Having a consistent morning wake time (within 30 minutes) is very important when trying to establish a good routine and healthy sleep habits and particularly when you are trying to problem solve with your routine. If your baby wakes up at a different time every morning you are
never able to get a consistent daily routine and his body is never able to get accustomed to waking and sleeping at the same time each day. You also end up having to constantly time how long it has been since baby has been awake or asleep instead of simply putting baby down or getting baby up at a certain time. Of course, with young babies you will most likely need to use this method accompanied with sleep cues at first, but over time, baby should start to sleep around the same time each day.
A consistent morning wake time also helps keep night time sleep during the night rather than during the day. If you let baby sleep in until noon each day he may not be tired enough to go to sleep at a reasonable time at night, or he may start to wake up during the middle of the night because he has had too much sleep during the day.
Lastly, if you do not have a consistent wake time there is a possibility your child's routine may drift later and later since our biological time clock lasts a bit longer than 24 hours (see Biological Rhythms and Sleep). Normally this isn't a problem for adults because we have to get up for a variety of reasons (work, kids etc), but if we are free to sleep in late we may end up sleeping later and later each day.
never able to get a consistent daily routine and his body is never able to get accustomed to waking and sleeping at the same time each day. You also end up having to constantly time how long it has been since baby has been awake or asleep instead of simply putting baby down or getting baby up at a certain time. Of course, with young babies you will most likely need to use this method accompanied with sleep cues at first, but over time, baby should start to sleep around the same time each day.
A consistent morning wake time also helps keep night time sleep during the night rather than during the day. If you let baby sleep in until noon each day he may not be tired enough to go to sleep at a reasonable time at night, or he may start to wake up during the middle of the night because he has had too much sleep during the day.
Lastly, if you do not have a consistent wake time there is a possibility your child's routine may drift later and later since our biological time clock lasts a bit longer than 24 hours (see Biological Rhythms and Sleep). Normally this isn't a problem for adults because we have to get up for a variety of reasons (work, kids etc), but if we are free to sleep in late we may end up sleeping later and later each day.
I am wondering if I should wake my 4 month old in the morning, in order to take a consistant morning nap. She sleeps from 7pm-8:30 or 9:30 am (waking twice to eat) so her morning naps aren't happening at a consistant time. Sometimes a later nap (10:45) due to a later wake time gets interrupted because of us having to go get her oldest brother from school. I have a hard time waking babies but will do it if it is necessary. Advice appreciated! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteLaurie,
ReplyDeleteI think it is really important to try to get that morning wake time within around 30 minutes since it helps keep the consistency for the rest of the day. So yes, I would wake her. And you might try putting her to bed a bit earlier to make up for any wake time lost in the morning since she seems to be a child that needs a lot of night sleep. I would make sure the night sleep isn't robbing too much of her nap time. I have no idea if this is an issue but I am just throwing it out there. Maybe she is up at night a fair bit and that is why she is waking so late in the am even with a good 7 pm bedtime.
Rachel
Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI have a 2 month old. We are now elongating her sleep time at night. Most times she goes 5-6 hours from her dream feed. I'm having a hard time deciding what time her morning wake time should be... I'm on maternity leave now so 7am would be ok, but I'm concerned that we'll need to move it earlier when I go back to work and she needs goes to daycare. Do you have any advice?
She typically wakes on her own now between 5:30 and 6:30 depending on when her dream feed is (we're working on finding the sweet spot). I like 6:30am but her daddy would like her to be awake before he leaves for work at 6:30 so he can at least say good morning.
I'm not usually this indecisive but this is kind of a big thing and I could use some advice.
Mama S,
DeleteYou can do it at 7 am now and then slowly move it earlier as you get close to ending your maternity leave. Moving to an earlier morning wake up is a million times easier than moving the other way around. Most kids do pretty well with this. So that would mean you would feed an put her back down if she woke earlier than like 6:30 for now.
If and when you move her earlier, whatever times works for you will probably be fine. Just make sure bedtime is approximately 11-12 hours prior to morning wake up time. She may have a later bedtime right now (compared to morning wake up) but it should be moving earlier relatively soon. If not, issues often pop up.
Rachel
Hi Rachel,
DeleteMy son is 11 weeks amd he's a colicky baby. We try to set bedtime at 730 to 8. However he would cry for a long time until he goes down amd wakes up easily. He would calm down and sleep ok if we put him in his carseat and start swinging. We really want to cut out the carseat so he doesn't have to rely on it to sleep... (He wakes few times in carseat until he really goes down at around 10ish). During the night he wakes up anywhere between 1 to 2.5 hours crying. I have to either nurse him or hold him back to sleep. Since he wakes up so many times in the night, he sleeps till 9am sometimes depending on how well he sleeps at night...in this case, if I want to set a wake up time for him let say at 7am, should i wake him up anyway? If I last nurse him at 6am for example and wake up time is 7am, should I wake him after 1 hour from the feed despite he still looks very sleep? How can we help him become a better night sleeper. Please advise. Thanks
Hi Rachel- Thank you so much for your helpful Blog.
ReplyDeleteMy question is the opposite. My little 6wo guy keeps waking earlier than wanted. I would like to start the day at 6:30 am but he consistently awakens at 6 or 6:15am. SOmetimes as early as 5:45. Seems like a little bit of time difference, but makes big difference later in day. I agree that if he awakens more than one hour prior, I would feed and put back down until 7am and adjust the day, but how can I get him to sleep later? I have since been shush patting him and using the pacifier from 15-30 minutes to get our wake up time the same every day.
If I keep this up and only feed him at 6:30am will he eventually sleep until 6:30am?
