this program! The program is fool proof and it holds your hand every step of the way!
xoxo
Meghan
How were you able to set the 8am to 8pm and the 10 am to 10pm?? Did you use the same schedule? Or do you have an example of what you used?? I just had a baby and she will turn 2 weeks on Monday when I plan to start MOC. I love the idea of it all, but have the same concern of it not being flexible enough. We go to football games in the fall and attend some late functions where I’d like our little one to not have a major meltdown if we don’t put her in bed by 7.
Author
Hey Melissa – Thanks for the question! The book explains that there will be “crazy days” where things just aren’t the same and you just do the best you can and always stick to the same bedtime routine — no matter if it’s at 8pm or 11pm. We bumped back to 10-10 schedule for baseball season since it would be a whole 8 months. It fit with our family schedule. We did it gradually in 30 min increments over a few days. But even to this day, there are PLENTY of days/nights that our schedule varies. As long as you keep the majority of the day consistent and you jump right back on track the next day, the kiddo will be fine! They do a really great job in the book of explaining that this is an “ideal” schedule but they 100% recognize that LIFE happens 😉 Good luck and congrats!
I have an 8 month old that wakes up to “nurse” (I put this in quotes bches really not hungry except for the 2-3 am wake up) 1-3 times a night. I’m tired.ive tried the CIO method and he gets so upset he almost can’t breathe. I also have a 3 year old so I’m desperate for sleep. Will this still be useful if I didn’t start MOC earlier?
Hi Meghan,
I am trying to adopt the Moms on Call schedule. My daughter is 6 months old so I’m a little late in the game but I want to get her on a more of schedule. Each day is kinda sporadic right now. My big question is when would run errands? Do you do it when she is supposed to be taking a nap or when she is supposed to be awake? She just tends to fall asleep in the car so I didn’t know if these small catnaps would effect her sleeping at night? And did you let them cry it or even for naps? She is used to Fallon asleep with a bottle so I am trying to get away from that! Thank you for your help!
Holly
Hi!
My baby girl is 5 weeks old and I only swaddle her loosely at night because she hates her arms being tucked in. Do you think it would be too late to swaddle with the Moms on Call method?
Thanks!
Madeline 🙂
Hi, I’ve read the book and am new to the MOC program. My little one is passed out currently using his white noise machine in his crib. My question is, do I okay this all night? Just for an hour? I tried rerefrencing the book but didn’t see it, didn’t know what you were doing. Thank you!!
Hello! My daughter will be 2 weeks old in a few days and I plan on starting MOC shortly after. My question is: how exactly do you start the schedule?? Did you phase it in? Or just start fresh at 6am one day?? (I hope that makes sense) Any advice on starting the schedule is greatly appreciated!!
Can you start this program late?? I have a 3.5 month old who just started rolling over in his sleep and waking up and all of sudden he’s not napping well at all and not sleeping through the night anymore!
Hey Meghan – my husband and I have been using the MOC method from the very beginning (our son is now 14 weeks old). We’ve followed all the principles and schedule suggestions except for the most difficult part – putting our son down at night and not coming back into the room until the morning. We really want to do it but I’m having a hard time with the cry-out; I’m so worried about traumatizing him w/ the prolonged crying…Any suggestions?
Thanks for the help!
EP
Author
Hey! Thanks so much for reading this blog post. We didn’t have to do much with the cry it out. A few times we would go in and pat her on the back but after a few nights she was sleeping all night. Or at least when she would cry she would put herself back to sleep. Send me an email and I will connect you with my favorite MOC consultant who is professional help!!!
meghansolayne@gmail.com
How did you pat on the back if they are sleeping on their back? It’s always been a confusing concept to me.
Can you send me your favorite consultant? Have five month old twins that won’t sleep and I’m in serious need of some help. Thanks!
Hi there, our son is currently 5 weeks and 5 days old and we just started (3 nights ago) doing the nightime routine according to MOC instructions but we’ve run into a couple questions.
During the nightime sleep, we’ve tried the 5 min soothing technique, but he doesn’t calm down and we end up needing to pick him up to get him to go back to sleep and then put him back in the crib or should we not pick him up at all and how long should we keep attempting to sooth him for?
And secondly, when we put him to bed for the night, is it better to have him fall asleep in our arms first or to put him in the crib right after feeding and changing his diaper even if he’s awake?
