Waking Baby From Nap

[Jill]

Does anyone wake up their babies from their naps? If so, how long is too long to let them sleep. How do you know if they have days and nights mixed up?

[breezykc2]

Babies are supposed to sleep 20 plus hours in a 24 hour period and that can be normal up until 5 months....Beyond that I never woke mine up, but I'm not sure of the correct age to start waking them. I wouldn't advise doing it before 5 months though becacuse of the high need of sleep for their system to thrive.

[EvaS]

Don't know if any other moms here would do this, but when Abby was a baby she used to sleep 8 hours during the day. So I switched her myself. I used to wake her up after 4 hours and b/f her and then she would go back to sleep. And she immediately took her long sleep at night. She was sleeping from 12am- 8am from 5 weeks old.

[Jill]

Wow! I didn't know they needed that much sleep for so long. Thanks!

[~Tara~]

My kids have all nursed about every 2 hours from the get go. Waking them from a nap has not been an issue here. Not for several months anyway. Right now, my 1 yr old sometimes takes a 'too long' nap in the evenings so I wake him around 8 so he can nurse then go back to sleep for the night around 9-9:30. But I don't recall ever having to do this kind of thing much earlier than this age.

While, I am one to say 'let the baby sleep' I'm also one to think that if a *young* baby (I think that 5 months was pretty good...so I'll say 5 mo and younger) is sleeping 4 or more hours at a stretch, during the day...I'd be waking that baby. *I* would be about to burst at that point with such a young child LOL But that long of a stretch during the day could interfere with night sleeping. *could* not necessarily would. Some kids just fall into a longer stretch feeding/sleeping pattern. If it's not affecting night time sleep...I 'guess' let it go, as long as the baby eats well when awake and is gaining well and thriving :)

I dunno, no expert here, just throwing out my rambling thoughts :)

[Jill]

after 3 hours I am dying to wake him! lol! that's too long for a mommy to go without snuggling! Just when I think I have somewhat of a schedule everything changes...so much for having predictable days. It is fun to see what each new day brings!

[~Tara~]

LOL Predictability and schedule are so NOT in my vocabulary until at least 8 or 9 months. hehehe

Yep, as soon as you get used to one thing, a routine seems to have settled in...things get shifted around, baby shifts gears. hehe

[Cheeseburger]

Katherine put herself on a good schedule pretty early. We didn't push it, but I think our habits helped

At nighttime, if she woke up, all she would get is a dark room where she could lay and nurse. NO entertainment, no laughing, tickling, no toys etc, just laying quietly with mommy and nursing and then back to bed.

Seriously I never woke her up during the day, and she was allowed to sleep whenever during the day (still is), but she now goes to sleep around 9pm usually, and wakes up at 8am a few minutes before DH's alarm goes off. After daddy is up that is when the lights come on in the house and when she is allowed to play again.

She did sleep a lot during the day anyway when she was little, but from about 6 weeks she was sleeping mostly at night, even if she did sleep during the day, she DOES still wake up for night feedings though, but I don't have a problem w/ that, and it's not usually for more than like 10 minutes and she will be back asleep. But yeah we are just very consistent about nighttime = lights off and quiet. It's not as much fun to stay awake then LOL. I rarely speak to her at night either. Mostly because i'm tired, but also b/c I don't want to wake DH. So no conversation either, although if she is screaming I will speak calmly and quietly to try to calm her down, but that is rare, usually once i pick her up she quiets.

[EmJo]

Ben catnaps after eating--10 to 20 minutes--with two one to one-and-a-half hour naps (usually) morning and afternoon. So he wakes himself up in a timely manner.

[JoyLynn]

Hi Jill, :D

I had mine on a schedule from the beginning. Two-two hour naps per day and a set bedtime, as well as a set time for night time to end. I did find that if I let them keep sleeping during their naps it threw their whole schedule off. I noticed with all four of mine, that if for some reason our schedule was off due to running errands, having visitors, etc, kidlet would be happy for only a short time after waking up, and then his/her mood would deteriorate dramatically as the day wore on. :?

[loveflag]

Joy [welcomewave]

[Jill]

Thanks, joy! Did you try to keep them up during the day until their nap time? if the woke up earlier than 2 hours did you put them back to sleep? I have found that Jack is the happiest in the morning and i think that it's because we have a routine.

[JoyLynn]

Hi Jill, :D

Yeah, I did try to keep them up until their nap time, and yes, if they woke up earier I wouldn't get them up. Pretty soon (sometimes took a while ), they learned to go back to sleep, and then they were sleeping the full two hours. At times they would even want sleep longer if I let them, but that could literally throw their entire day off, just like it would mine if I slept all afternoon. I'd be up aaallll night long. :shock: :lol:

I also worked my entire day around my kids' schedule. I tried very hard to avoid errands and being in the car too close to nap time. If they fell asleep in the car, even for a few minutes, they'd have a terrible time falling asleep for their naps. :?

Have fun, girlfriend. You'll be amazed at how quickly this stage of their lives passes. Too fast, IMO. :(

[heartbeat]

Joy [welcomewave]

[Jill]

Thanks, Joy. I really want Jack to be on a schedule. I know that he would be happier if he knew what was coming next. I appreciate your advice and welcome any more:)

[JoyLynn]

You're very welcome, Jill. [cheerful]

[hug]

Joy [welcomewave]

[Cristina]

When ds was younger I never really woke him from naps, but he's never really napped longer than 3 hours anyway. I do cut his afternoon nap short because if he sleeps longer than 1.5 hours he will be a beast until bedtime!