Sleeping FAQ: 9-12 Months – Early Morning Waking

What can I do to get my 9.2 month old waking nearer to 7am again?

My 9.2-month-old daughter has been sleeping 7pm to 7 or 7.30am since she was 10 weeks old. Just recently though she started waking at 6.30am and now she is waking every morning at 6am which is making her very tired in the mornings, until she’s had her early nap. I don’t usually pick her up until 7am or so and then I give her breakfast straightaway. Can you suggest anything that could help with the early morning waking?

At present she naps 8.30-9.15am, 12.30-2.00pm and 3-3.45pm.

Early morning waking can start to become a problem in the second half of the first year. A baby begins to need slightly less daytime sleep but if the early morning waking causes them to be tired in the morning a vicious circle appears as it is difficult to cut back on the morning nap and also begin to push it on towards 9.30am. This will push the lunchtime nap on towards 1pm and then only a short catnap may still be needed to get the baby through to 7pm.
As your daughter is already waking early and is tired by 8.30am, you will have to very gradually work towards moving her nap forward. Keep her up for five minutes longer every three to four days until she is going down nearer to 9.30am. Let her have a 30 min nap. By moving things very slowly you will not cause her to get overtired and unable to settle. She may then lengthen her lunch time nap a little, going down between 12.30 and 1pm and sleeping until nearer 2.30pm. She may still need a very short cat nap in the afternoon of about 15-20 minutes to get her through to 7pm.

Another reason for early morning waking beginning is a baby going down at 7pm exhausted. At this age most babies are becoming mobile and active. They may be crawling or pulling themselves up on the furniture and cruising around. This makes them very tired at the end of the day and they fall immediately into an exhausted and deep sleep. If you feel that this is happening with your daughter then move her bath and bedtime earlier by about 15-20 minutes and see if she will settle down with a spell of chatting and singing rather than falling straight to sleep.

Finally check that her room is still really dark at 6am and that she is neither too hot or cold, all of which could be disturbing her.