Gabby is almost 11 months old. She is a horrible napper but is never overtired, or cranky. She goes to bed everynight between 8 and 8:30 and wakes at 7 am. At her daycare her naps are all over the place as well. When she is home with me she also is not consistent with naps but always has a great disposition. Here is my question though - should I wake her at 7 am on the weekends if she doesn't wake up first? Sometimes she's not standing in her crib with her big sleepy grin and is still asleep. During the week I can't let her sleep past 7 bc I have to get her to daycare and me to work on time. But on the weekends can I let her sleep in if she is still in la-la land at 7 am?
You're her mom, and you can do as you choose! LOL
I subscribe to the "never wake a sleeping kid" thought camp.
If they're sleeping, they're tired and they need it.
If you're worried about her sleeping in too late through the week, you could try putting her to bed a little earlier those nights. Good luck!
Wow, I really seem to be in the minority on this one. How late are you talking when you say sleep in?? I stand by my first response that if it is over a half hour you are going to be paying for it later.
Don't forget, If you are sending her to a traditional centerbased daycare, they will soon be transitioning her to a Toddler room and they will have a higher ratio of Kids to teachers, and will most likely need all the kids to be on the same nap schedule, They won't have the ability to put her down for a nap in a crib any old time she gets sleepy.
do yourself a favor and keep her on her week day schedule. If you let her sleep in on the weekends it might be fine for a day or two but you'll end up paying for it Monday morning.
Kids do well with routines and schedules, If she is consistently sleeping past when you need to wake her at 7 to be to work/daycare, then you need to find a way to get more sleep in her day, or an earlier bed time.
seriously consistency is the key, she'll thank you for it later.
Hi D., What's wrong with sleeping in on the weekends? Enjoy the extra sleep when you can!! Best wishes.
I would never wake my daughter if she was still asleep. She's probably trying to compensate for missing naps.
D.,
Here is what I do and what I have learned.
My 2 year old is like me - a natural night owl. During the week I have to drag her sleepy bum out of bed for daycare, but on the weekends, I generally let her go by her natural sleep cycle.
I did some research a while back on sleep cycles, and what I learned is that circadian rhythms (natural sleep/wake cycles) are set at birth. For myself, my deepest sleep time is between 5-8 a.m., so I am chronically sleep deprived and I see the same symptoms in my daughter. On the weekends, we both sleep through that time and get to have the restorative sleep our bodies need.
Now, going along with that, she is generally up later on the weekends too, which sometimes makes Monday more of a challenge than usual.
HTH,
C.
Personally, I never wake a sleeping baby unless it's an emergency, since that's when their brains grow, and that's when I GET SOME PEACE! She probably wouldn't sleep TOO much longer than the normal routine if you let her sleep. If she does, you can make sure she gets some extra physical activity during the day to make up for it so she's still tired at night. But I see what you mean about her schedule being important with daycare during the week, so do what you feel-try letting her sleep and see if it messes her schedule up, or just wake her. She is getting a good long night already which is great.
She may be catching up on the weekend. Let her sleep in if it helps all of you. No harm done :)
I have to say I agree with Kay. Although it's wonderful to be able to "sleep in" on the weekends, it actually throughs your body clock off (regardless if you're a tot or an adult). Sleeping in an extra half hour is fine, but you should try & stick to your regular routine as much as possible. If Gabby can take longer naps (I know you mentioned not the best napper), that's where you can let her sleep and not wake her. Just keep an eye on how late her last nap is going as you don't want it to go so late that she's up until 10pm.
I would let her sleep in, I know day car canter have their schedules of when the kids nap, eat, etc. I have never put my kids in day care so I don't have that problem but I say let her relax, she may not need the naps especially if you let her rest.
Why would you even consider waking her ? Let her sleep in and maybe you can, too. Or, if you are a morning person, get up and enjoy the quietness and freedom until she wakes up.
May be let her and yourself sleep in on Saturday and May be wake her early on sunday so she will go to sleep on time on Sunday evening. Enjoy your sleep while you can.