Thanks in advance for your guidance.
Hey there
I have a question about naps during the day. My 2 week old didn’t do the full nap and only slept for 45 mins of the nap ? Is that still ok? Do I still stick to the schedule and get her up at the next feeding time ? Thanks for your help
We have been following moms on call for about a week. What do you do if baby is sleeping during a designated feeding time? Any suggestions for gassy babies; we have tried gas drops, gripe water, probiotics, dr. Browns bottles, and tummy rubs. Thank you!!
Can you start the program at 12 weeks? My babe is a good sleeper but we want to move her to her crib and not constantly run in at every little noise. Also with going back to work soon I’d love a more predictable schedule. She does eat every 3 hours during the day so I guess I’m asking if it’s too late to employ this program?
Hi Meghan! This post is super helpful! I am expecting at the end of the month and was wondering if you transitioned your baby to the crib right away or did you use a bassinet in the beginning? I am hoping to follow MOC but this is one thing I have been debating about!
Thanks!
Did you have any issues with your baby being gassy? My daughter is 6 weeks old and sleeps 3(ish) hours at a time right now but she gets super wiggly/fussy at night thanks to gas. I’m afraid of doing MOC because of her tummy troubles.
Hi!
My baby just turned 7 weeks old. Is it too late to start this program? Is it still doable to start now? I’m a first time mom and so many methods and ideas have been thrown my way and I just want one that works and to stick with it. He is only sleeping 2-3 hours at night right now. I would love to commit to this program but I want to make sure I can still do it with him since I didn’t start it when he was just born.
Any help would be much appreciated!
Kelly
Hey Meghan,
I just came across your blog post. We’ve been following the eat play sleep cycle. My baby eats every 3/3.5 hours. She just turned 3 months old and after her 7/8 pm feeding, we are doing a dreamfeed at 10/11 pm and then she is still waking up at around 3 in the morning too. Any suggestions on what to do?
We usually always feed her between 7-7:30 every morning. She mostly only takes 1 hour naps throughout the day but her nap right before the 7/8 pm feeding is usually longer like 2 hours. Would love to get any suggestions on how to get to her to sleep longer during the night. Our firstborn was sleeping through the night at 10 weeks old but this sweet baby is not yet.
Hi! Stumbled on to your site when looking for some guidance for MOC – I’m hooked now!
I’ve losskey been using the book but since my baby was small (5lbs) when she was born I had to feed on-demand until she was two months old after that I gradually got her to the 3 hrs eat at sleep schedule. We’re now doing sleep training and it’s been difficult. Did you just go cold turkey and leave the baby in the crib and go in the next morning?
I’ve been doing the soothing rounds and we’re on day three and she only woke up once at night and I did the soothing rounds twice and she went back in to sleep. She woke up twice more but when to sleep on her own. So I think it’s working but her naps are not good.
Hey Meghan, I have a not quite 3 week old. What did you do when your baby didn’t make the 6-7 am feeding after getting up between 12-2 a.m? If I have to feed at 0430 do I just add in the extra and start the day gin at the 0600-0700 feeding? Thanks for any advice! He has made it the last 5 nights prior to tonight…
My daughter is almost 4 months old and i am just starting to try the Moms On Call schedule. Is this too late? She was sleeping great until about two weeks ago. She has recently gotten into a “sleep regression” and is sleeping less than 4 hours during her first sleep stretch. Do you think it will be OK to jump right into the schedule and leave her in her crib for 12 hours straight after having nearly 4 months of me feeding her in the middle of night night?
Hey! I’m about to start month 3 with moms on call. My baby wakes at 4am and seems STARVING at night. Did you really let your baby cry/alone till 7am? I want to do this, but makes me sad!
Hi Meghan, thanks for this post. I am following the MOC schedule as well and my LO is 7 weeks old. Do you have any tips for switching from the 4-8weeks schedule to the 8-12 weeks schedule. I am not sure how successful I will be by suddenly shifting everything by an hour. When you made the switch, was it gradual? What signs can I look for to see if my LO is ready for the new schedule.
Thanks a lot!
Did you start right at 2 weeks? My baby is 2 weeks and 4 days and I’ve tried to go by the schedule exactly for the past 4 days. Unfortunately she gets hungrier faster than the scheduled feedings and either won’t nap as long as the scheduled naps or in the afternoon I can’t seem to wake her from a nap. Did you experience any of this at first?
