Questions About Sleep

Hi S.,

I had early risers (twins) and they went through a stage where they slept through the night, but would wake up around 3:30am and then 4:30am and so on. I stopped feeding them when they woke up and I think that helped a lot. I just gave in and realized we would be up early for a bit and looking back it was just a stage. Mine went to sleep around 6pm and 6:30pm and eventually slept until 6am. They still wake up early sometimes (my son mostly!). So, just keep doing what you are doing - don't put her down later as you said she obviously needs to go to sleep at 7pm or so - and try putting off feeding her if she is not begging for it until about the time you would like her to wake up. This will get her body used to not having anything food/milk until later in the morning and her little tummy won't wake her up. Mine also had a morning nap around 8:30am or 9am until they were about 14 months. They still took this nap when they slept until 6am. It might take a little while, but hang in there! two to three weeks maybe or a little over a month total.

Hi S.,
I recently went to my son's pediatrician for his 1 year visit and discussed his sleep patterns with her because he wakes up so early in the morning and it's exhausting. She was curious to know my sleep patterns... she asked "Do you require a lot of sleep?" I responded "Of course, tons." "HHHHmmmnn..." she thought... and then asked "How about your husband?" Then it hit me. "My husband could fall asleep at midnight and wake up chipper at 4am on any given day" I told her. "Well, there you have it... your son takes after your husband."
Now, I do wonder how much validity is in that, however... I have tried everything every magazine article suggests to no avail. My boy... (shaking head sleepily) is just an early riser. Best of luck with your situation. Please update us if you find out how to get some more zzzzzz's. Smiles!

First, if you want her to sleep past 4:30, you need to put her to bed later. 7:30 to 4:30 is 9 hours. You can't expect her to sleep longer than that. Keeping her up longer IS an option. She might be fussy but you have to ask yourself if you'd rather deal with the fussiness or get up at 4:30?

She's probably waking up in the night because her body is telling her that it's hungry. Stop feeding her in the night. She'll be fussy at first because she's used to being fed but eventually she'll stop waking up.

My son has always slept through the night, but he still wakes up before me! (I love to sleep in!) When he was younger and in a crib (he's been in a twin bed since he turned one)I used to leave toys that wouldn't hurt him in the crib so he could play when he got up, and I would change them out every night. Now that he's in a big boy bed and can get up whenever he wants, I make sure the room is safe (all the furniture is attached to the walls and outlet covers in place) I just shut his door and he's free to play with his toys until I get him. He knows now that I'll get him when I'm ready, so he doesn't even bother to wimper, he just plays. It's fun listening to him talk and sing every morning before he knows I'm up. Sometimes he even gets up, plays and then goes back to sleep! He is usually well rested and takes a 1-2 hour nap on top of his 10-12 hours of sleep each night. We try to get him to sleep by 9(he's almost unbearable to deal with after 8, but worth the sleep-in time!) and he sleeps until 8-9am. If he hasn't gone to sleep watching tv with us, we just put him in his room with the door shut at 9. Sometimes he will fight sleep and try to play, but is usually out within 5 minutes! I think having the freedom to play if he wants keeps him calm and then he wants to go to sleep! Good Luck!
Also...she will be fine without the 4:30 feeding! I promise! You need sleep more than she needs a snack! Try leaving a bottle with some water in it close by, so she can find it when she wakes up to occupy her time so that you won't have to!

In getting my 5 mo daughter to sleep through the night, I found that letting her take a 'mini-nap' [30-45 minutes] around 6:30, and then putting her to bed at 9 got her to sleep until 7 am. She would also get really cranky & I'd put her down at 7 pm but she never lasted past 2 am. A friend gave me this advice b/c it worked with her daughter and it worked for mine too! Hopefully it works with yous :)

I read down a few responses and they all look good. Obviously alot of different things to try. I only have two ideas for you. If you're going to try something, stick with it for about 4-7 days. Don't give up after a day or to without success. Then at least you know you gave it a good shot. The karo syrup thing seems a little weird, but I guess as long as they don't have teeth yet, there's nothing there to rot out. Just be careful because sugar on the teeth is so so so bad!

The best book in the world is:

http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Sleep-Habits-Happy-Child/dp...

And since you're a nurse, I'd imagine you have a good scientific basis with which to understand the book. It's not a book you can read in one night, but it totally changed the way I looked at sleep. It's fabulous and encouraging, and it will make your life so much easier. It's not like there's a strict "schedule", but he does give you clues to look for in a child, and tips on helping them self-soothe themselves back to sleep.

Good luck. There's awesome that she's sleeping so great already!