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My daughter just turned 17 weeks a few days ago, I am struggling with her wake windows/naps. I used to be able to follow her yawns as sleepy cues but now she hardly does that. ….I always put her down between 1.5-2hrs but it seems she scream cries each time for a nap and bedtime is the easiest time where she normally is up 1hr50min. The only way I can get a good nap in is if I hold her and I have a 23month old. I am desperate for any advice!!! When should I put her down for her naps when I don’t see any sleepy cues? And bc she just does short naps should I just aim to always put her down at 1.5hrs?

Thank you for your questions! Heidi with Everyday Lovens would love to help guide you with your sleep questions. You can reach out to her directly Heidi@everydaylovens.com or schedule your FREE 15-minute phone consultation https://everydaylovens.com/booking
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Farjana said

Hi,

My daughter is 12.5 months old. Refuse to take evening nap on time, by the time she takes evening nap its too late and close to her bed time. Should I transit her nap from 2 to 1? If I do transition them her awake time will be 5 hours between naps and bed time. My query is 5 hours awake time will negatively impact on her brain ?

Thanks for your time

I have 18 month old twins.
We bedshare and contact nap which I love and wouldn’t change for the world.
Currently (and for a while now) we wake up at 7.30amto get my near 5 year old ready and off to school and we go for a nap at 12 until 1.30am.
Bedtime is 7.30pm.
Is this a good schedule or do they need more awake time before the nap?
Also, my near 5 year old goes to bed at 7.30pm and wakes up at 7.30am but lately has been complaining in the evening that she’s tired.

Hello!
I’m a little confused about wake windows as baby gets older. My daughter is about to be 11 months but i noticed if she sleeps till her regular wake time of 7:30.. bedtime ends up being too late.. do i offer a set bedtime as they near one year old? because we aim to keep bedtime 7/730 but some days ends up being 830 which is too late in my opinion, and i know wake windows will only continue to get longer so how do we deal with bedtime?

My 13 month old has started staying awake longer between naps pushing bed time later and later. He will go down for first nap 3.5 hours after being awake ( not necessarily showing tired signs), next nap is4.5-5 hours wake time. I think I should try and transition to one nap. He wakes between 545-7, changes daily. How would you suggest making the transition . Thanks in advance

Hello Shannon!
I would look at their overall schedule and evaluate how much daytime sleep your little Bub is getting. At this age, I would expect two naps totaling 3 hours give or take. I would also think about the way Bub is falling asleep for naps and bedtime and what you offer to get them back to sleep at night.
I offer free 15 minute sleep consultations if you’d like to chat more specifically :)

https://everydaylovens.com/booking

Hello Tara!
I would suggest capping his nap or pushing bedtime a little later to give him a slightly larger awake window if it’s taking him that long to fall asleep at bedtime. You can start with 1.5 hour naps and see if that’s helpful.
You could also try sitting in a chair at their door so he can’t run out. I also love positive reinforcements when kiddos stay in bed. That could be with your words, a sticker chart, daily/weekly fun incentives to stay in bed :)

Hello Christina!
At 2 years old, the awake windows are 5-6 hours. If you’re able to adjust naptime, I would suggest 12-2pm nap and and continuing to offer a 7:30/7:45pm bedtime to allow a little more awake time in the evening.
If your schedule doesn’t allow for the nap to be earlier, you can always cap the nap at 2pm or adjust bedtime a little later to 7:45/8pm to allow for that same larger awake window.

Hi, I have a 10 month old bub that can only stay up for 2.5 hours maximum during naps, but sleeps well through his daytime nap, then wakes up screaming at night. I am not sure if it is teething or seperation anxiety or what. I am at a loss. What can help ?!

What do you recommend when the 2.5 year naps great but is crazy at bedtime? He sleeps 2 hours in the afternoon, bedtime is 5 hours after his nap and takes a full hour of us chasing him back to bed…. he roomshares with his 4 year old brother…

How long should a almost 26 month old be awake between nap and bedtime ? Mine typically naps 12:20-2.30 ish and is taking a long time to fall asleep for bedtime when I put her in at 7:30. I should mention she’s awake by 6 am

Hello Lily!
Your child might be struggling to stay awake between naps because the current naps are being disrupted by the rolling. I would offer more tummy time during the day and practice working on those skills. That way your baby can roll around with more ease and not disrupt sleep. You can even offer time in the crib while you’re right there to help and encourage working on these skills in that sleep environment.

Hello Amanda!
I think you’re correct that the new daycare schedule threw sleep off. It could also be in part because of the 4 month sleep regression. Since you may not have much control over daycare schedule, I would offer an earlier bedtime on the days your baby doesn’t get as much daytime sleep. Bedtime can be as early as 6pm so your child can make up some of that restoritve sleep overnight.