Author
Hey Jillian – so we “started” around 2 weeks but didn’t really fret until she was 4 weeks old. Since I wrote this post we’ve done the same program with a second kid and same thing…start focusing hard around 4 weeks. The first 4 weeks are just survival and that sweet little babe is just trying to figure out life outside the womb. She likely won’t sleep as long at 2 weeks. It’s ok! Just stick with it – be consistent and she will catch on. But sometimes to get a newborn to wake for a feeding you have to get them totally naked and put cold rags on their feet. I know it sounds cruel but their days and nights are mixed up. And if you have any questions please email Bridget, she’s a consultant and linked in the blog post.
Hi Jillian, so my son is 5 weeks 3 days and I’ve been following MOC consistently since 4 weeks. He’s doing great during the day with naps and feedings but night he’s not getting more than 3 hours at a time before waking up and me feeding again. Curious if at this age he should be sleeping in longer increments or am I just expecting too much from my little guy!
My daughter is 4 weeks old, after her feedings we have to hold her upright for 20 mins. due to reflux. During this time she falls asleep. I can’t seem to keep her awake, if I do get her naked and use a cold rag she spends her awake time screaming and crying. Any suggestions? Also at the 3 month transition I know MOC says not to go into the room all night, but do you change their diapers at all or just leave them wet all night? At that point how long do you let them cry it out? All night?
Can you start this program later? My child is 5 months old and having some difficulty sleeping through the night. Any suggestions?
What about that 6:00/7:00 feeding? Is he supposed to stay up for 30 minutes, nap, and wake up for another feeding at 9:00? Or is he going right back to bed and waking up for the 9:00 feeding?
I’ve been doing moms on call since week 2. My child is 10 weeks old now and I’m still having to stick with the 4-8 week schedule because of the amount t of feedings in the next schedule- 8-16 are not enough. She needs 24 ounces each day at least but can only drink 3 1/2 ounces at one time. I would love to start the next schedule and have an earlier bed time but the only think that won’t work is the feedings. Any suggestions?
Can you start this later? My boy is 8 weeks tomorrow and I’ve only just heard about this!!
It’s 4:44am on the 8th night of sleep training. My daughter woke up at 2:27am and has been crying since. Last night she slept through the night (11.5 hours) without a sound. I am telling myself that tonight is what MOC refers to as a “bad 7th or 8th night” (in the section titled 3-6 months) as babe settles in.
My fear/questions:
what if something is actually wrong? How will I know to intervene when something is actually wrong? What if this kind of episode occurs 2 weeks later or tomorrow again? Still let her cry it out? When is it OK and appropriate to intervene? As in, when is sleep training complete and extending crying a sign of an actual issue that requires addressing ?
Thank you
Sal
Hey!
I’m having a hard time as my baby seems like he wants to eat more frequently so getting to the 3 hr stretches of meal times is hard! Any recommendations ?
Hi! I read your blog it’s super helpful. My daughter is on the 0-2 weeks schedule. My question is we’re you waking her up during the day and night for feedings or would you let her sleep through the night/feeding if she allowed it?
This is very interesting, I just heard about MOC yesterday. My babe is 10 weeks old and like a lot of other mommas, I need some better sleep. The concern I have on this, is that it looks like baby only eats 5 times a day with this schedule and I’m worried about how that would affect breastfeeding – specifically milk supply. Any information on that? Also, at what age are you supposed to fully let them CIO?
Loved your post—sitting here breastfeeding my almost 7 week old trying to figure out how to drop this middle of the night feeding. I’ve been following MOC since week 4 and we are moving on to the 8–16 week schedule TODAY! I know everything takes time and a few days but at what point did you let them cry it out in the middle of the night? I feel bad not going in and feeding but I don’t want to create a habit. Think the new schedule will help? Thanks so much!
My son is 3 month old. He will be 4 month on January 28th. He sleep good through the night but sometime he cries in his sleep or fight it in the middle of the night. He will only 1 bottle through the night. Will it be too late to start the MOC?
Hi Meghan,
We’ve gotten the MOC online courses recently. My baby is 8 weeks old. Is it a little late? Also is it possible to put them down sleepy but pleasantly awake without the use of a paci? He hates taking a paci and it’s been hard putting him down for the night and just shushing and jiggling.