15 Week Old Goes to Bed Too Early

Wake him up from the third nap to mantain a reasonable bedtime (6-8). Don't try to keep him up or he can get too tired and that will really backfire.

Both my kids went to bed between 6 and 7 at that age. They're both early risers, too. Some kids internal clocks are just set that way.

Your little guy is ONLY 3 months old! Let him sleep when he wants to. My little guy at that age usually was up for a little while (1-1/2 hours) and then napped for a couple hours, this went on all day. He needed the sleep and still at age 20 months takes 2 good naps a day and goes to bed between 8:30 & 9:00 at night and is usually up at 6:30 demanding breakfast. I let him set the pace for naps and such and it worked itself out. Listen to your baby, so what if he gets up early, parenthood is not for sissies!

don't try to keep him up, in time that will change. he will start wanting to go to bed later and later. your babys doing fine

I would adjust his entire sleep schedule. I would also buy the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. It really should be every mom's go-to book for sleep issues. He should have three naps a day at this age and shouldn't be up more than two hours at a time anyway. I wouldn't wake him from a nap. I always say, How do you feel when your tired and someone makes you get up? That's probably how a sleepy baby feels too.
Read the book and see if that helps. It was a savior for me and my two kids.
Good Luck,
K.

So, it all depends on what schedule you have him on now. I used to have my girls on a 10am and then 2p nap schedule for the longest time. My first would wake up from nap anywhere between 5-6p and that was fine and would go back to bed around 8p or so just fine. Now my other, no way. if you want to try to lengthen the amt of time he is staying awake in between naps, keep him somewhat occupied, as well as yourself. What I would do in the mornings is take them out to the store. The people watching and difference in routine was all that they needed to prolong the duration between naps. You can also keep him in a swing or bouncy and place him in the kitchen etc to entertain him and keep him awake longer. I would try putting him down for his second nap no later than 3-330p and see how that works. He should be going about 2 hrs in between naps. But like everyone else has stated, you will here all different sides of the coin and you just have to figure it out for yourself and what works best for the pair of you. After all, he is his own person and he should be treated like one :)

Dr Weissbluth, the sleep expert, says it's okay to wake a sleeping baby from a late afternoon nap in order to establish a bed time (but that's the only time you should wake a sleeping baby).

Best,
R.

IF he's sleeping for a long stretch, then he obviously needs it. Don't wake him! He's really young for a schedule and just when you think you have one, he'll change anyway. Some never take 3 naps and some do. My 10 month old sometimes gets a third nap in the evening but it's only a half hour or so now. Just go with the flow.

Everyone says, "never wake a sleeping baby", but you have to think of the big picture. You don't want to continue this pattern, so it's best to address it now. Go ahead and wake him up. One other thing I would suggest: when it's time for the "real" bedtime, make it clear by having a bedtime routine that you do only at night, not for naps. Bath and stories, cuddling, singing, whatever, but hopefully he will associate it with night sleeping. Sounds like you have a good sleeper, but his clock is just a bit off, you're lucky!

The best thing is to go with his rythmn. At four I would try to engage him for a little while. You can extend it 5-10 minutes every few days then you can start your bedtime routine, bath, bottle/nurse whatever you do and then put him down. After a few (3) weeks of this you may be able to get him down by 6 and that would be great. If this doesn't work then you may just have to deal with the schedule as is. It will change in three months again so don't get too attached to any schedule until they are about 10 months old when they consistently take two naps at the same time each day and when they are about 18 months or so when they move to that one afternoon nap.

First of all, congratulations, sounds like he is on a great sleep schedule pretty early on. Don't try to keep him up if he's tired, that will just make him overtired and cranky. I would put him down again at 4:30ish and wake him after an hour, that way he'll be ready to go down for the night around 7ish. Good luck!

What is 'very early' in the morning? My daughter is about the same... she does need a 'dinner nap' around the same times as yours (4-5ish). I let her go down for no more than 45 minutes. She usually wakes on her own, but if not, I wake her. I also usually have her do this nap in the midst of the house activity (in her swing or bouncy) so it's really just a doze and not a good nap. She gets her dinner bottle between 6:30 - 7:30 and then straight to bed. She wakes anywhere from 5:30-6:30 AM. Hope that helps.

