Honest Taking Cara Babies Review: For New Preemie Parents (2024)

If you’ve ever talked to me about baby sleep, then you know that I am a huge fan of Taking Cara Babies. It worked for us as 2 new parents of a preemie girl, and I hope you choose to benefit from the class as well. In fact, I refer to Cara as a friend to my husband, Steven. “Cara said we should be doing this.” or “Cara suggested to do this”. After a while, Steven asked, “Wait. wait…are you actually friends with Cara?”

UPDATE AS OF 2024: I gave birth to a second baby girl a few years later (a full term baby) and Taking Cara Babies worked then as well.

I’m not, sadly. But she would definitely be the kind of person I would love to be friends with. She connects with her Instagram followers like a friend. She shares so many tips and tricks on her stories as well as funny moments with her husband (who refuses to show his face on camera). Her feed is full of information about baby sleep. Having implemented the teachings and finding success with a preemie daughter makes me uniquely qualified to share this Taking Cara Babies review.

Disclaimer: I am a part of Taking Cara Babies‘ Affiliate program. So when you click on the link and purchase one of their products I get a small percentage of that sale at no cost to you. Knock On Motherhood is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com

Who is the Face of Taking Cara Babies?

Cara is the founder and face of ‘Taking Cara Babies‘. She is a neonatal nurse, certified pediatric sleep consultant, mom to four, and a wife of a pediatrician who lives with her family in Arizona. Taking Cara Babies was created in 2013 and has grown to be one of the most popular sleep courses. She has 2.4 million followers on Instagram and has been featured on Good Morning America, People, and many others.

I first heard about Taking Cara Babies from one of my best friends while I was pregnant. I immediately followed her on Instagram and read every single blog post, digesting everything I could from this baby sleep expert. Then, I added her newborn course to my baby registry, just hoping someone would get it for me. If not, I was going to buy it myself.

Someone did get it for me though! It was the best gift I ever received. I learned so much about baby sleep with the newborn sleep course. It was the one thing that helped me survive the newborn phase. If you’ve read any of my previous blog posts about my birth story or postpartum you know that I really struggled during that time. Baby sleep was the one thing that I didn’t struggle a lot with.

My Experience with Taking Cara Babies

I ended up giving birth to my daughter early at 35 weeks due to preeclampsia with severe features and IUGR, you can read more about my birth story here. One of the things Taking Cara Babies teaches in her course is to meet your baby where they are developmentally at. So you always should take into account your baby’s adjusted age and follow that age for the sleep recommendations.

Since Cara was a NICU nurse, she does understand what NICU babies and parents go through (Preemie babies do need more time to reach the time they are ready for sleep training developmentally). This is important because it would be unreasonable for us to expect our baby that had been in the NICU for the first weeks of life to come home and sleep through the night. Taking Cara Babies has a great blog post about Transitioning from the NICU, click here to read.

Steven and I watched all of her videos from the newborn class before our daughter was born and also a few weeks after she got home from the NICU. If you want the information to stick you need to put in the time to know it and implement it when your little one comes home. Everything she teaches is so wonderful. You are taught about wake windows, and reading your baby’s hunger and sleep cues.

What is the Taking Cara Babies Newborn Class?

The newborn class is everything you wish someone taught you about babies. It’s more than just a sleep course. The class is $79 (as of 2023). It is a course that teaches you how newborns work and how to take care of them. I don’t know how I would have survived the newborn phase without her. The class is for babies with an adjusted age of 12 weeks or younger. (Is your baby’s adjusted age older than 12 weeks? There are other courses you can take).

I only took the Taking Cara Babies Newborn Class and used the FREE resources she had on her blog and Instagram to help my baby sleep through the night. By 4 months adjusted my daughter was sleeping 14 hour nights plus 2 naps during the day. She was a well-rested happy baby and we were in turn, happy parents. She is now 20 months and has continued to sleep 12 hour nights with a nap during the day. There are nights and days, of course, where that doesn’t happen because that’s real life. But, we have learned the techniques to know what we should do to help her.

UPDATE AS OF 2023: My daughter is now 4. Because of the good sleep foundation we had at the beginning, we know that when she doesn’t sleep well there is a reason. Although toddler sleep is different than newborn sleep, we developed great sleep hygiene and habits. Taking Cara Babies has come out with a toddler sleep training course, which I have not taken, but if it’s anything like her newborn course it is well worth the investment.

UPDATE AS OF 2024: My second daughter is a year old. We started with Taking Cara Babies suggestions once we were at home (such as watching wake windows). By 7 months, she was sleeping through the night and taking good naps, growing well, and in turn we were happy and well-rested parents.

Cara also suggests a ton of products to make good sleep easier. We used a white noise machine from the beginning, a velcro swaddle (there are lots of great ones out there that work well for preemies), a wubanub as well as blackout curtains (used cheap curtains as well as one that suction cups to the window). Today, we still use all of these things except a sleep sack instead of the swaddle. Our daughter also no longer uses the binkie of the wubanub (we snipped the binkie part off).

