Timing your morning wake time can get a little bit tricky when baby wakes close to when he would normally be getting up. Since I hate mornings and I'm half delusional at that time anyway, I have to make a plan beforehand of what I will do depending on when baby wakes up otherwise I'll be tempted to wake up at
11 am or something. For those of you who hate mornings, this probably sounds a little too familiar to you :)
Anyway, what I decided to do was feed baby and put him right back down to sleep if he woke up any sooner than 30 minutes before his normal wake time. With some babies it is even useful to keep baby up a little bit, but try to have him back down to sleep within an hour of waking. If this waking was very close to the normal wake time, I'd move the morning wake time for that day back 30 minutes. So, if the wake time was suppose to be 7 am and baby woke up at 6 am, I'd feed him, put him right back to bed, and then wake him up again at 7:30 to start our day.
Using this method, the first nap of the day may need to be a bit earlier than usual since baby may have only slept a short time before getting up in the morning. Often baby will naturally extend the length of this nap to make up for this.
Also, for those of you on a eat/activity/wake routine, I would also feed my baby when I woke him up again at 7:30, even if it had not been that long since he last ate. This meant that sometimes he would not eat very much at this time and would then not be able to go as long as usual until his next feeding. If this happened I simply reorganized the rest of my day a bit. Another option with feedings would be to feed baby only a small amount during the early morning feeding so that he will eat more at the first official feeding of the day reducing the chance of having a short morning nap due to hunger.
Related Posts:
Morning Wake Time - The importance of consistency
Early Morning Wakings
11 am or something. For those of you who hate mornings, this probably sounds a little too familiar to you :)
Anyway, what I decided to do was feed baby and put him right back down to sleep if he woke up any sooner than 30 minutes before his normal wake time. With some babies it is even useful to keep baby up a little bit, but try to have him back down to sleep within an hour of waking. If this waking was very close to the normal wake time, I'd move the morning wake time for that day back 30 minutes. So, if the wake time was suppose to be 7 am and baby woke up at 6 am, I'd feed him, put him right back to bed, and then wake him up again at 7:30 to start our day.
Using this method, the first nap of the day may need to be a bit earlier than usual since baby may have only slept a short time before getting up in the morning. Often baby will naturally extend the length of this nap to make up for this.
Also, for those of you on a eat/activity/wake routine, I would also feed my baby when I woke him up again at 7:30, even if it had not been that long since he last ate. This meant that sometimes he would not eat very much at this time and would then not be able to go as long as usual until his next feeding. If this happened I simply reorganized the rest of my day a bit. Another option with feedings would be to feed baby only a small amount during the early morning feeding so that he will eat more at the first official feeding of the day reducing the chance of having a short morning nap due to hunger.
Related Posts:
Morning Wake Time - The importance of consistency
Early Morning Wakings
Does any1 have any insight to if baby wakes at 4-5am for "night" feed, goes back down to sleep but then wakes up b/w 6-7am, more 630am-ish to start her day??? Her wake up time before was 730-8am but this changed when she hit 17wks old. Tried to keep her asleep until 730am at least when she wakes early but she's too playful/awake. p.s. This throws off her usual 3.5-4hr feeding schedule too when I try to follow E.a.s.y. Any suggestions would be helpful please!
ReplyDeleteThanks Rachel for this blog!
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ReplyDeleteRice doll,
ReplyDeleteSee the early morning wakening post. most babies set their wakeitme around 7 am, even if they used to sleep in later as tiny babies.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteAm having the early morning riser where he would wake 1.5 hours earlier than his usual time. However, i cant seem to put him back to sleep and he will just be awake and playing. This then throws off the schedule for the day.
I hear this is quite normal and is usually just a phase? Or is there anything anyone would advise?
I'm in the same boat as Lane. My baby (6 months old) wakes at 4 am for the day! (She is still waking up at least 4 times a night and goes down at 6 pm - we tried stretching bedtime until later but she turned into a beast!)
ReplyDeleteThis has been going on for three weeks. Right now, we sit in a rocking chair and nurse and rock, and she will sometimes fall back asleep for a few minutes (10-20) before waking again. We try to keep lights dark and sleep noises still playing until 6 am. HELP!
Lane,
ReplyDeleteSorry, just saw you had a comment here. Often this is a phase, especially between 4-6 monthsish. Sometimes it can last for months and there isn't much oh can o. Hopefully that hadn't been the case!
Mary Fraser,
ReplyDeleteAlong with what I said to lane, check out the early sleep phase post and the early morning awakenings post. You will most likely have the most Luke slowly moving the schedule later.
God luck!
