Baby Waking Too Early

Hi there. Baby's seem to go through phases. My daughter is 15 months now. and there was a point last year. where she went from a nice 7 am.. to 6 then 5.. then back..Now she's typically 630 or 7. Another reason could be sunlight coming into the room and waking him up. now that it is getting lighter earlier.. Maybe try keeping him up a bit later. although it seems no matter what time my little one goes to bed... she gets up at the same time.

I would give it a week or so see if she starts to shift back

I would honestly suggest that you get a little more sleep. It sounds like a very normal sleep schedule for him. Maybe you could nap while he does or go to bed earlier if you are feeling too tired.

It sounds normal for his age. If he is just playing and not crying maybe put some music on and let him play in his crib. You know he is safe and maybe you can just rest and get another half hour before you start your day. His nap schedule also sounds appropriate for his age. I would go in check him put music on give him some toys to play with and go back to bed you never know he may go back to sleep on his own. Good luck!!!!

an 8 month old should sleep about 13 hours a day... it sounds like he is getting enough sleep: 10.5-11 hours at night and 2.5-3 hours at night.

I would try putting him to bed at 8 instead of 7-7:30 & then I would get room blackening shades (the old fashioned rollar ones) & room blackening curtains, that helped me ALOT. The sun is now up at 6 so your son thinks it's morning - if his room is still dark he will think it's still nighttime. That should make a difference. I got both at Lowes & it cost me I believe a grand total of $50 for an extra hour sometimes more of sleep!! PRICELESS!

Sounds to me like your son is a terrific sleeper!

Unfortunately I don't know of any way to really get them to sleep much later. Our first daughter was a nightmare w/sleep & our second slept thru the night from 3 months on 8pm-5am. But at 8 months we moved & threw her off completely. One thing to try to do is to kinda follow his signals as far as getting tired. If you can get him to stay up til just around 8, you may get a little more sleep. Not so sure though because at 8 months they are so into their surroundings and it's almost like they're afraid to miss anything. I know it's hard to get up earlier, but maybe you can put things in his crib to keep him amused so you can get a little more rest. We had a mirror on the one side which kept our daughter busy some of the time. Good luck.

Hi, C.:

Sounds totally normal. Maybe you need to go to bed a little earlier :-) That's what I started doing.

Enjoy!

Can you keep him up later than 7 pm? My baby goes to sleep when we do (usually around 10) and sleeps until 8 am. She's 11 months, but it's always been like that. I don't think there's a rule that the baby needs to be in bed at 7 pm, unless you want him to so that you can do your own things in the evening. If you can keep him up playing with toys or even next to you in a high chair while you're doing stuff, maybe he can sleep until later in the AM.

Hi C.,
Yes, an 8 month old needs less sleep than a newborn. Two naps a day are the norm, and usually they sleep around 13-14 hours total, nighttime and naps. Not all babies sleep 12 hours at night. I would suggest, without diminishing his daytime nursing, to maybe increase his solids a bit.
Good luck!

Hi C.
One of many different patterns your baby will have.

I don't know if he is sleeping in your room, or if he is in his own room, so I will assume he is with you.
Have a porta crib set in another room and if he wakes, change him, nurse him and then set him in there. It is your choice to put one or two soft toys in there with him. But you leave the room so that he knows he has to settle himself on his own....Mommy is not getting up right now.
This worked for my daughter and it only lasted about a week to a week and a half. What she did was play a bit and then she would settle down and fall back to sleep for about 30-40 mins. Then she just broke out of that and stayed alseep the entire time.

Your other option would be to try to put him to bed a little later and he will probably sleep until about 7 instead of 6. My daughter has been sleeping for 11-11.5 hours since about 8 months, but the times she would fall off and wake have alternated. She now goes to sleep at 8:30, but previously she wouldn't go off until 9pm.

It works for us since Daddy works late and would never see his daughter if she didn't do that.

It is a phase and your little guy will settle down again. The days are longer and it is daylight sooner so his little clock is telling him it is time to get up.
Try keeping the blinds closed so that the morning light doesn't come into the room. That may help also.

Good luck!

P.

Buy the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth (pediatric sleep specialist). He discusses what is normal & abnormal, how to correct bad sleep habits, etc.

Based on his book, your son is perfectly normal. Normal wakeup time is between 6 & 8a. First nap around 9-10a, 2nd nap around 12p-2p, if 3rd nap around 3-5p, bedtime should be between 6-8p. He says that earlier to bed, later to rise (sounds like it wouldn't work, but supposedly it does).