His bedtime is 7-7:15pm. In past few days, he is now awakening before his dreamfeed at 10pm (used to dream feed at 10:30pm) and used to wake at 2:45am and now awakens at 2am, but has still slept until 6 or so... Is this a sign that the awakening time will also move earlier?
Thank you again for answering both issues...
Nicole
Nicole and Joe
DeleteIf I keep this up and only feed him at 6:30am will he eventually sleep until 6:30am?
Very likely and it is probably your best bet right now.
Is this a sign that the awakening time will also move earlier?
It may or may not but my guess is that it won't make a difference. If it does, it will hopefully be short lived as he gets bigger and older. Keep in mind that he is pretty young and may end up with some growth spurts increasing feed frequency every now and again. Some kids don't wake up more, others do for a short time.
Rachel
Ds is 7 mos and wakes at 5 a.m. a lot if no NightFeed. I try doing a feed at 5 and he win't go back to sleep. I have tried ignoring and that does not work either. He will only go 10 hrs before waking and I am thinking if I do a bedtime at 6, he will wake at 3:30/4. He will always go back to sleep if he wakes at that time. Think that sounds like a good idea?
ReplyDeleteMolly,
DeleteI wonder if he is a ten hour sleeper. There are some kids like that.
Consider trying wake to sleep method
Can't hurt to try 6 and see what happens.
Good luck
Rachel
Just found your blog and could use some advice! My baby is four weeks old and I'm wondering if she is too young to implement a wake up time, or if I can start now. I have been consistent with her bedtime routine and she is usually down by 8 pm, then gives me three long stretches at night (4 hours, 3 hours, 3 hours) and wakes up sometime between 530 and 6 but will always go back down for another 1.5 to 2 hours after that.
ReplyDeleteI would like her wake time to be either 7 or 730, should I start trying to implement this now, or wait until she is a bit older? Her ped said not to try to schedule her until six weeks.
I have a 4 month old. I have been trying to follow her lead, but her pattern is no pattern. Each day is slightly different and I am at a loss. My first daugther went to bed at 8:30 and slept to 8am. She is 2 years old now and is the best sleeper! My second daughter is vastly different.
ReplyDeleteI try get her up the same time each day, but by the last meal of the night she is either too tired and goes to bed early (and can't leep all night) or goes to bed by 10pm and still can't make it. Sometimes I let her cry if she sounds whiney,but other times I have to get up and feed her. That said, I know she can sleep through the night as she was averaging 10 hours a night before she hit her 4 month growth spurt. Plus, she appears to be a cat napper. I started putting her down 2 hours after waking and she would take 30-45 min. naps, but then she throws me a curve ball and wants to sleep only an hour after getting up! Then I try to feed her every 3.5 hours and she is not hungry, so I wait to every 4 hours and then she throws another curve ball and wants to eat somewhere in the middle. The naps and feedings always collide and I am constantly adjusting. I just feel so out of place. I am scheduler -- I want the routine. I know newborns can't do that, but she is getting to point where I know she testing me. What can I do? Please help.
I would be so grateful if she would get up at 7am or 8am daily (which happens most of the time), but the rest of the day is all over the place. No matter what theory I follow. Lately she has been getting up to feed once a night and I am chalking it up to a growth spurt and I am hoping she goes back to sleeping 10 hours. Then at least I could stick 2-3 naps in the daytime and work feedings around it. Please guidance!
Noelle Taylor,
DeleteI would 1) get her up at the same time each day. Maybe 30 minutes later than usual if she has woken up and eaten and gone back to sleep within 30 minutes of her morning wake time.
I highly suggest keeping a sleep log. See how long she normally can handle staying awake at 1) certain times of the day and with 2) certain prior nap lengths.
I would try to work with the clock and with sleep cues, not just the sleep cues right now. She may be tricking you with her cues (they can get a bit fuzzy as they get older) which could be adding to the short naps. It certainly is making things inconsistent for you and not allowing you to get the structure you desire. I suggest starting around 1 hour -1.5 hours in the am and 1.5 hours for the other waketimes maybe with 2 hours at bedtime. It is fine if she goes to bed early at night--that will likely make her sleep better. But try to either put her to bed early enough that she isn't too tired and gets a good feeding or 2) add a short extra nap in if she can't make it to bedtime and putting her to bed early is a little tooo early. An hour early for bedtime is likely fine if needed.
You can work at the short naps (see the short nap post and extending nap posts) but you may not be able to extend them. You can at least get a routine with them. Look over the EASY routine too. That is my favorite for getting in to a routine with babies. You can find these post in the index...no time to find them for you right now, sorry.
Rachel
my almost 4 month old goes to bed too late and wakes up too late. She wakes up at 11am naturally so I am trying waking her up at 10am every morning and then I am planning to gradually wake her up 15 min earlier each day until she wakes up when I want her to (at 7am). Is that a good idea? Will she learn to go to bed earlier if I do this?
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great plan leah mellinger. You may have to wait a couple days between 15 minute changes to let her body adjust more and don't be afraid to aim for 8 am either. I don't think it is an issue with most kids (unless they want to wake closer to 7).