Hello Claire!
This is a very common age for the 24 month sleep regression to occur. The nap strikes and nighttime waking can all be attributed to your child’s developmental milestones at this age. Since your child is overtired right now, I would suggest adjusting nap to start a bit earlier around 12:30 to allow time to fall asleep while capping the nap at the desired time so they can still get to sleep on-time at night. Often being overtired at bedtime can be the cause to the nighttime waking as well.
Your child is on the younger side for being ready to not nap anymore. I would continue to offer this nap time, even if they aren’t sleeping right now in hopes that they do start sleeping in the days/weeks to come.

My 23 month old has stopped napping in the day, but is then overtired and even with an early bedtime wakes in the night. If I do manage to get him to nap he then doesn’t fall asleep until really late. Our routine was:
6.30 -up
12-1 -nap
7.30 -bed

But now he is either not napping and going to bed at 6.30 (with night wakes) or not falling asleep to nap until 1.30ish meaning he wakes at 2.30 then doesn’t fall asleep until 9pm.

Any tips would really help!

Thanks, Claire

My 16 week old recently started daycare so our beautiful schedule has been thrown out the window. She also has started sleeping worse at night. She used to sleep 11-12 hours at night without waking up/needing anything. Since starting daycare she wakes up 1-4x a night. She doesn’t eat at these wake ups and a pacifier soothes her but I am wondering if because her nap schedule has been shifted it’s impacting our night sleep? Her last wake window used to be around 2-2.5 hours after a 1.5-2 hour nap. Now, it’s hit or miss on when/how long that last nap happens so there are nights where she has been up for almost 4 hours before it’s bedtime. Any suggestions??

Hello,

Recently I find my 5.5 months old struggles to stay awake longer between naps. Even after a long nap sometimes he starts really rubbing his eyes at 1.5 hours (or earlier) and starts to get cranky. I am concerned as at this age they should be awake at least 2-2.5 hours? The only difference I notice is that now he rolls and sleeps on tummy and when he wakes up he is always crying (but does not roll back). I’m unsure if this contributes to the short wake windows. The baby is not sick and doesn’t seem to be teething. Please let me know your thoughts.

Thanks. Lily

Hello Jessica Patterson,
Congratulations! I suggest following the age appropriate awake windows for a one month old. This is anywhere from 40-90 minutes of awake time before offering sleep. At this age, it’s ok and perfectly normal for baby to fall asleep in your arms or while feeding. I would keep trying to place baby down for sleep on their back and offering support as needed. Feel free to follow me on Instagram @everydaylovens for more soothing and sleep tips.

First time new mom….I have a fussy one month old at night and wants to be held and won’t sleep on his own in his bassinet….what is a good schedule and how do I stop the not sleeping on his own?

Hello Maria Nappi,
Thanks for sharing your sons schedule. I start with stretching his first awake time and shifting his naps 30 minutes later. Offering the first nap of the day too early can reinforce the early morning wakeup. Please feel free to schedule a free 15 minute phone consultation on my website if you would like more guidance.
Sweet dreams, Heidi
https://everydaylovens.com/

I hope you are all well. I’m reaching out because I would need some guidance with early morning wake-up. I have read all your articles and have used all your tools and strategies however, my son who is 10 months is still waking up very early. This has been going on for over than a month.

6AM wake

8:30-10:00AM Nap 1

1:00-2:30PM Nap 2

5:30PM bedtime routine

6:00PM Bedtime

When he wakes up, I usually keep him in his crib until 6:15-6:30. Should I try a later bedtime or will that make him overtired? I would really appreciate some guidance on this matter. I have tried everything and want him to get the sleep he need.
Thank you so much,

Hi Heidi!

Between 5-6 months old my son had settled out to 3-4 naps per day, bedtime at 6:30, overnight feed at 3am and awake around 6am. At his 6 month appt my pediatrician suggested weaning the 3am overnight feeding for him saying that he’s “fully capable of sleeping through the night without eating” and that keeping it would just end up making it a habit for him moving forward. It was a rocky feed to drop with 30-45 min away crying (it was easier to just feed him honestly but I tried to do what our pediatrician had suggested). During that time he started waking up at 5am and even now if I feed him at 3am he goes right back to sleep but wakes at 5 or 5:30. Any suggestions? He usually has about 2.5hr wake window right before bed.

