5 month old waking up ready to play at 10pm - help!

[NEtoN10]

5 month DS has always been a bit of a night owl. In the early days I let him nap in sleepyhead in lounge with us before taking him through to bedside cot in our bedroom. From about 10 weeks I've been trying to bring his bedtime forward. We do bath, boob, bed at 7/8pm and he goes straight off. I have the room quiet and dark. I either lie reading or watch tv in lounge.

Come 9pm his eyes bolt open and for the next two hours he just talks and plays/kicks non stop. Wide awake. I don't talk to him but I do try to soothe him. I do another feed about 11pm and that's when he goes off for the night. Wakes 2pm, then 5/6am, then 8am and snoozes a bit more in the mornings.

Am I doing something very wrong...? Why is he waking like this - is he just a night owl or can I bring his clock forward? He genuinely seems tired at 7pm but then it just turns into a nap. 🤔

Hi OP,

We just thought we'd bump this to see if anyone else has had a night owl like yours.

Doesn't sound like you're doing anything 'wrong' but it does look like he's sleeping to a good time in the morning and is then dozing or napping. Maybe his body clock just needs shifting a bit.

How early can you bear to get up? If it's nearer six than five could you just get up with him then and start your day? Give him a feed and keep him busy before a nap at 8 or 9? Or if you need that extra hour, maybe start waking him at 7am and doing the same?

If he's tired enough he might then sleep through from 7 or 8pm to more like 11 when he can have a dream feed (or wide awake feed!) and hopefully then just one wake at 2am before he goes through until 6 or 7.

I expect that all looks a lot easier written down but worth a go maybe?

Good luck with it!

I have a night owl too - he has a wakeful period in the night where he is just up and wants to play. He’s never been a great sleeper and the times move around a bit more than yours above but most nights he’ll have 2 hours of kicking around time and then I’ll have to feed him back to sleep.

No advice just sending solidarity!!! I tried moving bedtime to later but he’s absolutely shattered by 8, tried moving wakeup earlier but he just moves his naps around!

My baby girl is like this! From day one she forces herself awake at night and will go to sleep anytime between 11-1! She sleeps through the night but if she goes down at 8/9 after her bath she will wake up and treat it like a nap ready to join in with whatever is Happening. We've tried moving everything about but it doesn't seem to work sometimes she is up till 2am! X

When you say snoozes, how long are we talking? It sounds as if they are treating the 7-8pm sleep as a nap, rather than bedtime, which suggests they aren't waking up until later in the morning and aren't ready for bed.

At around 5 months, my daughters would wake around 6-6.30, nap 8-8.30 for 1.5 hours, then nap 12-12.30 for 1.5-2 hours and then nap 3-3.30 for around 45 minutes. I always made sure they were awake by 4 otherwise I wouldn't get them asleep until around 8pm. The eldest would wake around 2am for another feed (I was lucky with the youngest).

Babies have a body clock of 12-13 hours so a rule of thumb is to add an hour onto the time they wake for the day. So mine woke 6-6.30am so were in bed 7-7.30pm.

If he is a night owl - then you have to be one too. Mine were like this - fortunately I am a night owl too :-)

Don't take him up to bed. Keep him downstairs with you until you go to bed - as late as you can. Give him a last feed and nappy change at midnight or later and then both go upstairs to bed. Put him in his cot. Hopefully he should sleep through until morning. That way you will have had a full nights unbroken sleep. I did this with mine and although it meant I went to bed late and was up early in the morning - my 6-7 hours of sleep were unbroken. Most mornings, with very little stimulation apart from a quick feed and nappy change baby usually would go back to sleep again till 9.30. Keep very quiet - blackout curtains and no curtains should do the trick. Don't let him sleep in later than 10.

Remember - you are the mum and you are in charge.

Afternoon naps are fine but 2 hours max. Always in cot upstairs. Don't let him sleep after 4pm or he will never settle during the night.

no curtains no noise