Empathic Sleep Teaching - View topic - a couple of questions - Infant sleep services for tired parents - Free Message Board Hosting by FreePowerBoards.com

Hi,
Lately, my 5 month old will wake from naps and at night, crying and inconsolable except by snuggling with me. She only needs a minute of holding then she'll go back to sleep on her own. Is this going to backfire on me?
Second - she goes to bed faithfully at 530pm! Is this too early, and if so, how do I make it later?
Thanks, these questions have been weighing on me.
Lia.

Hi Lia,

Thanks for taking the initiative and getting this board started, great questions. Moderators will chime in too with their own thoughts, here are mine:

Yes, the picking up and snuggling could turn into an unwanted pattern where she expects that every time. I would try to comfort her with some reassuring pats while leaving her in the crib instead of picking her up.

The first thing to do though is to let her cry for a few moments to see if she's just crying out briefly in sleep but will resettle in her own. If she doesn't, try pats, only pick up if she escalates.

As for 5:30, if her wake time is decent, then she's probably just integrating her 3rd nap into night sleep, which can be typical of babes whose sleep times aren't dictated by the clock (they will actually do this on their own if we as parents can get past the 'negative' connotations of such an early bedtime ).

Great work!
_________________
Darcie French, BSW
Founder of Empathic Sleep Teaching

Hi Lia,

I will second Darcie's response as far as the reassurance - I would first give it a few minutes before rushing in to see what's happening - she may just wake herself up & cry out, but then be able to find a way to get herself back to sleep. If you do go in to investigate, the patting on the back or just "shhhh-ing" without actually picking her up may just do the trick. Is she perhaps learning a new skill - rolling over or something that may be waking her up in her during her light sleep mode??

As far as the 530pm bedtime - my son (who is 3.5 yrs now) started going to bed at around 5-530pm when he was around the age of your daughter (around the same time I found Darcie & EST). He ended up dropping his 3rd nap at around that age & the earlier bedtime was our saviour!!!

I would just hold back a few minutes after you hear her cry .... (I used to sit outside my son's bedroom & just listen to see if he would just settle himself before my intervention, which sometimes did backfire - I would end up getting him MORE stimulated). Use your judgement & before you know it, you will be able to decide when to go in & when to just wait a few minutes .....
_________________
Kris

OK, that helps. I will try to resist the "quick fix".
As for the bedtime, this is sometimes in addition to 3 naps! She sleeps a lot - like 13-14 hours at night (though not sure how much she lays awake quietly), plus about 4-5 hours of naps.
I wonder when she'll start sleeping less...
Lia.

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