Separate question/may help in your response above — he has always struggled with achieving age appropriate wake windows. At 6 months old he can only go at most 2 hours (more often closer to 1.5) between naps during the day. He gets fussy and rubs his eyes and wants to just be held towards the end of his wake windows, and falls asleep easily for his naps. Is this something that could be contributing to his early waking and do you think it’s worth trying to push to extend those wake windows longer during the day?

Melissa, I am no sleep expert, but just wanted you to know I was in a similar boat just a few months ago. My little girl took 3 naps until about 10.5 months, when she naturally dropped to 2. I wouldn’t worry about it too much! Every baby is different. For most of the time my daughter was on 3 nap, she actually couldn’t even make a 2 hour awake window between waking up in the morning and her first nap. 3 naps a day can be hard, but you probably aren’t too far off from you LO dropping to 2!

Hello. I have a 9 month old, and even after working with a sleep consultant and sleep training, I’m still dealing with 530am wake ups! He’s averaging 10.5 night hours. I’m desperate, please help!!
I usually get him from bed around 6:45. When he wakes he’s mostly happy, so I can justify letting him play in his crib to try pushing the start of the day. First nap is 3 hours after day start (9:30-10am) and he usually sleeps 1.5-2 hours. Second nap is 3.5 hours after wake up. He usually sleeps 1 hour. Bedtime is 3-3.5 hours after wake up. Usually ends up being between 7:15-730pm. On a bad nap day, he won’t go down earlier. He’ll toss and fuss until around 7:15.
Things I have tried: capping last nap at 4pm, capping last nap at 1 hour, extending last wake window, shortening last wake window, a combination of all of the above. He falls asleep independently, wakes once or twice a night, but resettles independently within 5-10 mins. Any advice on what could help those mornings?!

My daughter is 8.5 months old and despite my efforts to increase wake windows for several weeks, she gets overtired. I can’t seem to get her past a 2 hr morning wake window, 2.5 hr afternoon windows and 3 hrs before bedtime. Sometimes she’ll refuse her last nap, but she definitely seems to be happier/sleeps better overnight with 3 naps. Do I keep trying to extend now or give it some time to see what she does on her own? Thank you.

I’m following sleep cues and wake windows and creating a good sleep environment, but my little one still won’t nap well during the day, so then wakes more at night as a result I assume as he often wakes at around 4/5am. Help – what am I missing 🙈

Hi!
I have a 13 month old that is sleeping independently for bed time but I am having trouble figuring her wakes times for her naps. I’ve noticed she needs to be awake 5 hours before bedtime so she sleeps throughout the night. Our schedule is usually wake time 6:30 am or 7 am and bedtime is 7pm. I was offering her a nap at 11 but by then she was overtired and didn’t nap independently so I moved it up to 9:30am. She takes that nap for an hour so she wakes up at 10:40am or so. Now her second nap would be up around 2 but she has been refusing to sleep independently for that nap. She will stay up until I go in and do a contact nap at 3pm but by then it’s already late. I’ve also thought about just doing one nap but I’m afraid she’ll be overtired if I offer her morning nap later. Can you help?

Thank you!

Hello Stacey (16 week old daughter)
Your daughter sounds like she’s still right on track with her naps. I don’t usually see the naps consolidate until closer to 6 months (give or take). You may start to notice she’s able to stay awake slightly longer in the afternoon while the morning nap is the shortest awake window.
You can start gently stretching her in 5-15 minutes increments to offer longer awake windows as she’s getting older and you see her being more ready for this.

Hi Stacey (7.5 month old son)
I would look at your sons daily schedule to evaluate that he’s getting the right amount of sleep and awake windows. If he’s actually hungry at 10pm and eating a full feed vs a comfort feed to get back to sleep, I’d also look at talking to his pediatrician about weaning that feed and pushing it later.

Hello Rhiannon!
Early morning waking can be super frustrating. It does sound like you’ve tried a lot of different things. I would definitely keep his nap time very consistent and make sure he has plenty of awake time before bed so that he really has a drive to sleep.
You can also try something called “wake to sleep” to help break up his sleep cycle and hopefully sleep later into the morning. I have an example/explanation of this in my Instagram Stories https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17884166665343035/?hl=en

Hi, my son will be 2yrs in 3 weeks time and has always been an ‘early riser’, I have researched children’s sleep since he was 4 months, so I understand overtiredness etc, but nothing works. I came to accept that 5am was his time as I couldn’t fix this. But the last 5-6 weeks he has been waking anything from 3.30-4.30… and will not go back to sleep even though he’s tired. I keep him in his cot until 6, but he just screams until we get him up, unless I stay with him and then he will lie there, but still won’t sleep. He settles fine in the evening (mostly) and goes down between 6&7pm depending on when he woke from his nap. His nap is around 1-1.5 hours. I have tried a morning nap and also moved it to the afternoon but nothing works, I’m guessing it’s just one vicious cycle of overtiredness that I can’t break because he’s up so early… his awake time, wether morning or afternoon, is always going to be too long while he’s waking up at this time. I thought to give two naps to try and sort it, but he never seems to go for a second nap now as he’s not used to it. Help!
I feel like I have been exhausted for two years solid!