I have my 9 month old son in bed usually between 6 & 7p and he sleeps until 5:30-6:30a (if he wakes up after 5a before 6a, the Dr. says don't go in until 6a). But 6a wakeup is normal, so you should try to go to bed earlier, as others have suggested. My son also takes mostly 2 naps, sometimes 3 depending on what time he woke up from his 2nd nap.

It really is a great book, it gives you a guide of what to expect of your child's naps/sleep through adolescence.

I am sorry to tell you but these things just happen. Infants will change their schedule and then just like that you have to adapt to the new schedule. You cannot put a child to sleep if he or she does not want to. Maybe you can let him or her see that it is still quiet time or sleepy time by indicating you are not moving to fast etc..I would suggest you try dark shaded blinds so that no sun light filters in and maybe getting the baby to sleep a little later. But I doubt this will work, he is young and energized and ready to play. Probably he or she will settle into a long morn nap routine and you can get some sleep then when baby is down.

After becoming a mother I found never having enough sleep as normal however I will tell you that when baby goes down for naps so did I. Sleep is important so please take good care of yourself but you are going to have to work around his or her schedule.

your son is probably eliminating that first early morning nap, so you should get used to the idea that when he wakes up in the morning he is up for the day (or at least until his midmorning nap).
going to bed at 7:30 pm and waking up at 6 am is not bad at all! that's 10.5 - 11 hrs of sleep, that's actually really good!
you should either get used to his new schedule and go to bed a little early yourself so you've had a good rest by the time he is up in the morning; or you can try to keep him up a little later in the hopes that he'll wake up later in the morning. The latter doesn't usually work, so don't put much hope in it.

good luck!

I know what you mean! Babies go through phases all the time and teething, illness, changes in temperature, ect can all effect his sleeping routine. I find that if you put the baby to sleep when he is not super tired, he will wake too soon and not be completely refreshed. I put my son to bed between 9:00 and 10:00, he is 13 months. Its been closer to 9 lately because its been so hot and it wears him out. Sometimes he does get up before he is supposed to, I know when he's not refreshed because he wakes up crying instead of sitting in his crib and playing quietly before he calls to me. If this is the case, I too nurse him to try to get him back to sleep. In your current situation, try putting him to bed later when you know he is extremely tired. Sounds like he is neeeding less sleep as he is getting older. I think babies his age usually need 10-11 hours at night plus 2-3 hours for nap, so he is right on target. It works for us, see how it goes and good luck!

Hey There,
It sounds like he is actually increasing his actual night time sleep, because he is not waking to nurse at five, but sleeping through and extra hour, until he has actually had enough sleep. 6 is early, but not too early... he should be getting between 10 and 12 hours of sleep per night, so I wouldn't keep him up much past 7:30 or 8:00. However, you might want to just wait a few minutes for a couple of days before going to his room and nursing him, then increase the amount of time gradually. If he is waking for hunger/habit, his body may learn to hold off a little longer if you ease him into it, this worked for my daughter when she went through a phase like this.
Good Luck... It sounds like his nap/sleep pattern is pretty good though, so don't mess with it too much!!

I too have an 8 mth old that wakes early. She gets up around 5:30 and is ready to start the day. She goes to bed around 7:00 and takes 3 naps during the day for a total of 3 to 3.5 hours. I think you need to remember that all babies are different and require different amounts of sleep - just like adults. She is my fourth and they have all had different sleep patterns. The one thing I judge if it is too early is when she seems ready for her first nap. If your baby is getting cranky and tired an hour or so after he wakes up then it is too early. IF he is lasting 2 hours and going into his first nap with no fussing then it is not too early for him - just for you. If this is the case then you could try to move his bed time later in 15 minute intervals every couple of days and hope that he sleeps later. Also, do you have room darkening shades in his room? My second baby was a great sleeper as long as it was dark. When day light savings changed the times she would wake with the sun until we put up curtains that kept her room dark. Good luck.

Hi C.,
I am a first time mom of a baby boy too! He is nine months old now. I am definitely not an old pro by any means, but I can tell you that my baby has pretty much the same schedule as yours. He is asleep around 7:30pm and wakes up around 6:00am (sometimes earlier!). I have heard that they will sleep longer once they are more active (crawling or walking) so maybe there is hope!
Warm regards,
K.