Rachel
Mary Fraser,
ReplyDeleteAlong with what I said to lane, check out the early sleep phase post and the early morning awakenings post. You will most likely have the most Luke slowly moving the schedule later.
God luck!
Rachel
Hey Rachel! I love your blog! Thanks for writing. It's been really helpful and encouraging. I have a question about my ten week old son. He's never been a good napper. He falls asleep great on his own but wakes up at 45 min. I read your posts. I've tried helping him get back and letting him cry. Sometimes it works but usually not. He's on a 2.5 to 3 hour easy schedule. My main question (even though I have tons and feel like I'm doing things wrong a lot:) is...is it ok if my son wakes up at 6-7 and I feed him and put him right back to sleep till 9. He sleeps good then and then hr goes to bed at 7. I was wondering if this late wake up is ok or not. His naps arent any better or worse than when he was waking up at 7 am for the day. Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteJmalc,
DeleteI have a feeling that sleep period after the 6/7 feed is actualy a nap. It may work for now since waketimes aren't too long anyway, especially the morning one. But problems may end up occuring if you put him down early adn turn that sleep into night sleep. Nigth wakings may happen, short naps may happen. Some babies will end up sleeping too much at night so that they don't nap well during the day even though they need the sleep then, they just can't get it. So, if it is working, don't change anything. Just be watchful of what is going on and make changes later if needed. I doubt the short naps are due to this since they are so darn common at this age anyway. But you could always try adding a little wake time in the am (just a little!) to turn it more into a nap and see what happens.
With the short naps, just keep wokring at them and realize when it is time to give up for a while and just be ok with how things are. And you are not doing things wrong! If you are loveing your baby and doing the best you can to take care of him, you are doing great!
Rachel
Thanks Rachel! So you mean turning it into a nap instead of the end of night time sleep might be good? Maybe I should just get him up and start his day? I'm having trouble getting a consistent wake up time and bed time because of his short naps and his wake up time isn't usually consistent.
DeleteAlso, if I am putting him down for bed and he wakes up 30 minutes into it, does he think its a nap? Not sure if I should squeeze a last nap or put him to bed. Thanks again!
Janet
jmalc,
DeleteAt his age, his waketime first thing in the morning may only be 1 hour so it will include a feed and just a short little waketime. So only a tiny bit more than you have been doing now probably. So you would be getting him up to start his day, though that can mean just holding him and maybe singing a couple songs to him after his feed before putting him down to sleep. You can just use hte wake up time method suggested above. So if you want to start at 7 am, if he wakes at 6:30 or later, that is the waketime, if he wakes before but close to this time put him right back to sleep and make 7:30 the waketime.
The short nap at night might be bc he thinks it is a nap or because he is overtired. He may still need a slightely later bedtime at this age. I would try to get him to go back to sleep as quickly as possible (assuming leaving him for a few minutes doesn't result in him just falling back asleep on his own) to try to get him into the habit of sleeping through this wakeup. If he fights this a lot, consider the extra short nap in there.
Hi! My 17 week old used to sleep through the night (8:30 to 8:30ish) but has started waking up again around 5:00 am to eat. I'm fine with that, she goes right back down to sleep till I wake her at 8:30 am. She's also moved up her bedtime to around 8:00 pm. Should I wake her up earlier than 8:30 am? I always have to get her up and it is so sad waking a sleeping baby. Her naps have also gotten pretty short but if we do shush-pat we can usually get her back down. Anyway, I'm wondering if she's sleeping too late in the morning and it's hurting her naps? Because she eats so much at 5:30ish am she never wants to eat much at 8:30 am so it messes up our 3 hour routine, so i'm afraid an even earlier wake time she may not be hungry to start our EASY routine. Anyway, moral of the story -- should I have her wake time earlier or just leave it at 8:30 am? Thank you!!!
ReplyDeleteAB,
DeleteIt might help her to move things to an earlier time. I can't guarantee it will but it does for many babies, especially around this age. You'll have to try it to see. Double check the waketimes to see if they might be causing issues with naps. That is great that you can help her back to sleep. Try feeding her a smaller feed at 5:30. Often it helps to feed on just one side if nursing or give a pacifier right after she finishes the bottle.
I hate waking a sleeping baby too but sometime it makes all the difference so it seems to be the best option. She may be able to extend out her routine a bit. That may also help with naps.
