Waketime and Naptime

Notes from Babywise chapter 7

Two activities in your baby’s routine: waketime and naptime specifically with a child who is at least one week old.

One of the most common mistakes made when following a routine is to reverse the order of the last two activities- that is, putting the baby down for a nap right after his or her feeding.

You have to work on keeping your baby awake to take full feeding. (Rub her feet, stroke her face, change a diaper, talk to her, remover her sleeper, but she must eat)

Waketime activities include times when you and your baby will be together and the times when your baby will explore his or her new world alone.

Naptime:

Naps are not an option based on your baby’s wants. When naptime comes, the baby goes down. It is that simple. For optimal development, infants need daytime rest.


When settling for a nap, crying for 15-20 minutes is not going to hurt your baby physically or emotionally.

Newborn:

Newborns can sleep 16-20 hours per day, including periods of sleep between each feeding.

The sleep will come in the form of 6-8 naps (depending on daily feedings)

When your baby has been up for an appropriate duration, which maybe only a total of 45 minutes including feeding time, and shows some sings of fussiness, it is time for a nap.

Two Months:

Baby drops her nighttime feeding and begins sleeping 7-8 hours continuously.

Naps during the day should be at least 1 ½ hours long.

NOTE; it is not unusual for 2-3 month old baby to awaken around 5 or 530am and talk to themselves for up to an hour. Afterward, they usually go back to sleep for another hour or so. This quirky phase can go on for a week or a month and sometimes longer. If you start to respond each time you hear a noise from the cradle, then 5am will become your baby’s waketime- and yours too.

3-5 months

Nighttime sleep will avg 10-12 hours.

The baby will have 3 daytime naps between 1 ½ to 2 hours long.

6-16th month

Your baby will drop her late afternoon/early evening nap at around 6 months, leaving two naptimes-one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

The naps are usually 1 ½ to 2hours long.

16months and older

Between 16-20 months, the morning nap is dropped. Y

Your baby should be sleeping 10-12 hours at night and 2-3 hours during one afternoon nap.

For baby to wake up Happy follow these 3 rules:

1. Mom, not baby, decides when the nap starts

2. Mom, not baby, decides when the nap en

3. If your baby wakes up crying or cranky, it’s most likely because she hasn’t had sufficient sleep. Other factors to consider are dirty diapers, a noisy neighbor, sickness coming on, or an arm or leg stuck between crib slats.

  

Summary:

If your baby is waking up cranky or crying he or she most likely is not getting enough sleep. Even though she may cry, your baby will probably go right back to sleep in 10 minutes for another 30-40 minutes of rest. When your baby gets enough sleep, you will notice a happy disposition; the baby will make happy sounds, letting you know it’s time to get her up.

When your baby starts to sleep through the night, people will say “you’re so lucky” or “you got an easy baby.” Neither is true. Your baby is sleeping through the night because you trained her to do so. You can take credit for your success.