When we decided to sleep train our son at 5.5 months, he generally went to sleep around 8 and woke up about 7. The last few days he's been waking up at 6am. I am grateful that he is still sleeping through the night but the new wake up time is killing me! The other thing is when I go to him at 6 and nurse, he has been falling right back asleep - so I feel like he really could still use that extra hour. This has thrown our am schedule for a loop. I realize I need to be flexible but has anyone else had a change in wake up time and what did you do about it - if anything? THanks!
You may want to keep him up later at night. He also may not need this much sleep anymore. Best of luck.
honestly, my daughter had spouts of changing the time she woke up, usually every few months. i felt also time changes, and sunrise time had alot to do with it. also growth spurts. i agree with the other poster, as soon as you hear him, try to give him the pacifier. if he falls asleep, that just means he is at the awkward time where he may be getting bothered by something, and the pacifier will help him get back to sleep. if he then wakes again, you will def know he is hungry. then you could try to feed him later at night, but sometimes they will still wake at the same time matter what. if he isnt crying, and is just playing, then i would think, thats just when his internal clock is telling him to wake. my daughter always woke at the same time no matter how late she was fed or went to bed, and now she is 3 and its still the same. honestly though, i know lots of babies that wake at 6 (and a couple at 5:30)every morning no matter what, so he may just be an early riser.
Same exact thing happened to me around 8 months. My daughter used to sleep through the night until 7:30 or 8. now she gets up around 6:30 every morning (she is 10 1/2 mo.) I hear this is normal and that she will start to sleep later again. I know not much help, but just letting you know your child is not the only one to do this.
1st darken the room but it seems that kids rise with the sun... and 2nd I would feed him later and more at night....nurse after his dinner(you may already do this) but odds are he is either hungry or waking with the sun/birds...goodluck and remember the first year his schedule will change a lot because of how much they grow but after about a year-18months it will slow down and your schedule will last longer...a quick mommy tip...about 1 week before daylight savings time begins start adjusting your schedule by 15 mins every other day(earlier or later depending on the way it falls)...that way by the weeks end and the time changes the transition is easier on all of you...best of luck!
With my son we noticed that when the sun came up so did he. Try room darking shades or closing the curtains. Also instead of offering him the breast at 6 offer the binky instead. See if that's all he needs to go back to sleep.
Hi J.,
I agree with alot of the Moms comments on here. My 7 month old goes to bed at 7pm and sleeps until 7 - 7:30. If she wakes earlier which she has been for the past week, 6am. I leave her in the crib she coos or laughs to her self and after 10 mins or so she is back asleep until her normal time.
I have to disagree with putting him to bed later at this age babies should be getting at least 12 hours sleep plus there daily naps.
Good luck
Hi, J.. This is common...for babies to change sleeping patterns and hours changes. It's very common and I have three boys, 3 yo, 2 yo, and almost 8 mo. They have changes in naps too. You'll haveto be flexible and don't get mad at him because you end up being tired or whatever it may be. He's a baby and he's may change again, or may stick with what he's doing. He's an individual and unique in his own way. If he's waking up early, is it because he's hungry? It sounds that way to me. You said that he falls asleep after nursing...it sounded as if he was hungry and you'll find that he's going to wake up consistently if not earlier because he want more food. He's gett back and needs more foods. Does he eat baby cereal yet? That may help him sleep through the night. If you are nursing as you said you did when he woke up early, you can give him alittle bit of cereal and then nurse him afterwards to relieve some pressure in you and comfort for you and him. Don't fret because there are mothers out there who would love it if their baby slept more than two or three hours a night. Some don't and I just say tyhat he sounded hungry and check into that....prayers with you and congrats for having a beautiful boy....any questions let me know...I'd gladly help
What does he do when he wakes up at 6am? Why are you feeding him, if is wake time is 7am. If it were me, I would not feed him then, especially if he's not used to it. If you do, you risk turning it into a habitual wake. If he wakes at 6am and isn't crying, jut let him wake and learn to fall back asleep. If he wakes and cries, go in to him and comfort him and let him fall back asleep. I'd encourage you NOT to pick him up, as this can overstimulate a young baby. I'd also encourage you not to make eye contact. Just put a hand on the belly, sshhhhh, and be comforting and then leave.
My daughter is also 7 months old. She is on a similar schedule and sometimes she too wakes up before 7. When you hear him wake up, is he crying or just talking or moving around? We found that we can usually let her play in her crib (or sometimes she falls back asleep) until after 7 and then get her to eat. That works most of the time, although there are a few days where she starts to cry and then we have to go feed her. Give it a try!
Good luck!!
J.,
your 7 month old may being going through a grwth spurt and this is going to cause his to want to eat more, this maybe why he is going back to sleep when you nurse him at 6am. You may want to try and giving him some rice water in a bottle before bedtime to help keep his belly full alittle onger in the AM. You may also want to try and make his bedtime alittle bit later, try 8:30pm this may also help his sleep alittle later in the AM. Good luck, I have a 1 year old who if she is in bed by 9pm she sleeps until about 8am and this give me the time I need in the morning to get my 4 older ones ready and then I can focus on the 1 yr old but if she gets up earlier or later is messes everything up!
E.
It sounds like he is waking because he is hungry. My will do the same thing from time to time and he will be 1 soon. Try to feed him later if you can. Also make sure he is warm enough, my son will wake more often if he is the little bit cold. Good luck!
He's probably going through a growth spurt, which means he needs to eat more often for a bit.
