Together with Sabrina von Babyschlafprofi.de we have the 9th for you in two blog posts most common sleep situations that bring young parents to the verge of despair again and again. What to do if your baby just doesn't want to fall asleep or is up very early in the morning? In the first part we go into 6 situations and give you the appropriate tips that have already helped numerous mothers. Have fun reading & implementing:)
The sleep challenges at a glance:
- It takes my child a long time to fall asleep
- My child has dThe afternoon nap is left out and is therefore in the evening much earlier weary
- My child only takes very short daytime naps (<1 hour)
- My child did an unplanned power nap in the afternoon and so the original bedtime no longer fits
- My child goes to bed relatively early and wakes up very early in the morning (5:30 a.m.) in a good mood
- My child wakes up at night and is in a good mood
But before we start, we would like to first go into the “normal values” for small children. In our experience, some perceived challenges are simply part of babies' natural development.
How often and for how long should my child actually sleep?
Parents often ask themselves what exact sleep needs their child has in the first year of life and how many hours a day or night are “age-appropriate”. The following table is intended to answer this question. It shows a child's need for sleep in the first year of life.
But be careful: the values listed are for guidance only. Please note that every child can have a different and therefore slightly different sleep requirement!
1. It takes my child a long time to fall asleep
If it takes longer than 15 to 20 minutes to fall asleep during the day and / or in the evening, it can generally be said that it is not the right time.
If you put your child to sleep too early and they are not tired enough, then your child will simply find sleeping too boring. Often this is shown by getting up or sitting down more often in bed or your child cheerfully tells stories of some kind.
In this case, you should tend to lay your child down a little later for several days. Take this step-by-step!
If, on the other hand, you put your child to sleep too late, then it may be that they are already overtired.
When overworked, the stress hormone cortisol is released and this in turn ensures that your child only finds it difficult to sleep, even though it is dead tired. This is often shown by the fact that your child had a certain low at an earlier point in time and is suddenly wide awake and happy again.
Therefore, try constantly over a few days to give the sleep times again and pay close attention to your child's signs of tiredness and signals.
Attention: you should never go to sleep before 6:00 p.m.!
2. My child has dThe afternoon nap is left out and is therefore in the evening much earlier weary
If, for whatever reason, your child skipped the last sleep before going to bed, then put your child to bed at around 6 p.m. on such days to avoid being overtired!
Important: It is a fallacy that children sleep longer in the morning if they go to bed later in the evening and your child does not necessarily wake up again at 5:00 a.m. - on the contrary 😉
3. My child only takes very short daytime naps (<1 hour)
There are many possible reasons why your child only sleeps very briefly during the day:
- fatigue
- Overstimulation
- unusual noises
- hunger
- too much overall sleep
- Development spurt / regression
- too little sleep pressure (not tired enough)
- Malaise / illness / pain
- used sleep aids
However, in our experience, the sleep aids used are the most common reason why a child wakes up after a short time and usually only falls asleep again when this state of the first sleep is restored.
If you can rule out all of the other factors listed above and you suspect the sleep aid, then try to reduce them gradually.
4. My child did an unplanned power nap in the afternoon. Therefore, the original bedtime no longer fits
Such an unplanned power nap in the late afternoon is the sheer horror for every mom! You are still on the road for a "short time" and almost at home, you look in the rearview mirror and see that the child has happily fallen asleep in the car seat.
This 10-minute power nap can then give the child a real boost of energy. The sleep pressure that has built up up to that point is then gone!
Important: stay as relaxed as possible and take a deep breath first! Then postpone falling asleep in the evening by 30 to 60 minutes to save you and your child a lot of stress!
5. My child goes to bed relatively early and wakes up very early in the morning (5:30 a.m.) in a good mood
If your child wakes up this early in the morning in a good mood, then they have probably slept well. But what can you do now to ensure that your child sleeps longer in the morning?
Shift your bedtime in the evening by 15 to 20 minutes over 3 to 4 days. Then you postponed the evening bedtime by an hour after 3 to 4 days.
Important: It can take another 3 weeks for your child's biorhythm to get used to the new time. So be patient if nothing changes immediately!
6. My child wakes up at night and is in a good mood
Nocturnal waking phases occur more frequently in the 11 or 24 month regression, as your child's need for sleep changes during this time.
The nightly waking phases are caused by an oversupply of daytime sleep.
To make these waking phases disappear again, you can either cancel one day of sleep completely or shorten it, or you can put your child to bed an hour later in the evening.
Slowly find your way around shortening your daytime sleep! Do not let yourself be unsettled: you know best which of the options listed is best for your child.
In Part 2 you will receive other important tips that will help you and your baby to sleep well!
We wish you and your baby healthy and safe baby sleep.
Your Wombambino Team & Sabrina von Babyschlafprofi.de.
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