DeleteRachel
Hi Rachel
ReplyDeleteMy 11 wk old ... I wake her at 7 every morning.. However some mornings I go in and she is already awake. I have got up a bit earlier on a few days to check on her and have found her to be awake as early as 6.15.. just lying there happy until 7... Should I adjust her day schedule on these days or just go with it (she has a morning sleep at 0830) - some times she does seem very tired by the time I put her down for this. But as she is lying quiet in a dark room with no stimulation maybe its ok for her to be awake from 0615 -0830??? During the day her awake time is 1.5hr MAX. I worry that without me checking on her from 6am I have no idea at 7 (unless she is asleep when I go in) how long she has actually been lying there.
keepingmum,
DeleteI'd probably let her stay in her bed until 7 to help her adjust to that wake time. If she wakes a bit earlier and gets upset, then you are probably fine to get her up then too. You are right, it is much less stimulating for her to be in her bed than playing. I'd probably still put her down for her first nap a bit early, maybe 8. I often split the difference to determined when to do the next nap (if she's up 1 hour early, I'll put baby down 30 minutes early). If you don't know when she woke up, just go off of how she is acting. See how she does with this. If she start waking earlier and earlier, you may need to adjust her morning nap and keep it at a set time to see if this helps.
Hey There! I have a 4.5 month that is waking after her am feed. We just had to spring forward for Daylight savings... It is messing everything up! She eats at 430-5am and then wants to play and won't go back to sleep. Her bedtime is 7pm, but sometimes can take her anywhere from 10min to and hour to go down.
ReplyDeleteHow do I get her to go back to sleep after the morning feeding, she is genuinely Hungry at the hour!
Danilo,
DeleteFirst off, try to interact as little as possible. No talking (unless it's a quick "time to sleep"), no lights, most likely no leaving her bed. If you can't get her to go back to sleep with a swing or feed then you can try leaving her to go back to sleep. Don't stress if it takes her some time, she should improve. If she starts to cry, you can either continue to leave her, or you can try some technique to help her got to sleep then (but just keep the attention to when she's crying, not playing).
Danilo,
Deleteyou could also try waking her an hour earlier than her normal feed. Feed her then and see if she'll go back to sleep then. AFter several days of this, don't wake her anymore and hopefully she'll get back into the habit of sleeping int he morning so a feed at the old time won't cause issues.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteYour blog is pretty great! My DS is 4 months and for the last few days I have been putting him to bed by 8PM and dropping the cat nap. His WU time is usually 715/730 and then takes a nap around 930 for about 30-45 mins then another one at 1130 for about 45 mins to an hour. He gets a massage and bath at 115/130 (which ends by 2) by which time he is hungry and goes down for a long nap at 2 and we try and keep him asleep till at least 5 but last 2 days he slept till 530. Previously he was taking a CN around 7PM for 30 mins then would go down for BT at 830/9PM but because of his longer wake timings I'm trying to drop CN and put him to bed by 8pm so that I can do a DF at 1030. One night he did his CN (a few days ago) he didn't sleep till 9PM and refused DF and woke up twice at night. He has one NW which can be at 330/4/430/5/515, i dont' feed him before 330AM in the morning. He will go back to sleep but will stir around 6/615 am and I give him a pacifier so that he wakes up at 730 (which is when we like to start our day). However, he is generally not interested in his morning feed. I find when he sleeps at 9pm he still wakes up at 730 because he poops then!
My question is: if I put him to bed at 730 will that help him sleep better? Or would he wake up earlier?
How do I get him to take full feed in the morning and drop the NF?
Thanks!
Fairypk,
DeleteI'd even aim for some time between 6-7. Rarely does it end up causing an early morning wake up this early.
Hi,
DeleteThanks for the reply and my late response. He wakes up from his last nap at 515 PM and I try and put him to bed by 8PM but he still wakes up at 610 but is generally sleepy then so I bring him to our bed so that he stays asleep till 730AM.
Putting him to bed at 7PM is not an option since we both work and get home late. Do you think he is getting too much daytime sleep?
Please help. He is now exactly 5 months.
Thanks
This is a fantastic entry in the blog and brings up a question I have. My little girl is 4.5 months old (adjusted age 3.5 months) and is a fantastic night sleeper. She only wakes once in the night and it's recently moved from 1-3 to between 3:30 and 5, occasionally she doesn't wake at all until 6 or 7. After eating I put her back down until the morning. The thing that is difficult is her morning wake time. It is anywhere from 6:30 to 8:00 (occasionally later). It takes her a while to wake up and want to eat and then often goes down for her morning nap only about an hour and a half after wake up. I've been trying to do EASY with her but since her wake time is usually only about an hour and a half, she only sleeps about 45 minutes and she eats every three hours, that doesn't really work. She's just starting to transition to a longer morning nap. We left NY and moved to Seattle on Saturday and before we left she had 5 days of a solid 1.5 to 2 hour morning nap; her other naps are about 45 minutes and although she's pretty much switched to Seattle time, her morning nap is sometimes long and sometimes short although I think it will go back to being long. Her bedtime is consistently between 6:00 and 6:30, occasionally as late as 7:00 if she's woken up late from her final nap.
ReplyDeleteWhat I'm wondering is, should I find a wake time for her and start waking her in the morning? I would love to have her naps be more consistent (even if not exact in time) but since her wake time is so different from day to day it's really hard. I was thinking that 7:00 would be a really good wake time and normally she's up before then but sometimes it's later.
Any suggestions or recommendations would be helpful!
Thanks!
Jessica
Jessica,
DeleteAt this age, it is totally normal to go back to sleep in the morning after 1-1.5 hours. It's possible that short morning nap is from too little or too much waketime (or just something that'll improve with time) so monitor it to see if more or less time in the am helps.