UPDATE AS OF 2023: My daughter is now 4. We still use blackout curtains (technically these shades!), but we did add a string light along her wall for her night light because she began to be scared of the dark. We also still use a white noise machine (and I have begun to use one myself!). We also have an okay-to-wake clock that will turn green when it is okay for her to leave her room. She has some toys and books she can entertain herself with if she wakes up earlier. I know because of the great sleep foundation we had with the Taking Cara Babies courses, she is an overall great sleeper.

UPDATE AS OF 2024: Blackout curtains are still such a great thing to use. We have used it for my second daughter as well as installing blackout curtains in our own bedroom. It has helped us create better sleeping habits. I still recommend this white noise machine. It has lasted for years.

At What Age Can You Start Taking Cara Babies?

Typically you will start implementing what you learned in the Taking Cara Babies Newborn Class at 4 weeks old. Although, if you have a preemie baby you can start at 4 weeks adjusted age. For our family, we were able to start when she was 9 weeks old because that is when she hit 4 weeks adjusted. We were able to stop waking her to feed then too.

We didn’t jump into all of the suggestions from the newborn class then, because we started implementing some of the things that we learned as soon as we got home from the NICU. We implemented having a dark room, white noise, and using a velcro swaddle safe for preemie size. Premature babies can have a lot more medical needs typically than those who were born at full term so you’ll need to tailor it to your own premature baby’s needs.

What Method Does Taking Cara Babies Use?

Cara teaches in the Newborn Class how to teach your baby to learn to self-soothe. She uses the SIT BACK Method, which is an acronym she created to explain the steps of how to help teach your babies to self-soothe at night. The SIT BACK Method is a way to help your baby know you are still there to help support them in learning how to self-soothe back to sleep. Used in the SIT BACK method is another acronym called CRIES.

What does Taking Cara Babies SIT BACK Acronym Stand For?

SIT BACK method can be easily remembered by breaking it down. S stands for ‘stop and observe’ this is where you get to know your baby’s language. I stands for ‘increase volume’ referring to the white noise level. T stands for ‘touch’ letting your baby know that you are there and that you acknowledge they are upset. B stands for ‘binkie’ which can easily settle them down when upset. A stands for ‘add movement’ which is the last step before you revert back to ‘CRIES’ which is what C stands for. F stands for ‘feed’ because at this point you know your baby actually needs food and isn’t just fussy.

What Does Taking Cara Babies CRIES Acronym Stand For?

CRIES can be broken down into parts that are meant for you to easily implement. C stands for ‘contain’, in other words, swaddle your baby reintroducing the comfort of the womb. R stands for ‘roll’, turn your baby to the side while holding them aka the football hold. I stands for ‘introduce movement’, this can be a calm rocking movement. E stands for ‘external sound’ aka white noise, and S stands for ‘shhhing’ to allow your baby to drown out external stimulation.

My baby is older than 12 weeks adjusted. Is there another class I can take?

Yes! The course for babies older than 12 weeks adjusted is called the ABCs of Sleep.

UPDATE AS OF 2023: Taking Cara Babies has come out with other sleep courses geared towards the toddler years (2,3,4). The course description says, “Let me walk you step-by-step through a completely customizable, holistic plan for independent sleep at night, consistent naps or quiet times, and every new stage along your toddler sleep journey.”

I have not personally taken or looked at The Toddler Sleep Traning, however, if it is anything like the newborn courses, it is worth the investment if you are struggling with toddler sleep.

What is the ABCs of Sleep?

The ABCs of Sleep is a course that is offered by Taking Cara Babies for 5-24 month olds. In the case of premature babies, you’ll still need to go by their adjusted age. The course focuses on helping you make and execute a 14 day plan that will help your baby sleep 10-12 hours at night. I, personally, never took the ABCs of Sleep course because my baby was sleeping 10-12 hour nights just by doing what we learned in the newborn class.

What are all the sleep training classes Taking Cara Babies offers?

There are 7 different classes Taking Cara Babies schedule offers. The Newborn class ‘Will I Ever Sleep Again?’ (0-12 weeks), Navigating Months 3 & 4 (13-20 weeks), The Bundle (combines The Newborn Class and Navigating Months 3 & 4), the 5-24 Month Collection (3 courses in one bundle for 5-24 months), The ABC’s of Sleep (5-24 months) and Conquering Naps for Great Days (5-24 months). And the toddler sleep training (years 2,3,4).

Do the Taking Cara Babies Sleep Courses Expire?

According to the Taking Cara Babies terms, the courses “comes with on-demand access that never expires so that you have it now and for every transition, every regression, and every new stage along your journey.”

UPDATE AS OF 2024: I was able to contact costumer service and they helped me get the course back with my youngest daughter. I had the course back in 2019, when they did expire. They were super willing and helpful to get access to the course again. It was wonderful to be able to rewatch the videos and look through the course to get a refresher.

