Getting your little off to bed at an age appropriate time is very important and can determine how easily they fall asleep at bedtime and whether they sleep through or have multiple night wakings. An ideal bedtime is anytime between 6-8pm but always follow the age-appropriate awake windows.
Many parents are under the impression that making bedtime later will help rule out early morning wakings and it's usually not the case. Sleep breeds sleep. You can use a bedtime as early as 6pm if needed.
Here are a few tips you can try:
Eliminate Sleep Props
If your baby is using a pacifier, or is being rocked/fed to sleep for example, this means that come early hours of the morning instead of your baby drifting through each sleep cycle on their own, they wake up needing their external prop to get them back to sleep. At 4-5am, it is much harder to get them back to sleep because the levels of melatonin start to reduce and they usually have their lightest sleep during these early hours. Self settling to sleep plays and important role in helping your baby resettle in the early hours of the morning.
Sleep environment
It is common that babies wake up early due to being cold. Check that the room temperature is between 20-21 degrees. *Note* Overheating a baby can cause SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) so please be aware of this. Use white noise to block out external noise that could wake your baby up early. During the summer months when the sun rises early, a blackout blind can be helpful to keep the room dark for longer.
Delay morning Feed
Do not reward the early morning waking with a feed. Always wait 15-20 minutes after your baby gets up to give them a feed. This allows them to fully wake up and have a full feed, rather than snack feeding and drifting straight back to sleep.
Delay the first nap
Make the first nap at a reasonable time. If you bring the first nap too forward and continue to accommodate the early morning waking, there is a good chance it will stick around. Try not to stretch the awake window longer than 30 minutes past their usual awake period otherwise you will end up with an overtired baby.
Total hours of night sleep
It is also good to consider the total hours of night sleep. For example, if your baby goes to bed at 6am and is up by 5:30am, 11.5 hours of sleep is completely accepted and could be all that your baby needs. So you could either start your day then, or keep your baby in their cot for the extra 30 minutes until 6am, then go in and do a dramatic "good morning! it's time to wake up!" and start your day.
I hope these tips help you get rid of those annoying early morning wakings. If you are struggling with your baby's sleep and would like guidance on how to get it under control, please review my packages and contact me so we can work together to get sleep sorted in your home.
Onyi (CozySleeps)
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