At 7 weeks old my son is waking at 6am and wants his morning nap by 8.30am
My son is 7 weeks old and following the routine generally quite well. He usually wakes up in the night at around 3.30/4am for a feed [I normally give 3 oz], he then generally wakes at 6/6.30am and will not settle until I feed him. What do I do about his morning nap which is now meant to be 45min? He doesn’t make it until 9am and is very overtired by that time. Do I put him to sleep at 8.30am and allow him to sleep until 10am? What else do you suggest?
At present he feeds at 6.30am 5oz, 10.30am breast with formula top up 5oz, 2.30pm breast with formula top up 5oz, 6.15pm 5oz, 10.30pm 5oz, 3.30am 3oz. He weighs 3.9kg
He naps at 8.30-9.45am, 12-2.30pm and 4.15-5pm. He settles well at 7pm.
It is quite normal for a baby of your son’s age to wake about 6/6.30am. Feed him when he wakes, but treat the feed as you would in the night. Keep the room dark and eye contact to the minimum so he is likely to settle back to sleep again. Only change him if it is absolutely necessary. Wake him at 7.30am and offer him a small top up of 2-3 ozs which will get him to his next feed. Once he settles after his 6am feed he should be able to stay up after 7.30am to nearer 9am. Many babies of this age need more sleep at the morning nap, you must be guided by your own baby’s needs as well as following the routines. These are a guide to work towards. Rather than trying to keep him up until 9am straight away, work towards it by keeping him up 5 minutes more every three to four days. This will help him get used to the lesser amount of sleep gradually and avoid him becoming overtired and unable to settle. He may still need slightly more sleep than 45mins but once he is settling back to sleep at 6/6.30am you should find it easier to give him a shorter morning nap.