Kee him up by playing with him. Lay him on his back and exercise his legs then arms then legs again and so on. Show him bright colored things (toys) and wiggle them so he reaches for them. There are lots of little things like that which could help. Otherwise, just put him down ar 4:00 and wake him up by 5:30. Maybe then you can keep him up for a couple of hours. Good luck and God bless. Happy Thanksgiving.

Hi, M.,

I remember the same thing happening when my daughter was around that age. I did put her down for a 3rd nap around 4:00, and only let her sleep for about 45 minutes. That helped with her crankiness, and she still was able to go to bed for the night between 6:00 and 7:00. So my advice would be yes, wake up your son from the late nap.

at that age, yes, I would wake him from that last nap. Even if it's just for a bit to feed him and switch him to his pj's. So, at 6 wake him up and feed him, give him a bath maybe or just talk to him a bit, change him into his pjs.

N.

M.,
My 5 month old son is on a very similar schedule. He goes down for the night between 5-5:30 and as early as 4:30 if he doesn't take a long afternoon nap/has been up since 2pm. He needs to go back to sleep within an 1 3/4 hours of waking up. He will sleep a solid 12 hours through the night and is typically up about 5am. I give him a bottle and lay him back down and he will coo and talk to himself for about 20 minutes and then drift off to sleep for another 45 minutes to an hour (which gives me that extra hour of needed sleep!). The sleep training books I have used recommend that if you want to move the bedtime back a bit, do it in 15 min increments for three to four days. So, you might try keeping him up for just 10 or 15 minutes longer each day for four days and see how he does. If you do put him down for a late afternoon nap, only let him sleep for 45 minutes or an hour at the most, wake him and then start your bedtime routine after he has been up for a half hour. That should get you close to the 1 1/2 mark he can withstand and get him to bed at the hour you are striving for. I wish you luck!

I just have to say, first, that you are SO lucky to have a baby that sleeps. Congratulations! My daughter is 17 months today and she STILL doesn't sleep longer than three hours. All night long....
Second, your baby's sleep patterns will change with every new development he has. I wouldn't worry about getting him on a schedule this early. When he starts to roll over, everything will change. When he starts to teeth, everything will change. When he starts to crawl, etc. Every time I thought I had one of my kids on a decent schedule, within a week everything shifted and I had to start all over again.
That being said, please get whatever sleep you can when your baby does! Congratulations and Good Luck!

I agree with the other comment regarding Dr Weissbluth, (sleep expert/author)). He agrees with never wake a sleeping baby UNLESS it is to protect the sleep schedule. My son is 5 months old, and still can not stay awake for more than 2 hours. So he takes (usually) 3 naps a day. If the late afternoon nap is too long, I wake him (although he isn't always happy about it) so that I can get him to bed for the night no earlier than 6PM. This way, he will stay asleep until at least 6AM...and then I try to keep him in bed until 7AM for the "official" wake-up time and start to the day.

Let him sleep when he's tired. Why in the world are you trying to manage this part of his life? Let him sleep. He's listening to his body signals. He's still adjusting to his new life outside of your body. Just relax and let him lead the way for a while.

I remember years ago at a La Leche League meeting, one of the other new moms was talking about how frustrated she was with parenting her new born babe. Baby was about 3 months old. She said, and I quote "I just want my life back!". I looked at her and said..."this is your life!" I think that pretty much says it all.

I had my epiphany when my son started eating solids. I had always thought that having a baby was like having a chair...it was just something you have. Well, parenting includes stuff like making sure there's food in the house. Thinking ahead constantly and being prepared. You can't tell a hungry toddler "it's ok honey, well go out in a few hours and get some breakfast". The kid will scream for food until he's fed.

Let your son lead the way right now. He's still so young. He needs to be able to follow his body's signals. This will teach him to trust himself and in the long run give him the confidence to guide his own life.

Happy parenting!

I am laughing because my mother in law always told me to wake up my sleeping baby. Schedules you know. Anyway if you have to be somewhere and need the sleep then you might try waking the baby up. Experiment a little. Just when you think you have that conquered some new thing comes along. Don't worry what everybody tells you. You will be told two opposite things all the time. If it is winter you will be told not to take the baby into the cold. But if you don't, then someone will tell you that you are not giving the baby any fresh air. For the next eighteen years people will feel they have the right to tell you exactly what to do and you will try some and forget others. Go with your instincts. And go hug your baby for us!