7 is a good time. I wouldn't vary it by more than about 30 minutes (so wake her by 7:15 if she isn't up and don't go to her until at least 6:45 in the morning). Hopefully you'll get more consistency in the day and be able to troubleshoot things better with a more consistent wake up time
Rachel
Thanks! The last couple of days she's been very awake in the morning and been up for 1.5-2 hours. This morning she was up for 2 hours and then slept 2.5! Her longest nap in quite some time! Her wake time was 6:30 and although she started quietly before that, by 6:30 she was awake and quite unhappy so I went in to get her. I'll try and wait a bit longer but if she's upset I've got to get her! :-)
DeleteJessica,
DeleteBe careful about that 'have to go in and get her' with early morning wakings because they often move them earlier and earlier. You don't need to leave her if she's upset, but you should probably do whatever you normally do for sleep training until your set morning wake up unless it is right before the normal wake up time.
I am still having a hard time with her wake up time. She is now 6 months old and her wake time is still really inconsistant. I think that I might need to try and wake her in the morning - the last few days she's been waking between 7:30 and 8, however that's really strange since her wake time used to be between 6:30 and 7:00. She goes to bed between 6:30 and 7:00 without any issues.
DeleteOh, and we don't sleep train, we've never had to because she's such a good sleeper, so what should I do in the morning if she's up too early?
DeleteHello. I have 5mo twin boys who were full term, so no preemie issues. Since they were 5 weeks old, we've worked a very consistent eat/wake/sleep schedule with them, starting their day at 7a and putting them down at 7p. Over the past couple of months they've started waking everyday some time between 4:30-5:30. I know they weren't hungry because we were doing an overnight feeding between 3 & 4. Even when we fed them at 4, they'd still wake up between 5 & 5:30. I've tried feeding them and putting them back down until 7a, but they're just up for the day at that point and won't go back down.
ReplyDeleteFor a long time we would get them out of their cribs and put them in their rock n plays until 7a. However, they're started rolling over and have done so in the rock n plays, so I no longer feel safe with that as an option. That was just a bandaid pout in place by a sleep deprived husband, not a solution anyway!
I don't know what to do to get them to sleep until 7. My husband doesn't handle them on his own all that well, he just gets flustered easily when they're both crying and there's only him to deal with it. Our baby sitter doesn't arrive until 7 and I have to leave at 6:15 to be at work on time.
We've also tried to back up bedtime to see if that will work, but getting them to make it until 6:45-7 is already a challenge. It seems like they naturally want to go from 6:30p-6a. We really need the wake up time to be 7 and don't have a preference on bedtime. I get home at 5 and my husband is home at 6, so we'd obviously like more time to see them in the evening, but we'd be willing to put them down earlier if that's the solution. I just don't think they over 12 hour sleepers!
I guess what I'm trying to say is... HELP!!! Amanda
I also meant to mention that they have a dream feed between 12 & 1, and as of four nights ago have dropped the 3-4a feeding. However, they are still waking around 5-5:30 every day. We've also tried wake to sleep, with no success.
DeleteI meant to mention that their naps are a disaster. They will only nap in their cribs for 30-45 mins at a time. They used to take three 1.5 hour naps each day, then at 12 weeks they started only taking the cat naps. They are 21 weeks tomorrow... so this nap situation (disaster) has been going on for quite some time.
Amanda,
DeleteIf they're only napping for such a short period, my guess is that they need an even earlier bedtime. At least 6 pm. Rarely does a bedtime that early cause even earlier early morning wakings.
I'm glad you dropped that 3/4 feeding, they didn't need it (assuming no growth issues which is sounds like they dont' have) and you both need to be extra tired!
Look over the early waking post to make sure there aren't any other things to troubleshoot there, particularly a dark/quiet room. See if using a sound machine helps. After that point if they are still waking (which they likely will since they've really gotten into a habit of waking from being responded to with the waking and starting their day then), then you'd want to do whatever sleep training thing you normally do (or would like to do) during that time, idealing giving as little attention as possible then. These wakings are pretty persistent though, so unless there is a quick fix, they may take a good amount of time and consistency to change.
If they are sleeping together, consider separating them for a short time to see if it helps with the wakings.
Rachel
Hi Rachel, I have a 14 week old that is not consistent with her wakeup time whatsoever. We put her down for bed every night at 8-8:30pm. The problem i am having is that since ive been keeping track of her sleep is that her first dream feed is never the same if it is i feel like its a fluke. it varies from 2am-6am. During the day she only stays up for like an hr or an hr and a half at a time and sleeps usually 45 min to an hr. I feel like she is taking too many naps for her age. The past three days she has been waking up at 2:20am i feed her and put her right back down but then the next time she wakes up hasnt been the same. I am completely lost on what to do because we are consistent with her bedtime. Any help/advice would be appreciated! Thank you
ReplyDeleteTo add to my comment above she takes about 6 naps a day,
Deleteand if she wakes up before 8am i don't give her any play time i try to put her right back down after feeding her which is usually easy.
I noticed on your chart that she should be taking around 4 naps a day and thats what i've read before which is why i'm concerned about her taking 6 naps. I don't know how to cut the naps because she will get very cranky if i keep her up past an hr. I can get her to stay awake for an hr and a half sometimes.
Casey Hedlund,
DeleteIf she is doing well with 6 naps a day, no worries. Some babies take more naps for longer, especially if they are short.
As for night sleep, some babies start to sleep longer and don't regress back. Other babies will go back and forth for some time. You can try to help her get a bit more consistent by holding off feedings a bit if they occur earlier than usual. Working on good sleep habits overall will also help with the night sleep--as likely will moving bedtime a bit earlier.
best,
rachel
Hi Rachel-
ReplyDeleteThank you for this great post I just came across your site and love it. We are having a very hard time with our 3 month old. She will not sleep before 9:30 or 10 and sometimes won't go to sleep until 10:30. She has been taking a catnap around 7. How can I make that catnap into her bedtime? She used to wake up around 7am but then it went all over the place.I have been waking her up at 7 the past couple of days. She takes her first nap from 8-10 or 10:30. Her other naps are 12-12:45, 2-2:45, and 4-4:45. We can't seem to stop these catnaps. We start her bedtime routine at 6:30 but she is usually so tired that at 7 she nurses very little and just falls asleep but is wide awake again at 7:45. I will go and nurse her when she wakes up but she is wide awake and will not sleep until 9 or 10 every night. I nurse her and then she cries a lot and after an hour of nursing and her crying she finally falls asleep. I am not sure if me waking her at 7am is a good idea and if I should just let her wake up herself. I thought that by waking her it would help with her going to bed earlier. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you.