Rachel
Hi rachel, I have been reading your site and have found it helpful! I just have a question regarding my 15 week old. He is currently on a 2.5-3 hr feeding schedule and is typically asleep on his own by 8pm with a 7 am wake up time. He has yet to sleep through the night which i am okay with however his wakes are now two a night (240 exactly! Which i dont feed at ill put his soother in and 330 when i feed) lately he has been waking at 6 am for the day. He is a shory napper 45 mins. I have been given the advice to extend hos wake times inhopes of extending his naps however i have yet to see an impact except if we are out. It has been difficult to regulate a nap routine wih him. What are your thoughts? Thanks amanda
ReplyDeleteAmanda,
DeleteExtending wake times only wors sometimes with naps, other times it backfires. Look over the short nap and extending nap posts. They have what I know about that. Only sometimes can you extend the naps, other times your best luck is to wait it out and be flexible and work around the short naps.
Good luck,
Rachel
Hi
ReplyDeleteGreat site by the way!
I was hoping you could advise. To give some background, my son is 6 months old. He goes to bed at 7pm (no props but has a lovey). He has slept through a few times to 6.30 or else would wake up once a night to feed. 6.30 seems to be his average wake up time.
I have recently cut out the night feed but in the process of doing this he has now started to wake up at 5-5.30am rather than 6.30! This started just as I was starting to cut out the night feed so not sure if linked.
He doesn't seem to be hungry at this time as he doesn't cry (he just generally chats to himself) and if left may or may not drop off back to sleep so not sure if it is linked to cutting out the night feed. I have also tried to rock back to sleep (sometimes successful) and a couple of time have given a bottle (may or may not fall back asleep after - took an hour of assistance this morning).
At the same time his naps have started to lengthen - he will now nap up to 1.5hrs (and may do longer but I have been waking him) in the morning and the same just after lunch plus a catnap later on.
I have ruled out environmental factors although by 6 there is noise on our street which could prevent him dropping off himself.
Having read various of your posts I am in a quandary as to which approach to take ie feed, rock, do some sleep training (wake to sleep, pick up put down) or leave or whether the waking may be linked to his increased nap lengths, particularly the morning nap (which takes place 2 hours after waking up).
He is also in the process of mastering sitting up so am conscious it could be a phase linked to this!
Grateful for your thoughts as to what to try first!
Thanks
Kate
Kate,
DeleteIt's hard to say for sure what's up because there are a few things going on. If the wakings started right after you dropped the feed, then you might be able to rule out sitting as the main cause (although it could be a reason he stays awake for a while).
Having a feeding at night can sometimes make a child wake up a bit later. So when you drop it, the child wakes up a bit sooner.
I like to try wake to sleep first. It can fix the issues in several days without any other intervention or crying etc.
What to do after that is kind of a personal decision. A lot of the time waking early messes so much with naps I'll try to have the baby fall back asleep (with whatever method works) but since naps are going ok for you, your best bet might be to ignore him if he's happy. If he cries, I'd offer minimal attention (if any at all). How much attention you give is up to your personal preference--do what you normally do for sleep training. I hope that made sense!
Hi Rachel
DeleteThanks for your thoughts. The wake-ups started just as I decided to cut his night feed and I went ahead and cut the night feed because waking at 2am to feed then the early waking was leading to a very tired mummy! He is definitely not hungry when waking early or he would definitely cry to let me know and today he talked to himself in bed for nearly an hour before crying - at this stage it was 6.15 so we got up for the day. I take your point that ending night feeds can lead to an earlier wake up time - I am happy to accept a 6am get up as this is 11 hours in bed (and is how long he sleeps for whenever he has slept through prior to this early waking phase.)
In terms of trying the wake to sleep I will start to give it a go after the Easter Weekend as we have a night away and the clock change to contend with over the weekend!
Can I just check exactly how wake to sleep would work when the early waking time can vary from day to day? This morning it was 5.10 so I would try wake to sleep at 4.10 and then do the same time each day for 3-5 days?
Sorry - another thought...the morning nap has extended by nearly an hour over the last month or so - is it possible that this is part of the issue? Overall his day sleep has probably increased from 4 x 40 min naps (so 2h 40 in total) to about 3.5 hours now it has consolidated into 2 chunky naps and 1 cat nap. I am guessing wake to sleep if the first thing to try before messing about with nap lengths?
DeleteKate,
DeleteNaps are probably ok. Wake to sleep as you suggested sounds good.
Rachel
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ReplyDeleteHello!
ReplyDeleteI was hoping for some advise for my 3 week old. We are on a 3 hour routine with EASY. SHe wakes up twice at night for feeds after cluster feeding at 6 and 8 and DF at 11 or so. She has been waking at 2am and then at 5:40am! Her wake time is 7:30am.Today she was not satisfied with a smaller amount of formula and I fed her 3 oz before she was back down at 6:30am. She fussed for a while and finally slept again at 7am... What to do about the 7:30am wake? I read your other posts and will let her sleep until 8am or so, and change the schedule accordingly, but what can I do in the future? Should I not do the DF and let her wake naturally to see if this may lengthen her sleeping in the am? I certainly hope 5:45 am is not her wake time! Please advise...
