7mo just started sleep training...have I screwed it up?!

[HollyFP]

On Thursday I started BW sleep training with my 7mo DD as we were having epic battles getting her to nap during the day. She has responded really well, frequently does long morning naps now :-)
However - since we started this she has been waking increasingly earlier in the morning - on Thursday (and the previous few weeks) it was 7.15am (fine), Friday 7am, yesterday 6.45, today 6.30 :(

I have been taking her up to her cot for naps much earlier than I used to, eg after 1.5 hours after she wakes in the morning, as otherwise she gets overtired but doesn't show signs until it's too late.

She goes to bed at 7.30pm without much fuss now so I don't think it's her bedtime which is the problem.

Am I taking her up for her first nap too soon? I can't help but think this is why.

I am desperate to reverse this as I cannot operate starting the day so early, while she's also still waking for a bf in the early hours!

Hiya!

My dd is nearly 8 months old now and we also did BW sleep training at around 4 months old and have stuck with it. At around 6 months old she finally started having lovely long morning naps which would set her up for the day.... however at the same time she started waking earlier and earlier. On Christmas Day it was 4.30am for goodness sake!!!

Anyway, I sort of figured out that my DD does not have particularly high daytime sleep needs as she would only sleep for 45mins in the afternoon having had the mega morning nap. So... we did (and are still doing) the following:
-leaving it til at least 9am til the morning nap, otherwise it seems to reinforce the early wake up. I am pushing it til 9.30am now as some days DD just won't have a morning nap cos she's really not tired enough. As you can imagine it was hideous keeping DD awake til 9am if she'd got u at 5am, but we persevered.

• Sticking with the same breakfast times regardless.
• and now I keep the AM nap to 45mins tops, which means sometimes having to wake her.

Although nothing worked instantly we have found a gradual improvement generally (though I still make sure I get plenty of early nights just in case )

I'm sure all babies have their own sleep needs which change all the time, and it seems to take us ages to work out what is DD optimum time for naps etc. Although I don't really stick to much of the Gina Ford stuff I have found that the bits about sleep needs have been spot on for our DD so might be worth checking out? she explains very well how you need to push back nap times etc as they get older.
Good luck and may you get a lie in tomorrow
x

Holly Did you do PU/PD - we are about to start that with our 5 month old and looking for comments!

pleasethanks we did PU/PD a few months ago without realising there were steps that could be taken before resorting to that...ie Baby Whisperer technique.

I am going to push the morning nap later bit by bit, I managed 5 extra minutes today

I think mewkins is right, it's a gradual process. Will just see how she gets on with the mornings.

Hi Holly

I don't have any experience with BW but I sleeptrained DD at 6 months and put her on Gina Ford's routine. We were having terrible trouble with naps as well as excessive nighttime waking. It had got to the point where I had to take her out in car for EVERY nap of EVERY day, as this was the only way to get her to sleep.

I agree with Mewkins that Gina Ford's sleep advice is very good. It has been spot on for our DD too. Def check it out - and try to ignore all the negative comments from people when you mention GF's name!!

I would say your problem with early-morning waking is probably due to allowing ur DD to sleep too long during the morning nap, as well as putting her down too early. By 7 months she should be able to go 2 - 2 and a half hours after waking before needing a nap. Also, her morning nap should be short, with her main nap coming after lunch. I don't want to make this too long-winded and get it wrong or confuse so I'd advise you to check out GF for yourself.

Hang in there! All the best

Thanks HappyMum - it gets a bit confusing with one routine advising 2 hour naps, and the other advising cutting the morning nap short!

I'll see how she sleeps tonight on a full morning nap this morning...fingers crossed!

Yeah it's def confusing at times with all the conflicting advice. Find a routine that works for you and stick to it. Let us know how it goes tonight!

I know one of my friends follows GF for her twins and only lets them have 30 mins in the morning, but I can't get my head round giving my DD lunch before 11am (!) when dinner isn't til 6pm!

Anyways, I'm rambling now. Will report tomorrow!

we do lunch at 11.30 and tea at 5/5.15ish depending on how rushed off my feet i am at the time of the day!!

Right well last night was a bit of a nightmare due to sudden onset of snot...cue lots of screaming due to difficulties feeding :(

Fed at 1am, Calpol & feed at 5am, then awake for the day at 7.40am. None of this really matters while she's got a cold :( Although she's happily sleeping into the next hour for her morning nap :)

I think you should stop worrying about it...it is for such a short while, it really is, and they all eventually learn to sleep during normal hours. Fwiw 6.30 doesn't seem early to me!

It's really, really hard to control their waking times so I think you might be wise to choose other battles, and just roll with this one as you cannot win it

You're setting yourself up to fail otherwise. iyswim