Inspired by the Ferber method · for iPhone
Ferber runs every wait, tells you the moment it is time to check in, and keeps a quiet record of the night. You stay steady. Your baby learns to settle. A 7‑night plan for babies 6 months and older.
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The app counts down each interval and, with alerts turned on, tells you when it is time to check in, even with your phone locked. No mental math at 2 a.m.
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A check-in timer, two minutes by default, helps you go in, reassure, and step out before the visit becomes the new way to fall asleep.
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The waits lengthen a little each night. Ferber suggests the next night from your history, so you always know where you are.
How a night goes
01
After your usual routine, lay your baby down and leave the room. A settling timer runs while you step out.
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Tap when your baby is crying and the app counts down tonight’s interval, then alerts you when it is time to go in.
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A calm voice, a gentle hand, then out. A check-in timer (two minutes by default) helps keep visits short.
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When your baby falls asleep, the night is saved: total time, check-ins, time asleep, and tomorrow’s intervals.
The 7-night plan
These are the intervals the app uses, drawn from the chart in Dr. Richard Ferber’s Solve Your Child’s Sleep Problems. On Night 1 you wait 3 minutes before the first check-in, then 5, then 10. After the third wait, the third value repeats until your baby is asleep.
| Night | 1st wait | 2nd wait | 3rd wait, then every wait |
|---|---|---|---|
| Night 1 | 3 min | 5 min | 10 min |
| Night 2 | 5 min | 10 min | 12 min |
| Night 3 | 10 min | 12 min | 15 min |
| Night 4 | 12 min | 15 min | 17 min |
| Night 5 | 15 min | 17 min | 20 min |
| Night 6 | 17 min | 20 min | 25 min |
| Night 7 | 20 min | 25 min | 30 min |
Waits are in minutes. After the third wait, keep repeating the third value until your baby is asleep. If your baby wakes later in the night, start again from that night's first wait.
“A calm voice, a gentle hand. You don’t need to stop the crying, just let your child feel you near.”
Why we made it
We used the Ferber method with both of our children, and it worked beautifully. The hardest part was keeping track of the time while our baby cried, so we built the calm, simple app we wished we'd had.
One fair price, no subscription, and no account to sign up for. We know how daunting baby sleep can feel, and we made Ferber to carry a little of that weight for you.
Read our storyHonest about the method
Graduated extinction, the formal name for the Ferber method, is one of the most studied ways to help babies sleep. A review of 52 studies for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine found behavioral approaches like it effective in 94% of the studies (Mindell et al., 2006). Five years later, children’s emotions, behavior and bond with their parents were no different whether or not their families had sleep trained (Price et al., 2012).
It is also hard to listen to. Night 2 or 3 is often the toughest. The app says so plainly, and so do we.
What the research does and does not sayWhat we will not do
What we needed at 2 a.m.
The knowledge library
Plain-language guides, age-by-age notes, troubleshooting for the hard nights, and articles that go deeper. Press / to search it all.
Questions
You tell it what your baby is doing (crying, stopped crying, fell asleep, woke up). It runs every countdown, alerts you when it is time to check in, times the check-in, and saves the night to your history. It also suggests the next night based on how the last one went.
The download is free and Night 1 is free, with no card. The Full 7-Night Program is a one-time in-app purchase of $29.99 in the US (your local price shows in the App Store). It is not a subscription. Pricing details.
Ferber is made for babies 6 months and older. The app will not start a program for a baby under 4 months, and between 4 and 6 months it asks you to confirm you have talked to your pediatrician first.
No. Cry it out (full extinction) means no visits until morning. The Ferber method uses timed check-ins that grow a little longer each night. See the full comparison.
No. There is no account and no sign-up. Your night history and settings stay on your iPhone.
Not yet. Ferber is iPhone only for now.
Set up takes a minute. Night 1 is free, with no card.
iPhone only. For babies 6 months and older. $29.99 once for the full 7-night program.