Hiya,

My son is 7 and a half months. From 3 months toll 6 months, he slept at midnight and woke up at 12 with 1 night feed during which he slept most of the time anyways. However, since he turned 6 months, he has been waking up at 10am instead. I don’t understand as he slept so well before. What could i do to ensure he sleeps longer please?
Thanks!

Hi Heidi

My daughter is 16 weeks, I watch her sleepy cues and she is always tired come the 60 minute mark. Is this normal? Or should I try extending her awake time gradually or should I still follow her cues? I can’t seem to get her to 3 naps because her wake windows are only an hour and she isn’t consolidating her naps still

Thanks
Stacey

Hi Alyna,
That’s a good sign that she’s ready to drop to one nap. Her age is also a very common age to drop to one nap. I would check out the age appropriate awake windows for her age (4.5-6 hours) and create your daily schedule around then. Perhaps 7:30am wake 12:30-2:30pm nap and 7:30pm bedtime—give or take. You can always offer nap and/or bedtime slightly early as she’s transitioning and getting used to the new one nap schedule.

Hello Helena,
I don’t think she has a large enough wake window from the start of the day until nap. If she wakes at 9am I would expect a 9pm bedtime. If you want an earlier bedtime, I would wake her earlier in the morning. That being said, if you want to keep the 9am wakeup ( I would love that late start!!!) I would offer nap 2-3:30/4pm and then bedtime 9pm. I do think it’s important to teach her to fall asleep independently at bedtime so that she can get herself back to sleep throughout the night without needing to be rocked and potentially overstimulated by contact in the night.

Hi Hannah,
I would look at the way you are putting your son to bed at night. If it involves contact ie: feeding, rocking, laying with, etc. he will most likely look for all those comforts throughout the night. I would work on helping him fall asleep independently and encourage that through the night. Feel free to book a free 15 minute consultation call with me if you’d like more feedback and insight. https://everydaylovens.com/

Hi Alyna,
I agree that it sounds like it’s time to drop to one nap. Your daughter is at the right age for this and is showing signs. You can always offer an early bedtime during the transition time as she adjusts to one nap.

Hello Nicolette!
Those wakeups early in the night are usually caused because a child is overtired. Just like you mentioned, he hadn’t slept much from the afternoon until bedtime so he is most likely overtired come bedtime.
I would make sure you are following the wake windows still for his age and offering at least one nap in the crib each day but maybe also a stroller or baby wear him so he can nap longer especially in the afternoon when he’s struggling to sleep . Short naps are still very common until 5/6 months when they can consolidate naps and sleep longer during the day.
Please feel free to book a free 15 minute phone consultation if you need more clarification on any of this. https://everydaylovens.com/

Hello Tessa!
I’m so happy to hear nights are going so well. As for naps, they can definitely be harder and take more time. Generally, around the 5 month mark babes are able to consolidate all the cat naps and start napping better too.
Until then, watch the wake windows and adjust somewhere between 60-90 minutes. Usually the first wake of the day is the shortest and as the day goes on they are able to go a longer stretch. For example he may only be awake 60-75 minutes for his first wake of the day but awake closer to 90 minutes just before bed.
I always like to offer “crib time” during the day when you are in the room with baby. Maybe folding clothes next to him or reading a book or singing songs through the crib. I think it gets them comfortable with the space and can help reduce the crying around nap time.

Hi Heidi
My 16 month old struggles to fall asleep for naps and at night.
She will sleep for a solid 5 hrs at night ( regardless of what time she falls asleep) then wake every 3hrs give or take.
She use to wake up at 9 am, try to put her down for her nap at 12:30-1 but can take up to 1.5 hrs to eventually go down , if I wait till 3pm she goes down easy but then makes it extremely difficult at night taking over 2 hrs to get her yo sleep which makes her bedtime closer to 10-11pm rather than 8.
If she refuses her nap ( which has been happening quiet often ) she will start to be fussy after 3:30 but goes to sleep easily at 6:30-7pm .
Wakes at roughly 2am 5 am 8-9ush to start her day.
She has never gone to sleep on her own, i feed her to sleep or hubby and I tag team holding/rocking her, but if I put her down in her cot before she is fully asleep she will stand up in her cot and ask to be picked up and cry until you do.
I don’t know what to do , I try follow awake times tired signs, but she fights her sleep every time.

