Do you ever..

[TeabagTelepathy]

Leave your baby awake in his/her cot while you are asleep?

As long as they aren’t crying, fed and changed?

Last night I was so tired from being ill, when I could hear LO scratching the side of her cot and chatting at about 5am I checked on her then just had to go back to sleep. I physically couldn’t stay awake (bit of an exaggeration because if she was ill/crying I would have been able to)

I’m not sure if she woke up more times in the night because I was that tired. I woke up at her crying around 7:30 so I obviously got up and played with her then and she’s not gone back to sleep.

So is it ok to leave them at night, in their cot, especially for the hours they should be asleep anyway? I’m assuming she just self settled back to sleep.

In the day we are usually busy, and she has plenty of playtime, a bit of time to do her own thing while I get on with jobs in the same room

If she’s not got a dirty nappy, is fed and not crying why would you think you had to stay awake OP?

Hope you feel better soon

I think it’s just the usual guilt if she’s awake and happy I should be playing with her Obviously FTM

Of course! They are safe and happy. Leave them be.

Of course!
5am is not playtime, if you'd left her crying that's different but if she was just awake it's best to teach them that they don't get attention at that time

Yiu should be playing with her at 5am? Really? I wouldn’t even do that when I was well. If she’s happy in her cot, leave her there and get some extra sleep.

I always wonder the same thing OP. Doubt she was awake all the way until 7.30am though, she probably decided to go back to sleep as well!

Thank you, just needed some reassurance! I know people who’s day starts at 5am because their LO is up so I want sure if this was something I should be doing! She’s 6 months so I need all the rest I can get

Some babies are absolutely inconsolable at 5 am though, others will go back off after a feed and a cuddle. If yours is happy, leave her where she is

I do it quite often, just leave him chatting away and banging his dummy on the cot side

I do the same, if my dd wakes for a feed in the night, I feed her, cha he her if needed and then I out her back in her Moses basket and light off wether she's awake or not. Once the light is off She knows it's time to go back to sleep and is usually gone off again within 10 mins

Of course you can leave a contented baby awake alone in their cot. It's their safe space. They may even re-settle themselves and go back to sleep.

Besides, it is excellent parenting to do so, as they learn to entertain themselves. It's really not a good idea to be with your baby for every waking moment, focussing on them, entertaining them, keeping them 'happy'.

I have never done the 'the baby is up so we're up' thing, I think it's a mental approach to sleep. You stay in bed until it's morning, or come in with me but stay quiet.

My sister gets up with her son - last week they were up at 3.45 with the clocks going back.

Don't be a slave to that!

I often hear my son at 5am and ignore him for 10 minutes. He isn't actually crying for anything and is just playing with his toys and finding his dummy. He goes back to sleep for an hour or so. Then he wakes up and cries. Then I go to him, he wants his milk or he's done a poo etc.

Crooked 3:45?!

3.45? I don’t know how she functions.

We have a DF who has always constantly entertains her DD. Even if her DD is playing quietly with something she doesn’t leave her alone and is suggesting things she could do or asking her what she would like to do next. Honestly it’s totally exhausting to just be around half the time, I really don’t know how she keeps it up.

Children should be able to entertain themselves for short periods of time. If your baby is awake but content in the night, it’s the night, leave them be

Brilliant, Thank you, I don’t feel bad now! I was also thinking, if they wake up in the night and you are fast asleep you wouldn’t even know unless they cried.

Jilted I’ve seen this too, I’m somewhere in the middle where I don’t do that but feel like I should maybe be like that!

I really want her to know when it’s nighttime and when it’s playtime, and I’m very lucky she’s content if she wakes up in the night (for now!)

If you’re feeling guilty because you’re ASLEEP in the NIGHT when your baby is CONTENT, you need to have a serious word with yourself OP

Jilted 😂 I think I need to have a word with myself. Sometimes this is why I need to say things “out loud” (typed) to realise I’m overthinking or being plain nuts

If you're wrong for doing this while you're ill I'm a terrible mother 😂 my dd is 6 months and very content in the morning in her next to me. She wakes up at 7ish every morning and I usually just lay there till 8 when she gets fed up and shouts at me. She coos at the lamp plays with her hands scratches the side of my face.
I figure if she wakes me up hourly through the night I can have an hour lay in when she gets up!

Absolutely yes it’s fine! And it is unlikely (possible of course, but unlikely) your baby played by themselves for 2.5 hours so I think she probably went back to sleep. My DD does that sometimes too, not often enough sadly