Dear Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI've been almost in tears all day reading your entire blog! So much good info and so overwhelming. Baby is 4 months and has no schedule, although I try to follow an EASY routine. But his bedtime is anywhere between 10pm and 1am. He wakes up usually 2 times per night (but the time is all over the place) and has no wake time. I just don't know what to do. If he falls asleep at 8pm or 9pm, he only sleeps for 30-45 minutes and then wakes up and wants to be awake or play until 12am or 1am. No consistent eat or sleep times in the day that I've noticed, even with a log.
1. What time should he go to bed and wake up?
2. Should I feed him every time he wakes up and cries at night? I've always assumed he woke up and cried at night because he was hungry, am I doing something wrong/bad feeding him at night at 4 months?
3. How do I help him fall and stay asleep at a proper bedtime each night?
4. When should I stop swaddling him to sleep? He rolls from tummy to back and back to side (of course he sleeps on his back). He can't sleep not in a swaddle, not even with his arms out.
5. Should I not get him when he cries at night? Like I said, I assume it's because he's hungry, so I'm the only one to help with that. It makes my husband flustered and anxious when baby cries at night.
Thank you, I'm so overwhelmed and I want my baby to feel GOOD and HEALTHY and STABLE. And my husband and I, too, of course. We're just trying to be good parents and we love him so much.
Hi, my almost 10 months old was always a good day mapper (three naps till recently, though usually less than an hour each, sometimes one if them up to 90 mins) but a bad night sleeper, waking up multiple times to nurse. He recently started waking up once or twice a night but almost won't nap during the day, maybe one one hour nap in the middle. No sleep cues in the morning, and would just sit and cry or moan or play in his crib if left there. He goes to bed around 7pm (plus or minus half an hour) and usually falls asleep on his own after a bit. Lately he sleep till 8am (after waking up and nursing once around 3-4am or twice, 1am and 5am). Should I let him sleep till 8? Is he too young to go one nap? Or is this a transition of a sort? Should I not be feeding him at all at night, or no more than once? It's so confusing! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHey, thank u for the information and suggestions. My boy is 12 weeks old and always wake up 1-1.5hour early than he should be. This leaves should I keep him awake after feed or should I let him sleep and wake him up 30mins later and feed him again?
ReplyDeleteAnd, I couldn't make his bed time around 7pm. I tried 7:00 but he only like to nap 40mins. I usually bath him around 8pm and then he wants a long feed though his bed time is soooo late around 10:00pm. How can I make his bed time earlier.
Thank u.
Rayne xxx
Hi,
ReplyDeleteWe are having a bit of an issue with my 5mo old son. He used to go down for bedtime pretty easily and stayed asleep until morning with a couple of wakes to feed but now goes to bed at around 6:45-7pm and wakes up 45mi s to 1hr later and doesn't go back to sleep until 11pm sometimes later. We have tried everything, before he used to go to bed by 8pm but I moved it to earlier to see if that would help. He wakes up at around 8-8:30 or sometimes later when he goes to sleep late. He naps twice during the day for about 2 hrs max (coining naps). Wanted to see if you have some suggestions? Thanks! Maria
Thank you for your amazing blog!!! Question we are trying to get my newly three month old (she is 18lbs) to wake in the morning at 7am. She wakes up at different times everyday. Some days it is 5:45, 6, 6:30, 7 and so on. Her night begins at 7:30 when we put her down. Dreamfeed at 10:30, feeding at 3am then wakes. Please let me know if you have any words of advice. Thank you!!!
ReplyDeleteElle Leary-Bergeon,
DeleteTake a look at this post
http://www.mybabysleepguide.com/2009/06/morning-wake-time-timing-morning-wake.html
And also try to keep her as sleepy as you can (keep things calms and dark and no playing or getting up!) until morning wake time.
best,
rachel
Hi! Love this site, thank you for sharing it all! I am wondering when is too young to start implementing a more consistent schedule and wake time? I have a 4 week old and we have been following the EASY pattern since birth. He eats every 3 hours and usually does a 4, 4, 3 hr stretch at night. I don't dream feed because he does his best sleeping at night and hate to mess with a good thing! And I try to have a bedtime routine and down around 8 but last feed all depends on wake time for that day, so could be 630, 7, 8 for example. My issue is there is no real consistent times as the 3 hours throughout day depend on wake time, which seems to depend on feeding times throughout night. I don't try to have times he eats during the night because I figured he should sleep as long as he will. I would love to be on a 8am,11am, 2pm,5pm,8pm routine to accommodate taking my older son to school, etc. Is it too early to implement this and if not, where do I start?! Also, this morning he woke around 645 for a last "night feed" so I put back to bed. If I were to wake him at 8am, would I feed again even though he just ate to get started from there? Seems like it would be too much food so close together and know he wouldn't be hungry. Please help! I don't want to have to high of expectations for such a young baby, just wondering when and how to get started as it is hard being all over the place time wise with my older sons schedule! Thank you!!!
