Having recently been asked this question, I thought it would be a great subject for a blog. So, should you ever wake a sleeping baby? Contrary to popular opinion and the adage – yes, there are some circumstances in which you should wake up your little one! Here, I will give you four reasons to wake up a sleeping little one.
Naps are too long
If naps are too long then your little one’s night time sleep will be disrupted. As your little one gets older, their awake windows will change. Four months looks very different to five, six, seven, eight, nine and 10. So while your little one would be aiming for a maximum of four hours daytime sleep at four months, they’ll be more like two to two and a half hours by the time they’re eight to 10 months. So, keep an eye on that daytime sleep, otherwise you might see an impact on your little one’s night time sleep.
Long waking at night or unsettled nights
If a little one is waking for long periods or is unsettled overnight, it’s usually a sign that something isn’t quite right with their daytime schedule. It could be that they’re simply sleeping too much in the day, or that they are ready for a nap transition.
Nap transition time
On that note, if you are transitioning a little one to a different nap schedule, you may need to wake them. When a little one cuts down on their number of naps, they usually need a cat nap in the afternoon to get through them to bedtime to start with. This is true whether they’re cutting down from 4, 3 or 2 naps. That cat nap, should, be on the go and for a max of 20 minutes. SO make sure you wake them if they’re not already awake!
In the morning!
To keep your little one’s day on track, it’s a good idea to make sure they are waking up around the same time every day – especially bigger ones who are at school. If they have a much later wake up time on Saturday and Sunday, they might find it hard to settle on Sunday night. Same goes for little ones, we don’t want each day to be really variable as that won’t help with their circadian rhythms. Waking up by 7.30/8am is a good rule of thumb.
As ever, if you have any questions about sleep or would like some help with your little one’s sleep, we’d love to help, so please get in touch using our booking button. You can find a time to suit you and discuss what’s going on for you and how we can help!
