Understanding the top 5 reasons for short naps and early morning wake ups and handle it.

The sound of cheery calls of “MAAAAMAAAAA” from the next room may be lovely at 7am. At 4am, not so much. Your baby may be up and ready to start the day, but you probably aren’t. 

So how do you lovingly tell your baby to stay the f* asleep? Answering the questions below may help you get there.

1. Is your nap schedule mucking up your baby’s overnight sleep?

This might seem like an obvious question, but your baby’s sleep needs will change fast in the first few years of their lives. A quick look at the average nap number and duration might give you an idea:

• For babies from 3-6 months old, it’s normal to take 3-4 hour-long naps per day.
• For babies 6-15 months old, expect 2 naps with 3-3.5 hours of total sleep. 
• For one and two-year-olds, you should expect a single 2-hour nap. 

Part of the reason you might be seeing earlier wakeups is that your baby has graduated from one nap cycle to the next.

2. Does your baby have enough time between their last nap and their bedtime?

We call this an “awake window,” and it can make a big difference. It might seem strange that your baby went to bed fine the night before, and you’re seeing a response to nap scheduling in the pre-dawn hours, but if your kiddo’s sleep is disrupted at night, it will impact the morning. 

• 3-6 months, at least 1.5-2 hours between final nap wakeup and bedtime. 
• 6-12 months, at least 2.5-3.5 hours between final nap wakeup and bed.
• 12-18+ months, 3.5-4.5 hours between final nap wakeup and bed.

3. Is the room staying dark after the sun comes up?

Black 0ut curtains can make a big difference here. Remember that our brains signal wakeup when the light changes. So if dawn is at 430am, and even a little bit of light comes into your baby’s room, their little brains will PING with wake up juice.

4. Is your baby going to sleep too early or too late?

It might seem counter-intuitive, but a late bedtime can actually backfire on you. Overtired kids don’t sleep as well. If you made their bedtime later and it didn’t fix the problem, try an earlier bedtime and see if that helps. You might be surprised.

5. How do you make it better?

Try to make one change at a time; just one. Stick with that change for 3-5 days to see if it impacts things. (One night is usually not enough to see substantial change.) Be as consistent as you can with the change you made. For instance, if you decide to increase the space between bedtime and final nap wakeup, make sure to stick to the wakeup time you planned.

If your baby is waking up and chirping happily to themselves, feel free to leave them there for a little while. Let them get used to being alone in the crib. If you can, try to delay the start of day by 5-10 minutes each day. This can make a big impact.

Everything else aside, remember that this is a short time in  your kid’s life; as they get older, their sleep will become more regular, and so will yours. Don’t let yourself get too discouraged. Things are hard now, and you’re doing a great job.