ReplyDeleteMy 6 month old wakes up at different times each morning, anywhere from 6-8am, how do I get him to wake up at 730 each day? He wakes 1-2 times to feed. He just started 2 naps and they are finally longer then 30 mins most days. First nap is 1.5-2 hrs in the morning then second nap is 1-1..20 in the afternoon. On some days he will still do 30 mins but then I will give him 3 naps. How do I get consistency?
ReplyDeleteHi I have a 6 week old that I would like to start getting into a time routine with however her wake times vary so that makes it hard. I do F/W/S but after I put her down in her bed she's awake for another 30-45mins (on top of the 45 min of F/W/S. I put her to bed when I see her yawn and checked she's not hungry, wet and burped. She won't actually cry when I put her down she may grizzle for her dummy but mostly she just wriggles around as if she can't get comfy or is not that tired. What should I do?
ReplyDeleteForgot to say this is mostly during day naps. Also when she does start to go to sleep it takes a lot of resettling with shushing, patting and dummy to get her to sleep.
DeleteMu baby is 6 months and since he was born he has sleep through the night but of cures waking up 2 to 3 times now I try sleeping him by 8pm but he still wakes up once at night and gets up by 4am every day and goes back to sleep by 5am to 7 am I do not know what als to do to try make him sleep all nigh!
ReplyDeleteAna Montes,
DeleteOne waking to eat at this age isn't very uncommon. I would try to get rid of that wake time during 4-5. You may need to help for a couple weeks to make sure baby sleep during this time until he will on his own. Just make sure not to make it a fun or awake time. Look at the early morning wake up post for more on this. Also look over the below post for some ideas on encouraging good sleep (I'm not sure what you are or are not doing.)
http://www.mybabysleepguide.com/2013/01/how-to-set-stage-for-good-sleep-tear.html
Hi my 4 month old was waking once a night, then sleeping 630-630, but the last week has been waking at least twice a night. His bed time is still 630 and he will normally go at least 4 hours between wakes so I feed him- if it's less than 4 hrs I normally try and resettle. Day wake up is 615/30 he is normally back in bed around 730 for 2 hrs, up for 1.15-25 hrs then nap 1 hr, up for around 1.5 hrs sleep for 1.5hrs. Sometimes he has a short nap in the pram around 4 with bedtime 630-45. Is there something I should be changing to help with his nighttime sleep? Days I normally watch his sleep cues along with the clock.
ReplyDeleteHi my daughter is 16 weeks old and has been sleeping through the night for some time now - 8 to 10 hours. I am struggling with putting her to bed and taking naps during the day. She goes to bed between 6pm and 7pm depending on how sleepy she is and we have a routine: bath, breast and some cudling. She usually falls asleep after that but it only lasts 20-30min after which she wakes up crying and it's very hard to soothe her back to sleep again. In the morning she wakes up anywhere between 7 and 8:30am, eats and then wants to go back to sleep for 2 more hours. During the day it's a real struggle to get her to nap even for 30 min. I am not sure what I am doind wrong. Is it the long morning nap or is she too tired(I usually whatch her cues when I put her for a nap)?
ReplyDeleteHi Rachel
ReplyDeleteLove love love reading your advice! I have an almost 3 month old who is either a cat napper or a horrible napper, still trying to figure it out. He usually does 5 25-30 minute naps if I sing/rock him for 10 and put him down. When he is on me he can nap for an hour to hour and half. He feeds right after waking and no matter the duration of the nap, gets cranky about 15-20 min after feed (30-40 after wake) but isn't ready to go down again- about 2-2.5 EASY cycle). So my question is.. When put down to nap by himself, is he just a crappy napper, because seems like he is capable of napping longer? We are thinking about sleep training for naps but I keep reading that you should start with nights first? He is a great night sleeper. Goes down, with singing and rocking, around 8 and wakes at 630-7 with one feed in the middle.
Any advice would be great.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteAlso, are some kids just short nappers?
DeleteI have a 12 week old who goes to bed at 730 every night she then gets up at 12.30 3.30 6.30 (I'm exclusively breast feeding) then awake at about 9 she only cat naps in the day usually no more than 30 mins every 2-4 hours is this to much sleep at night occasionally she will sleep until 10am and refuses to wake up
ReplyDeleteHi there
ReplyDeleteI love your blogs.
I have an issue that I'm hoping u can help me with. My almost 11 month old son wakes up at a different time every day so he's not on a schedule. However he wants to be. He wants to take his first nap at 8:45 every day which works fine if he wakes up around 6 but if he wakes up around 6:45 (which he does sometimes) he's not tired enough by then but still gets fussy and rubs his eyes. If i try to put him to sleep then he doesn't sleep and just gets irritated. I'm afraid to wake him up earlier as i think he already doesn't get enough sleep. He usually sleeps for around 10 hours with one wake up to nurse.
How can i set a schedule if he wakes up at a different time every day? Please help
When one of my daughter in laws told me her son still gets up in the middle of the night at 4 yrs, I wanted to cry for her. So, My other grand baby, 11 months at the time was still doing the overnight wake up with random wake times as well. It wasn't until another person in the house started using an alarm in another room (could faintly be heard in the babys room) that the baby slept all night and the consistency of wake time cleared up. I dont know if that was a coincidence, but every weekend the sleep schedule would get completely out of wack, so they started running the alarm on weekends as well. The 4 yr old began sleeping all night when they purchased a cheep alarm clock for the boy. Good luck.
