7 month old won’t sleep til midnight

[Tiredmamma8]

Hello!

My baby has had a lot of sleep disturbances from neighbours and then had Covid and was in hospital and her sleep routine has been ruined.

I keep persisting with a bedtime routine but she wakes after a while and is awake until midnight! We rock her, sing, sway, feed, read stories and she won’t go back to sleep. In the morning I have to wake her as she’ll happily sleep for hours (of course because she’s not going to sleep at night!)

How do I stop this cycle? I thought waking her and putting her to bed earlier would work given time but I’ve been persisting for a few weeks now and nothing has changed.

Any help greatly appreciated!

If she's waking for a few hours in the night it's called a split night and is usually a result of being undertired (or it can be due to overtiredness - helpful, I know).

So first things to check would be; is bedtime too early? Is she getting too much daytime sleep?

heysleepybaby.com/blog/what-are-split-nights

I would change the routine 15 minutes every day rather than make any drastic changes

Thanks! Perhaps it is her naps. They are all over the place. It’s more like she goes to sleep then wakes after half an hour or an hour than she goes to sleep and is asleep for a long time and then wakes. So not sure if it still counts as split night?

7 months should be 3 naps. I have forgotten to be honest but I hope you catch a break soon x

Put her to sleep earlier, say 7pm. Last nap should be a cat nap e.g. 3-3:30. Try and eliminate any naps after 4pm.

Solids should be introduced now so use feeding and baths to kill time

Not all babies!

My baby transitioned from 3 to 2 naps around 6/7 months. We went through a wonky few weeks while he was adjusting and we were working out his new routine, but by 8 months he was firmly on 2 naps a day and his night sleep got much better.

Not saying that's what this mum should do, but IME it's best to follow your baby's lead (vs. what you read in a guidebook/online).

Is babe getting up at the same time each day? Would also recommend capping naps at 4 to make sure they are tired enough for night sleep.

I’d do it this way too. DD did a lot of transatlantic travel as a baby, which I know isn’t the quite the same thing, but it is almost like your baby is jetlagged! I’d start bedtime at 10.30, let her sleep in as long as needed in the morning so she’s getting a full night and isn’t too reliant on daytime sleep. Then I’d just shift it all forwards by 15-30 minutes each night. You should manage to have her going to bed at 8 within a week.

Thanks for all your help mamas 💕 I’ll give the putting to bed earlier a go. She is on solids and is generally 3 naps unless they’re long ones. I generally follow her lead apart from wake up where I wake her in the morning. She’s been asleep right now for a few hours so let’s hope that sticks! (Why am I not asleep then?!) night! I’ll let you know how it goes 😊