7 month sleep help

[Harvey19]

My 7 month old wakes early usually some time between 5 and 6 other times can be before 5. I understand babies are early risers, but sometimes it’s just that bit to early. I really struggle to start his first nap of the day at an appropriate time for the rest of the day to flow. For eg if he wakes before 6 he struggles to get to 8am but I do try and push him out but ideally we need to aim for 9am.
His current routine is
Wake anytime between 4.45-6
Nap 8-8.40/9
Nap 12-2ish
Nap 4.30-5 (twice we have managed a two nap day but usually he is to tired)
I put him down in his cot awake and he does scream every time but I usually can rub his back once walk back out and he does fall asleep independently. In the nights a different story the first half of the night a little rub on the back sends him off again but after midnight it gets harder and he usually ends up in bed with me, which I don’t mind but I really would like to fix these early mornings as he is getting over tired and so am I! Any advice would be appreciated

DS2 is 10 months and was very similar at 7 months! The night wakings were absolute torture especially with the early starts - actually found that stage harder than the newborn bit!

I managed to get him on the 2 naps a day routine by pushing him to stay awake till 9 which after a few days improved everything.

Do you have a baby carrier? DS wakes at 5/5:30 and at 8:30 I'll put him in the sling and go for a 20/30 minute walk. This keeps him happy as he can have a good look around, and by the time we're back I give him a quick feed and he sleeps for 1.5 hours. He'll wake at 10:30, have some food, another walk and some play time and then he's ready for another sleep at 1:30 for another 1.5 hours, then he'll stay awake till bedtime at 6:30.

Baby carrier has been a life saviour, as has having a good daytime routine of getting out and about to keep him stimulated. Babies around 7 months start needs about 3 hours between naps and 3 hours total sleep in the day. How much is he eating in the day? We found once DS had moved onto 3 solid meals a day his day and night sleep improved massively!

Sorry if that's not much help, but sorting the day bit out is much easier on you and the night will settle with it as baby will be tried enough.

Good luck and I really feel for you!xx

Thank you for your reply it’s nice to know your not the only one. At the time you feel like your going insane obsessing over nap times, awake windows etc it’s stressful!
I do really need to try pushing him out til 9 for that first nap. I do have a sling so shall give that a try. What did you do with night wakings and the early mornings? I really struggle to just leave him in his cot moaning/crying during the night. Especially as I have a two year old I don’t want to wake. X

Gawd mine is 10 months and it’s hit and miss some mornings it’s 7 she wakes and sometimes it’s 5 and it’s game over your hours for the day

I’ve started Back work now so it’s super tough

I’ve found if she sleeps through without a night feed needed she usually wakes early and won’t go back

Normally she wakes about 3 for a feed and will go back asleep then

I’m not sure what the answer is but I’m starting to wonder if I should make sure she has a feed about 3am whether she wakes up herself or not ?

And yes I always force her to wait until 9 for that first nap no matter how early she wakes - it does help - but she is super grumpy 🙈

@Harvey19

Thank you for your reply it’s nice to know your not the only one. At the time you feel like your going insane obsessing over nap times, awake windows etc it’s stressful! I do really need to try pushing him out til 9 for that first nap. I do have a sling so shall give that a try. What did you do with night wakings and the early mornings? I really struggle to just leave him in his cot moaning/crying during the night. Especially as I have a two year old I don’t want to wake. X

So I focused on leaving him to self settle for his day naps so I didn't have to worry about his older brother being disturbed, plus I had more energy/patience during the day! I did the controlled comfort technique, so I would lay him down and walk away, he'd moan/cry for a minute and I'd go back in rub his back or Pat his bum for one minute, then leave. The next time I'd wait 2 minutes, then 3, then 4, he rarely got to 5 minutes as by that time he was really tired and knew I hadn't just abandoned him!😂

It takes a lot of patience, so I would say chose a week to start, get your DP on board and stay consistent. It took about 3 days of the day time training to work, and this actually improved his night wakings as he was used to self soothing in the day. For the night wakings, I would first offer his dummy and teddy to see if that helped. If he still cried, I'd offer him some water and if he was still crying I'd give a small feed but make sure he was still awake but drowsy as I laid him down.

Good luck!! It's really worth it, you just have to be firm and prepared for a few days of going in and out xxx