DeleteWhen one of my daughter in laws told me her son still gets up in the middle of the night at 4 yrs, I wanted to cry for her. So, My other grand baby, 11 months at the time was still doing the overnight wake up with random wake times as well. It wasn't until another person in the house started using an alarm in another room (could faintly be heard in the babys room) that the baby slept all night and the consistency of wake time cleared up. I dont know if that was a coincidence, but every weekend the sleep schedule would get completely out of wack, so they started running the alarm on weekends as well. The 4 yr old began sleeping all night when they purchased a cheep alarm clock for the boy. Good luck.
DeleteWhen one of my daughter in laws told me her son still gets up in the middle of the night at 4 yrs, I wanted to cry for her. So, My other grand baby, 11 months at the time was still doing the overnight wake up with random wake times as well. It wasn't until another person in the house started using an alarm in another room (could faintly be heard in the babys room) that the baby slept all night and the consistency of wake time cleared up. I dont know if that was a coincidence, but every weekend the sleep schedule would get completely out of wack, so they started running the alarm on weekends as well. The 4 yr old began sleeping all night when they purchased a cheep alarm clock for the boy. Good luck.
DeleteWhen one of my daughter in laws told me her son still gets up in the middle of the night at 4 yrs, I wanted to cry for her. So, My other grand baby, 11 months at the time was still doing the overnight wake up with random wake times as well. It wasn't until another person in the house started using an alarm in another room (could faintly be heard in the babys room) that the baby slept all night and the consistency of wake time cleared up. I dont know if that was a coincidence, but every weekend the sleep schedule would get completely out of wack, so they started running the alarm on weekends as well. The 4 yr old began sleeping all night when they purchased a cheep alarm clock for the boy. Good luck.
DeleteHi there,
ReplyDeleteMy beautiful girl is 7 weeks old. She sleeps amazingly at night. Once we get her down she'll sleep for 10/11 hours. She normally wakes around 8:30am. I am trying to get her to bed by 8:30 but we are having problems with getting her down even tho she is obviously needing it. I try hard for naps during the the day but I she is having trouble with getting past 30/40 min.
Hi. My baby is 15 weeks old and is exclusively breast fed. She has been going to sleep around 10 pm for the last week or so. It used to be 11:30 pm. I begin feeding her around 8 pm and she feeds until she falls asleep. She has one feed around 6 am . This could be a bit earlier or later and then sleeps until around 9:30/10 am. I'd like her to go to bed earlier. Should I wake her earlier in the morning around 7 to help structure the day? Would this help her to go to bed earlier? Also, she is now beginning to only sleep when I feed her to sleep and she needs to be fed a few times before she falls asleep for naps. I don't want her to get into this habit but I don't know what else to do! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
ReplyDeleteHi my baby is 6 1/2 months old and she still wake 1 or two times to nurse. She is asleep at the same time every night but wakes at all different times so Im having trouble forming a nap routine. Her wake up time is anywhere between 6-730 but it's seems to vary based on how much she is up at night so I'm never sure if I should wake her up or let her catch up on sleep. Any advise is greatly appreciated.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteMy baby is almost 14 months old. Im a stay at home mom and have a flexible schedule for his naps depending on what time he wakes up. I normally put him to bed between 6:30-7:00 every night. He generally sleep till 6:30/6:40am and at that time I nurse him and lay him back down. Most of the time he falls back asleep till 8:30am. He takes his first nap around 3 hours after waking and generally sleep for 1h20-30m. I've recently been having some trouble getting him to take his second nap, he takes his second nap around 3 hours after the first. I will try for 1 hour to get him down and let him cry on and off in his crib while I come in and lay him back down. When he doesn't take his second nap he's up for about 5-6ish hours before bed. I'm wondering if he is getting too much sleep at night and this is why I'm having the trouble with his second nap. When he wakes around 7:00/7:30 his schedule seems to be better but most of the time he wakes up for the day at 8:30am. This has most recently become a probable and I've been fighting a nap battle. When he doesn't take a second nap he wake all night, last night it was 5 times. I'm also not sure if he's ready for a transition but I gave that a try about 1 month ago and with the 1 nap schedule he woke up throughout the night also. I just started the new 3 hour wake time nap schedule for his first nap and that seemed to be working till this last week. He seems to do best taking his second nap around 2-3 but recently with his nap schedule timing and hours he sleeps he's not ready till around 4. At this late in the day he is more likely to refuse it all together and awake far to long before bedtime. I would love any advice you can give me. Thank you for your time.
Jessica
Hello, my baby is nearly 6 months old. she is a good night time sleeper, going to sleep around 6.50/7pm and sleeping through til morning. Her wake time is inconsistent - we are not in the same room, so I am unsure exactly when she wakes, but it can be anything between 5 and 6.45. Anything before 6 I ignore and commonly she will go back to sleep around 6 and wake up about 40 minutes later. Anything after 6am I consider day time, so I then get up and feed her. But she could have woken 10 minutes before, or 50 minutes before, which of course messes up the EWS routine. And she could be going back to sleep which then takes the start of the day later. How do I work towards a consistent wake time, leading to better EWS? What time do you suggest I aim for, should I wake her if she goes back to sleep, and how should I help her stay asleep until wake time? Thanks
ReplyDeleteMy son is 2 in 1 month and is still in my bed. He screams if i put him near his cot. He holds my hand and tosses for around 2 hours before he falls asleep. Everynight i do the same thing and put him to bed at 7 and he is never asleep before 9pm. He wakes several times and then wants to sleep in till 8am. I have to get him up at 7 so i get to work on timem he naps well at daycare. 12-2 and doesnt need settling. I spend hours trying to get him to sleep during the day till most days its closer to bedtime and i give up. Im going to start not letting him sleep past 7 even on weekends and im getting him a car bed in hope that he will want to go in it. I dont know what else to do to get him sleeping more than 2 hours at a time in his own bed without having to cling off me for hours before he falls asleep. Im exhausted and its impacting on my quality of life
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI have a 12wk old boy who can sleep well during the night but not the day. He cat naps, max of 35mins, but needs help to get to sleep even in the pram. How can I teach him to fall asleep on his own and nap for longer?