Hi there! My little one is gonna turn 15 months and has been taking 2 naps with a 7:30pm bedtime. I think it may be time for one nap. Lately she doesn’t wanna go down for bed. She cries and cries when I leave the room and won’t crash until like 9:30pm so she fights for a while. I go in and console her and then leave again. It’s just been taking longer and even then she wakes up like every hour and a half. She used to just wake up once.

I desperately need help! My 10 month old has been waking every half an hour ALL night long since he was 12 weeks old. He wakes up at 730 almost every day, has 2 day naps and always goes to bed around 7:30-8. Within 10 mins of me putting him down he starts crying and then absolutely screaming if I don’t attend to him. We still co sleep, he comfort feeds all night long and screams when ever he unlatches. It is so tiring how do I break this habit of comfort feeding.. he wont take a dummy

My son is 8 weeks and sleeps really well at night. On average he does a long stretch of between 6-8 hours and another 2 hours after a feed. I have no problem getting him to bed at night, we do our routine and put him down with no fuss. However, he fights me all day when it comes to napping. Whenever I begin the nap routine he already begins whining. I just cannot figure out what I’m doing wrong even after playing around with his wake windows. Should I have a longer or shorter wake window after his long nights rest? Thank you in advance!

Good day, I please need advice. My son is 15 weeks old (born 6 weeks earlier). Suddenly his after bath “behavior” / sleeping is going hi-wire….we would bath him between 6 and half past 6. He will be sleeping around 7 and half past 7. But then he will wake up every now and then, crying…I will offer him to drink (I’m breastfeeding exclusively), he will drink for a little bit, fall asleep and wake up crying after a short time again….untill about 9 to 10 o’clock. He used to sleep through from 19.00 untill about 01.00 before he take a quick sip again. Sometimes I don’t offer him to drink, as he dummy’s on me, which I don’t want, as I don’t think it’s a healty habbit.. He refuses to take a plastic dummy..
His wake windows also changed, and ofcourse influence his night time sleeping. From around 12.00 yesterday up to bath time, for example, he only slept 50m in total….which I KNOW is too little….he just won’t take longer naps than 15 to 30min….I know the sleep cycles need to be linked and it use to work to hold his hands and just sit at his cot until he falls asleep again, but tge past 2 days, he keeps on crying and not settling down again, so then I pick him up, change diaper, offer to drink, offer to sleep ect. I don’t know WHAT I’m doing wrong. He is tired, but just don’t take a nap…

Hello Ruby,
It sounds like you daughter may have a little day/night confusion. I would focus on waking her during the day after 2-2.5 hours of napping. That way she’s waking and eating enough during the day to still have room for sleep at night. Babies are known to be loud sleepers. Even if she’s making sounds in the night, she may still be sleeping, just in a lighter stage of sleep.
I would also make sure you’re following the 40-90 minute wake windows, even at bedtime so she isn’t getting too overtired come nighttime. If you’re not already using a sound machine, that can be really helpful for baby’s sleep and yours if your room sharing and every little baby noise is waking you in the night.

Hi Rachel!
There is a very common sleep regression that happens at or around the 18 month mark. I would work on being as consistent as you can with offering nap at the same time (or close to) everyday, no matter what time she wakes. Offering the same time nap will 1) help with a consistent morning wake time and 2) help her settle for nap and get back on track with a daily nap.
Sleep regressions are really a time when your child is working on and mastering new skills and that can interfere with sleep. Here is a link to a sleep regression post I have on Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CFruCdknq1F/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Hello Daniela,
I have run into this question many times and have worked with preschools, researched and leaned a lot about these laws. Depending on where you live, this isn’t entirely true. The laws usually state that the facility will provide a nap environment but don’t state that they cannot wake the child under parents request. I would recommend researching the laws in your area to find out more about your exact laws and regulations.
That being said, an 8 hour awake window seems very long even if your child is waking up at 2:15pm from nap. I would expect closer to an 8pm bedtime. I would suggest more “down time” in the evening with lowered lights, calming music, puzzles, books, etc and maybe even meditation apps or sleep stories.

My daughter turned 4 weeks old today. She has been good at taking naps during the day but for some reason once 7pm hits she cannot go to bed and she stays awake for 3 hrs or so until we have to try again at the next feeding. She seems like she is not getting good sleep during the night because she wakes up a lot and makes lots of noises.

She was doing regular night naps before but now once we try the nap at seven pm she just doesn’t go to bed.

I’m not sure if I’m missing her sleep window or she is just not tired. What can we do?