Nicole and Joe,
DeleteAt 3 weeks, don't expect there to be any sort of habitual wake up time in the morning. what I mean is that your baby is likely to change things from day to day right now, she isn't set in her ways. Either you wait until she drops that 5:40 feed and it moves closer to the am, or you can drop the df. I personally prefer to have one night feed in the middle of the night and do no df. Then the early morning wakings are less likely going to be an issue.
rachel
Hi Rachel!
ReplyDeleteGreat blog! So much useful information, I wish I had found this sooner! I was hoping to get some advice. I have 13-week-old boy/girl twins (adjusted age is 8 weeks). I haven't been consistent with their morning wake up time and our daily routine isn't much of a routine. I guess we're doing e/w/s since I keep them up after every feeding. Anyway, now we're at a point where they eat at around 7pm and then we attempt bedtime (sometimes they'll fall asleep at around 8-8:30pm, sometimes later, sometimes they'll fall asleep and wake up after a short while), then I do a df at around 10:30-11pm and then they sleep until around 6am (sometimes they wake up at 5am). I want to start being more consistent with their morning wake up time, but not sure how to do it. I would like their wake up time to be around 7/7:30. Any thoughts? Also, any ideas how to get them to actually go to sleep at bedtime (right now it seems like bedtime is after the df, because they go down so easily after it...). Thanks!
Hello Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI have recently discovered your blog and i am so grateful for the insight and advice you share! My 7 week old daughter wakes up only once at night for a feed but the time at which she wakes up has been very inconsistent: between12:45am and 5:00am. This impacts how much she eats at night: if she wakes before 1am we give her a 5oz bottle; if she wakes up at 5am we give her 2-3oz. Is it possible to make the night feeding take place at a more consistent time?
DD is bottlefed breastmilk and is on a 2.5-3hrs routine, with consistent wake up time between 7.15-7.45am and bedtime between 8:30-9pm. We do not dreamfeed (i tried it but it backfired) so the last bottle is around 8:30pm. During the day, she takes 3 (mostly) 1.5hrs naps and one short nap in the early evening, with 1hr 15 to 1 hr 30 min wake times in between.
Why is her middle of night waking so inconsistent? What can i do to make it more consistent? Thank you for your thoughts!!
Adriana D,
DeleteAt this age, I honestly think time is going to be the main thing that makes that night feed more consistent. Some kids are always pretty consistent with night feeds, some will go back and forth for a while. If several weeks go by and she's still super inconsistent, you can always have her hold out until at least X time until giving her a bottle.
best,
rachel
Thank you Rachel!
ReplyDelete:)
DeleteHi! I noticed no comments since last year, so I hope this blog is still active, as you have GREAT sleep advice that I've been able to read. My son will turn six months this week. We have done some consistent sleep training the past 5 days that has basically just been waiting 15 minutes or so before going in to vocally reassure him so he will go back to sleep. Mostly, this has worked beautifully, as he went from waking 4+ times a night (where I would nurse him every time) down to now sleeping 7pm-3am with no wake ups. But starting at 3am (on the dot!), he wakes up, cries for 5-10 minutes, falls back asleep. Then continues waking every 20-30 minutes and repeating this 5-10 minute crying until finally 6am gets here and I just go in and get him up for the day. From what I've read, 6 month old babies don't have to night feed anymore, and I'd really like to discontinue them. However, this constant waking after 3am has me worried that he is just starving and can simply not get back to peaceful sleep after that point. I guess I don't really mind feeding him once in the night, but my worry is that it will undo the work we've done and teach him that if he wakes and cries, I will come in and feed him. I just don't want to confuse him. How should I address this if I don't want to continue night feedings, or do you think this is a sign that he still needs to eat after 3am? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI have an 8 Mon. Old
ReplyDeleteWho goes to bed consistently at 7.
She has been waking every 3-4hrs crying in the night. I wait 5-10 go in give her her silky and pacifier & leave. & Continue to do so till she passes back out.
She's also been waking at 530-550.
Not getting a consistent 10-11hours.
She naps every 2 hours timed because her schedule is always all over. Naps are typically (1) 50min & the others are 25-30mins and I can't get them to be more.
This morning I let her CIO for 40min & she went back down.
Should I just stick to a set nap schedule & she'll start to gradually just go with that?
Should I let her CIO?
She never wakes happy or rested