What products are good to use with the Taking Cara Babies Sleep Courses?

The following is a list of Taking Cara Babies Amazon products that I used while taking the newborn class

Velcro Swaddles: I used these velcro swaddles. Velcro Swaddle make it so easy to wrap your baby up right after middle-of-the-night feeds or diaper changes. They also made it easy to get a snug fit without having to worry about a blanket being too loose or too tight.

Hands-up swaddle: My second daughter started to try and roll really early and also constantly wiggled her way out of swaddles. I tried a sleep sack one night but it didn’t work. This hands up swaddle was a perfect medium between the two.

White noise Machine: I bought this exact white noise machine almost over 5 years ago and it has worked perfectly without fail. It has many different noise levels, and types of white noises to choose from and it can be operated by a plug or battery. And it is only $25!

Blackout curtains: Blackout curtains are life-changing when it comes to baby sleep. In fact, I have black curtains in my bedroom now as well! It is life-changing because when your baby needs to take a nap, the room will be dark to help signal it is time to sleep even though it is still light out. It also is a huge help in the summer when the days are longer to keep the bedroom dark for bedtime.

Pack-n-play with bassinet: We used this pack-n-play with a bassinet for the first 6 months of our baby’s life. (Yes your baby can be a great sleeper even when room sharing!) I loved the ability to have a bassinet with the pack-n-play because once she was too old for the bassinet, I just had to take it off, and then I had a pack-n-play for her to sleep in.

Crib: Once we moved our daughter into her own room, she used a crib similar to this one. The crib she used was given to us by a friend. She still uses this crib today, but it has been converted into a toddler bed. I love that I have a crib that is able to grow with my child until she needs a twin mattress!

Pacifier: Our daughter used a Wubanub Pacifier. Which worked so great. It was easy to be able to find it in her bed in the middle of the night. And once it was time to get rid of the pacifier, we just snipped off the pacifier part and kept the animal (she had an elephant). She still sleeps with her elephant today.

Sheets: We used both sheets for a crib-sized mattress as well as for the pack-n-play. Not only are sheets a fun way to decorate your baby’s room, but they can also make it easier to switch out to a clean bed, combined with a mattress protector if diaper leakage or spit-up happens.

Mattress protector: At first I thought it would be silly to have a mattress protector because I never had one before, but it is life-changing. It protects the mattress for when (not if!) diaper leakages or spitting up happen. I had one both for a crib size and pack-n-play size.

Pajamas: I used pajamas that were like these, but any with a zipper will do. I preferred zipper pajamas over the snaps. In the middle of the night, the last thing you want to deal with is making sure the snaps on the pajamas line up. Having your baby’s pajamas in a zipper makes it a million times easier. The best kind of zipper pajamas are the ones that have the zipper able to zip up from the foot, so you don’t have to get your baby completely undressed to change a diaper.

Is the Taking Cara Babies Newborn Class worth it?

YES! 100%! I am so glad I took the newborn class. I suggest it to every new parent I meet. Not just for the sleep part, but for everything else you learn too. It was so great to learn how newborns operate. Even though I was taught how to take care of my baby by NICU nurses, all those things didn’t always translate to at-home life.

The Taking Cara Babies Newborn course gave my husband and me the confidence to be able to take care of our newborn. Even though our experience with a newborn was different than those who have babies without a NICU stay or a full-term baby, we were able to implement nearly everything from the newborn course.

Because of everything I learned by taking the Newborn Course from Taking Cara Babies, both my husband and I were able to get solid chunks of sleep. Having that much sleep allowed us to be better parents to our baby because we weren’t sleep-deprived and had more patience. We also noticed that our daughter was happier when she was getting a good night’s sleep as well.

Another plus of having a baby that sleeps well at night is if they are ever sick or have an ear infection you will know. If your baby has a bad night of sleep every single night, it would be hard to distinguish if they have a possible ear infection or sickness that is making it hard for them to sleep. If they have a good night’s sleep every night when there’s a bad night you’ll know there is something to look into.

I have already decided that if I were to have another newborn ever again in my life, I would buy the Newborn Course again in a heartbeat. It was that great of a course! It is well worth the money to have you and your baby be able to sleep through the night.

UPDATE AS OF 2023: I am pregnant again and expecting to give birth in a few weeks. I am currently going through the newborn course again. It is just as good as it was the first time I took the course. A huge bonus is that I was able to contact Taking Cara Babies and they added the course back to my account, so I did not need to purchase it again. I am likely to have a full-term baby this time, so I am looking forward to implementing this course with a full-term baby and seeing if I get the same results.

You can find more information about Taking Cara Babies and their sleep courses, on their website Taking Cara Babies. You can also learn more about them on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. If you are a mother and are looking for more advice from other professionals like Cara go check out my post about the best Instagram accounts for new moms to follow.

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