To ask for quick help with my baby?

[afewvindako]

Hoping for some quick help! I have been using the Huckleberry app to try and track my baby's naps and stupidly followed it instead of my own instinct. To cut a long story short he woke up from the suggested nap at 7pm. I didn't keep a close enough eye on the timings stupidly. I'd normally be aiming for bed around 7.30/8 but he's not going to be tired now is he? Should I wait till 8.30 to try bed or try him sooner in case he gets over tired tomorrow now?

He's 4 months.

Personally I wouldn’t worry about a precise timing and just go with your instinct i.e. look out for when he starts getting tired again. If you know what the intervals are normally between his naps then that should give you a rough idea. Think mine had roughly 1.5 to 2 hours awake intervals at that age, so if he woke up at 7pm, bed at 8:30/9 would have been about right.

I'd just wait until he seems tired. We also used the Huckleberry app but I tended to ignore some of the timing suggestions because they didn't make sense in the context of what we were doing. Probably why DS used to just go to bed when we did at that age!

I'd try 8.30/9pm but sooner if he appears tired.

Thanks. Yes I know it's best to do without the app in future but my question was about the timings tonight now that this has happened. I think the guidance at his age is 90mins between naps so that would be 8.30 I guess. Just hoping it's not too late now and I haven't fucked things up for tomorrow.

I suggest ditching that ridiculous app. Let your baby lead the way. He knows when he needs to nap.

Definitely agree with only using the app as a guide. My lo just doesn't need as much sleep as others so a lot of the guides weren't appropriate. I second the earlier comments to learn to read their cues at this age. I don't think they really start falling into a routine til after the 4 month sleep regression.

Ditch the app, put something good on the telly, wait til he seems tired. Good luck!

In this instance I think go for the usual awake gap rather than try bed time early. I think at that age it’s better to let bed time be led by when the last nap ended rather than a set time. I wouldn’t worry about over tiredness tomorrow from a slightly later bedtime as the overtiredness thing is when they try stay awake to long then start producing cortisol which keeps them awake, but after a nights sleep that’s not as much an issue, even if they don’t get as many hours sleep as usual.

Thanks, that's really helpful

OP how long is you lo sleeping at night? I only ask as my sons similar age & feeds fairly frequently. I also agree with pp & think don’t put him down to soon as dosnt sound like he will be tierd & it’s easier to follow their natural ques. I had no idea you could even sleep train that early, maybe I’m too relaxed ?

Hi @Lemonpink88 he's generally sleeping from 8ish till 7am with feeds at 12 and 3/4. However last week he's been waking up earlier at 6ish. How about yours?

That sounds good! Mine goes down about 7 till around 6/7 & feeds maybe 2 or 3 times so similar! My toddler does wake early tho so I often have to leave the baby whilst I do breakfast.
How are u finding the app, would you recommend it?

The app is fine- I already knew about the 90 min rule so I guess it doesn't tell you anything new but just helps you log it all, and I also log the amount of milk taken (as he's bottle fed due to breast feeding problems) so you get a daily average milk which is interesting. But yeah, the suggested nap was too late tonight and it should have said bed time instead! I was a bit tired to register the lateness!

Hope you end up having a good night & everyone gets a good sleep!