At night he goes to bed at 7pm ish after a bath and bedtime routine which always starts at 6pm ish. He then wakes at about 2/3 for a feed (exclusive BF) but then wakes at about 6am although it can be as early as 5.30 or as late as 6.45am.
How do I start installing more concrete nap times with such varied wake up times?
Thanks
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI have an exclusive BF 12week old boy.
During the day he struggles to nap for longer than 35mins and needs a lot of help to get to sleep (can take 30mins) both in his cot or in the pram or car, esp to distract him from crying! He is then awake for 1.5hrs and unless I can get one longer nap atleast in him by being in the car/buggy then he gets overtired throughout the day.any ideas how I can get him to nap longer and also at more set times?
At night we have a set bedtime of 6pm bath and then anytime after that but normally about 7pm. He then wakes at 2/3am for a feed but then again at 5/5.30 and I'd really like him to sleep until 6.30/7am. Any suggestions?
Thanks
Hello,
ReplyDeleteMy 2 month Lo sleeps around 12. His sleeping time varies everyday. His wake up time is also varies. I don't know how can i fix his schedule!
During day he takes nap no longer than 30 minutes!! His naps also different every day
Plz help me to rule out!!
My 16 month old daughter woke up at 9am this morning, when should i lay her down for nap?
ReplyDeleteHi,my grandbaby's sleep was all over the place. Funny thing someone in the household started using an alarm that was loud enough to hear in the baby's area. The baby started waking up at the alarm time (7am) and the same day started sleeping overnight. This was at 18 months. Also we knew for sure that his wake periods were about 5hours so we made sure that any nap time woild end a minimum of 5 hours before bed time. Not perfect everyday but a good base plan for our family.
ReplyDeleteThat's great that things have improved, deb. People really underestimate how important this is to a child's (and even adult's) sleep.
DeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteMy baby really struggles with naps. She is 19 weeks and I cannot seem to get her on any kind of schedule. I don't expect a rigid schedule, just some semblance of one. She can soothe herself to sleep but takes 30 minutes to fall asleep for naps, almost no matter when I put her down. Her naps are often only 45-50 min too so I run into the issue of her sometimes needing a 4th naps but she keeps refusing her 3rd nap (she screams) so good luck getting the 4th one if she needs it to make it to bedtime but from what I have read, she needs it. I have moved up bedtime to try to help but not sure that it actually helps. I am lucky if I get her to hit the low end of the minimum sleep hours she needs for her age and fall short more than once a week. Currently, I focus on keeping her wake times around 1 hr, 30 min. Her night sleep is great, for the most part with the only issue being when she wakes to eat towards the morning. She was only getting up once a night to feed but currently is getting up twice, once around 11:30 and once around 5:30am (I am afraid she is only waking at this time b/c her Dad gets up for work then. He tries to be as quiet as possible but she keeps waking up). I have been trying to keep a consistent wake time but when she wakes at 5:30, I don't know what to do b/c by the time she eats and falls back to sleep, it is close to 7, which is our morning wake time. I don't know what to do to help her understand that it is not time to get up, especially if she is hearing her Dad up. I am at a loss at how to handle both issues (this and the naps). 5am is too early a wake time it seems, unless I make her bedtime around 5-5:30 but that is really difficult and if I change it that much (it is currently 7pm), I am afraid it will really throw her off and we already struggle so with naps. I try to follow her lead with sleep cues but she doesn't always give them. She is a very alert baby. Not sure if you can help! I feel like I have read everything but am still not having any luck.
Should I feed her at the 5:30 time like a night waking and wake her at 8, giving her hopefully an hour more of sleep or should I make her wait until 6:30 and then just get up for the day? She is probably actually hungry since she eats at 11:30 last but again, she only wakes in the first place b/c her Dad gets up so I am not sure. I know night feedings vary but she has slept 10-11 hours sgraight before and was averaging 8-9 hours for a while. Maybe it is a growth spurt?
DeleteI am wondering how I should approach the next day if my baby who typically sleeps from 7 pm to 7 am went to sleep at 10:30pm one night as we were out for Xmas?
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteMy almost 11 month old son has me all confused. Up until a few days ago my son was waking around 930am nap around 1230-100 sleep for 1.5hrs -2 stay awake till 5 nap for 30mins (wake up cranky) then bed around 9pm. (Not sleeping through the night)
Because he was was waking cranky after that second nap. Ive been waking hi. At 830 which has definetly improved his second nap length and quality. However ive noticed a) hes REALLY drowsy at 830AM wake up. He seems to get his deepest sleep of the night between 6-9am B)hes waking up approx .5hour after bedtime still.
Is his bedtime maybe clashing with a needed third nap? Should i be waking him earlier in the morning? Before daylight savings he was waking at 830am then we fell back which would have him waking at a new time of 730 but somehow we have pushed back to 930 which old schedule would be 1030.
My 4.5 month old is an awesome sleeper at night.. sleeps 10 hours straight every night.. during the day she only takes one or two naps 2-3 hours long for the first and shorter for the 2nd if there is a second... she has colitis due to a cows milk protein allergy at 1 month switch to hypoallergenic formula at 3 months and seeing specialists cuz o can’t get her to take a bottle unless she’s drowsy/sleeping...this makes it difficult to get the required amount of formula in her in a 23 hour period how can I get her to take 3 naps a day and still sleep thru the night?
ReplyDelete