My 7 1/2 month has started to wake up all of a sudden now anywhere from 5 to 6am. He gest put to bed anywhere from either 7:45pm to 8:15pm. So I don't get why he's waking up so early. Plus on top of that, he normally does 3 naps but the third nap is hard because a lot of times, he won't sleep. So I figure, since he didn't get that nap, he'll sleep longer. And of course, he doesn't. I normally though don't take him out of his bed until 7am for his morning feed. I don't understand what's going on. Is this a growth spurt or something?? I realize that they will change constantly once you think you have them on a schedule. This must be it right?! Oh and he isn't even crying at those times, just making lots of noises and if I'm lucky, he might fall back to asleep but hardly ever. Should I feed him when he's up at either 5 or 6am?? Any suggestion ...
Since my son is now 11 months old, things have definitely changed. He now has 2 naps and they work very well for him. As far as sleeping through the night, that varies and he still wakes up early but not until after 6am but of course, he's now at the age of talking so he just ends up talking to himself.
You are right that sleep schedules change. As your baby gets older the amount of sleep he will need is reduced - at least until he's in puberty. If he's not upset when he wakes up early, leave him in his crib. Why get up before you have to. In fact, if he's happy, you can get up and drink that first cup of coffee or take a hot shower so you can be ready for him.
The rule of thumb with infants is that if they have eaten every 2-3 hours during the day, then they should be able to go 8 hours at night without eating. He is going more like 10 hours....so I'm not surprised he's waking up.
It sounds completely normal to me that the baby would wake up at 5am when he went to bed at 7:45. That is 10 hours of sleep. I can't believe he even sleeps that long after taking 2-3 naps during the day. You've been lucky!
If you want him to sleep longer, don't let him nap after 3 p.m. and keep him up until 8:00-8:30 each night. Also, if he has been asleep for 8 or more hours, then hunger alone might be waking him up...which is also normal.
If he is happy playing in his crib I would leave him and keep the consistency of getting him and feeding him at 7am. Growing spurts come and go and disrupt the normal pattern for a short time, you don’t want to make major changes like getting him at 5 am that will last a lot longer. I would also drop the afternoon nap. he is ready and at the age to go from three to two naps a day. He should be napping about two hours after waking in the morning, then three to four hours after he wakes again and bed time about 8.
Find a schedule that works and stick to it…consistency is key no matter what challenge you are tackling.
Hi C.,
I HIGHLY recommend the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr. Marc Weissbluth if you haven't already read it. Dr Weissbluth is a pediatrician expert in sleep and sleep disorders. I used (& still do) this book to understand the biological sleep rhythms and help "sync" my daughter's. At your son's age I would eliminate the late afternoon nap and move the bedtime earlier. My daughter's sleep schedule at this age was this: wake-up at 6:30-7am, morning nap by 9am, afternoon nap around 1pm and bedtime at 6-7pm. If she didn't take at least a 1 hour morning nap I moved her afternoon nap earlier. Same goes for the bedtime. I think you will find that your son will sleep later if you put him to bed earlier. It doesn't seem to make sense, but "sleep begets sleep" as Dr. Weissbluth says. Try eliminating the third nap and a much earlier bedtime for at least 1 week and see what happens.
Good luck!
L.
