Quite often, a baby waking too early is due to bedtime being too late.
There are exceptions and all families need to find what works for their specific dynamics, but most babies have a biological need/rhythm to go to sleep early and wake early (before 8 a.m.). for most babies older than 3-4 months old and young toddlers. Most of the time, bedtimes should be between 6 and 8 p.m. Nap transitions can be tricky and difficult in that babies or toddlers who are over-tired at bedtime tend to have more difficulty falling asleep at bedtime and staying asleep all night. Wake to manage naps before a nap transitionĪlong the same lines of naps getting too long, sometimes right before a nap transition, it is necessary to manage your baby or toddlers naps by waking him from one of his naps in order for there to be time for subsequent naps or to stop bedtime from being “too late.” When you let her sleep in, this only exacerbates the schedule problem. Although there are a few exceptions, long waking at night is usually caused by a schedule problem, especially if she is sleeping enough, but in multiple fragments.
What I mean is if your toddler is staying awake for long periods night after night, you need to be proactive and help her sort out her schedule. Now, I don’t mean one “off” day here or there. If you have a toddler whose schedule is being thrown off with a long night-waking, or insomnia, in the middle of the night, the worst thing you can do is let her sleep in late the next morning. Therefore, it is best to limit any single nap to two hours and keep your baby up for at least 30 minutes to an hour after each nap to help “reset” his clock. In order to help your newborn sort out day and night, he needs to be awake during the day for his internal clock, or circadian rhythms, to adjust to life outside the womb. Although I do agree with the adage to never wake a sleeping baby, there are exceptions to that rule, and this is one of them. Since most people say “Never wake a sleeping baby.” many new parents will let their newborn sleep 8 hours straight during the day if they want to, but then wonder why he is up all night, sleeping on and off one hour here and there. When your baby is a newborn, he may be confused about days and nights. After all, night sleep is more restorative. Instead, you should solve the nighttime sleep problem and keep naps properly balanced. If you feel bad waking your baby because she is sleeping horribly at night, but let her make up a lot of lost sleep during the day, it could reinforce the very sleep problems you are trying to resolve at night. Of course, there will be exceptions, but many times if naps get too long during the day, it will impact night sleep, since the amount of total sleep in a day will remain relatively constant. Many people who frequent this site may not have this issue (most are trying to lengthen naps), but sometimes this does come up!Įxcept for newborns, your baby or toddler’s napping should not surpass 3 hours total for a day, on average. Once you’ve learned to avoid common baby nap mistakes and mastered your baby’s naps and schedule, believe it or not, naps can get too long. Review all of the safe sleep guidelines by the AAP so you are up-to-date on best practices. The safest way for your baby to sleep is on their back in a separate sleep space with nothing else in the bed with them. Wake for Safety – Ensure Safety First!Īs much as we want our babies to sleep, if your baby is sleeping in an unsafe manner, it is best to wake them rather than let them continue to sleep unsafely. Here are 5 times waking your baby can help with sleep problems: 1. I know it might feel crazy to wake your baby when you are working so hard on helping him sleep better, but in some cases, not waking your baby can actually lead to other sleep problems. The Baby Sleep Site ® is dedicated to helping your baby sleep better – of course – but there are a few times it is a good strategy to wake your baby.
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