Early morning wake-ups are a common issue for many parents, and they can be both frustrating and challenging to resolve. The key to addressing early rising in babies often boils down to three main factors: too much daytime sleep, an overly early bedtime, and how you respond when your baby wakes up in the morning. In this blog, I’ll provide a step-by-step approach to help you pinpoint the cause of early rising and establish a sleep schedule that works for both you and your little one.
Step 1: Track Your Baby’s Sleep
The first and most important step in resolving early rising is to track your baby’s sleep for five to seven days. This will give you a clear understanding of how much total sleep they’re getting in a 24-hour period. Once you have this information, you can adjust their schedule accordingly.
For example, let’s say your baby is getting 13 hours of sleep each day. Ideally, this would be divided into 11 hours of night-time sleep and 2 hours of naps during the day. The next step is to split those 2 hours into appropriate nap times. If your baby is around eight months old, you could aim for one hour of napping in the morning, one hour in the afternoon, and a bedtime of around 7:00 PM.
Tracking your baby’s sleep patterns will help you see if they’re getting too much or too little sleep during the day, which can often be the root cause of early rising.
Step 2: Adjust How You Respond to Early Wake-Ups
Another critical aspect of managing early rising is how you respond when your baby wakes up too early — typically before 6:00 AM. If your baby is younger and still requires a feeding in the early morning, it’s okay to feed them. However, it’s important to put them back down awake so they can practice the skill of falling asleep independently.
If your baby is older and no longer needs a feed, it’s essential to resettle them and keep them in the crib until at least 6:00 AM. Taking your baby out of the crib before this time can inadvertently encourage early rising, as their body will start to expect wake-ups at that hour every day.
For some babies, offering space to resettle themselves can be highly effective. You may choose to monitor them from a distance to ensure they are safe and comfortable, but allowing them the opportunity to fall back asleep on their own is key. If you prefer to stay in the room, you can gently soothe them with a quiet “shush” or a light touch, but keep in mind that too much interaction can be stimulating and may make it harder for your baby to drift back to sleep.
Step 3: What If Your Baby Isn’t Napping Well?
But what if your baby isn’t napping well or isn’t getting as much sleep as they should? In this case, putting your baby down for the night earlier can actually help solve early wake-ups. Here’s why:
If your baby is consistently waking up between 4:00 and 5:00 AM, you may think that pushing their bedtime later will help. In fact, this is a common mistake many parents make. Recently, I worked with a family whose 8-month-old had been waking up at 5:00 AM for several weeks. They had tried moving bedtime later, but it only made things worse. They were starting to believe their child might be a natural early riser, but that’s rarely the case.
The truth is, most early morning wake-ups happen because a baby’s schedule is misaligned with their natural sleep rhythm. When you push bedtime later, you risk cutting off or disrupting their total sleep cycle, which can lead to even earlier wake-ups.
Here’s how we helped that family adjust their baby’s sleep schedule:
- Move Bedtime Earlier: We moved the baby’s bedtime up by 30 minutes. This ensured that the baby wasn’t missing out on the high-quality sleep that happens before midnight, which is essential for overall rest. Quality sleep is more important than quantity.
- Adjust the First Nap: The next adjustment we made was to shift the timing of the first nap. Having an overly early nap can reinforce early wake-ups, so pushing this nap slightly later helped reset the baby’s internal clock.
- Cap the Second Nap: Finally, we capped the second nap to prevent the baby from getting too much daytime sleep. Over-napping during the day can interfere with nighttime sleep and cause your baby to wake up too early.
By aligning the baby’s schedule with their natural sleep needs, we successfully addressed their early rising issue. If your baby is waking up too early, these same adjustments might help you too.
Step 4: Address Potential Schedule Issues
As we mentioned earlier, one of the main reasons for early wake-ups is a schedule issue. Take a close look at your baby’s naps, wake windows, and overall daily sleep. It may be time to drop a nap, extend awake windows, or adjust the amount of daytime sleep.
Early rising can also become habitual. Even after you’ve made schedule changes, your baby’s body may have adjusted to waking up at the same early hour every day. In this case, it’s important to give your baby enough time to break the habit. Many parents make the mistake of only allowing 10 to 15 minutes for their baby to resettle, but it can sometimes take up to 30 or 60 minutes for your baby to fall back asleep.
If your baby is still struggling to resettle after a few days, be patient. Give them the space and time to adjust, and avoid too much stimulation during early morning wake-ups.
Step 5: Be Patient and Consistent
One of the most important things to remember when addressing early rising is that it takes time. Your baby’s sleep schedule won’t change overnight, but with consistency and patience, you can help them adjust. Allow your baby enough time to resettle themselves and be mindful of how your responses in the early morning can either help or hinder their progress.
Conclusion: Early Rising Can Be Fixed
Early rising can be a tough challenge for many families, but with the right adjustments, it can be resolved. Start by tracking your baby’s sleep, adjusting their schedule, and fine-tuning how you respond to early wake-ups. If your baby isn’t napping well, consider an earlier bedtime to ensure they aren’t missing out on high-quality night time sleep.
If you’ve tried all of these strategies and are still struggling, don’t hesitate to reach out for help. Send me a message or book a consultation here https://calendly.com/gentlesleepnanny/15min, and we can work together to create a plan that works for your baby’s unique sleep needs. With patience and consistency, you can help your baby develop healthier sleep patterns and finally put an end to those early wake-ups.
