Have you been here before? Baby is sleeping well, everything is going according to plan, but then they start to wake up earlier and earlier and you start to think….”WHAT’S GOING ON?!”
The truth is, the first year of your baby’s life can be a lot of up and down when it comes to sleep. You’re figuring things out, they’re learning and figuring things out and it keeps going.
Early morning wakings are very common when it comes to babies (even toddlers), but first let’s go over what an EMW is.
An early morning waking (EMW) is when your little one wakes up before 6 am. Now….most parents don’t want to be awake at 6:00 am but that’s actually a very common wake up time for many and is considered “waking up for the day.” However, that doesn’t mean you can’t work on that as well! But that’s a blog for another day.
So how can we troubleshoot those EMW and help everyone involved?
- Room environment- this is a CRUCIAL part of those wakings because a good room environment sets the tone. Is there too much light coming in? Are there outside noises disturbing your baby? Keep the room pitch black. What might not be a bid deal for us, could be to them. They’re learning and discovering new things everyday and that could mean that the little light peeking through has them distracted and wondering “oh! What’s that?!” And sometimes sudden outside noises could get them out of a sleep cycle and if they don’t know how to get into a new cycle on their own, then they won’t be able to go back to sleep. So, I suggest you consider a sound machine.
- Schedule- is what’s going on with naps timed correctly? It sounds crazy but what goes on during the day trickles into their night. Too much day time sleep will pull away from the night and since they had more sleep during the day than needed, their body now wakes up before 6am ready to start their day. So take a second look at their naps and if they’re younger than 5 months, follow wake windows (or schedule) and if they’re older than 5 months, work towards an actual schedule.
- Bedtime-for some, they might need a later bedtime or longer wake window before bed to help build that sleep pressure.
- Train those wake ups-lastly, you might have to sleep train those EMW (this takes time). It could be with a Wake-to-Sleep approach or going to the sleep training method you did when you started sleep training.
It’s good to note that you should also see if your little one is going through a regression since that can also lead to EMW. If so, do nothing and let it pass. Regressions last about 4 weeks, so be patient with them.
Every child is different which is why I’m so happy to offer one-on-one support. If you’re interested in a consultation, please schedule a FREE consultation, here.
