Sleeping FAQ: 9-12 Months – Early Morning Waking

My son of 10 months had been waking at 5-5.30am, troubled with a persistent cough which has now been treated with antibiotics and an inhaler. He now wakes at 6.30am but does not seem hungry. How do I get him back to sleeping to 7am?

My son of 10 months had been waking at 5-5.30am, troubled with a persistent cough which has now been treated with antibiotics and an inhaler. He now wakes at 6.30am but does not seem hungry.  How do I get him back to sleeping until 7am?

He is not yet crawling and hates being on his tummy. He does enjoy time in his walker or walking holding my hands and is generally a happy child.

In the past two weeks he has gone off all solid meals and cut back on his bedtime milk on some evenings.

Below are the amounts of food he was taking up until two weeks ago.

7am: 5- 6ozs of formula from beaker, 1 weetabix, 3tsp fruit puree
10am: 4ozs water from beaker
12.00: 2 cubes chicken, 2 cubes potato, 4cubes mixed vegetables, 2ozs water
2pm: 3-4ozs water from beaker
5pm: 7-8 cubes vegetable soup with bread, mini sandwiches, pasta shapes and vegetable sauce. Finger food.
6.15pm: 4- 8ozs formula from a bottle.

Daily milk intake14ozs

My son naps at 9-9.45am and 12.20-2.30pm. He settles at 7pm.

Once a baby reaches the age of six months he will begin to naturally cut back on the amount of sleep he needs.  To encourage the baby to sleep until 7am we advise that the times of the daytime naps are moved forward and the amount of time allowed at the morning nap reduced.

By moving both naps on in the day there is also less likelihood of your son going to bed exhausted at 7pm. If he falls straight into a deep sleep when he is put to bed at 7pm, this could also cause him to wake early the following morning. The morning nap should start at the later time of 9.30am. To help your son adjust, without getting too upset, put him down five minutes later every few days until he is able to wait until 9.30am before settling. This nap should be 30 minutes in length. Cutting back on the length of the morning nap could help him lengthen his lunchtime nap to nearer two hours. If you find that your son is not ready to sleep at 12.30pm, you can easily push the two hour nap time slightly later.

Even though your son is not yet crawling he will be using up a lot of energy as he practice’s walking with you and in his walker.  If you notice he has been particularly active one day, bring his bedtime forward to the earlier time of 6.30/6.40pm. He should be happy to go into his cot and chat to himself for 15-20 minutes before settling to sleep. Once you have moved his bedtime it may take over a week for you to notice any real difference in the mornings but keep persevering, as his body clock will take time to reset itself. Once he begins to regularly sleep to nearer 7am very slowly move his bedtime back towards 7pm.

Regarding your son’s lack of appetite: it can take several weeks for a baby to fully regain his appetite after illness. As the baby’s growth slows down between nine months and one year the amount that he eats will also reduce.  That is why parents are advised to gradually introduce finger foods into their baby’s diet from the age of six months, and to serve more of their food diced and sliced.   A baby who is having most of his meals served this way will be more likely to eat the amount he actually needs.  Whereas a baby who is still having most of his food pureed could be eating too much solids and cutting down on the milk.  Another problem that often arises is that the baby gets bored with all of his food still being mixed up together.  Try to offer him a variety of foods, as differences in colour and texture will make his meal look appealing.

You should also look at the amount of water that your son drinks between meals. If he continues to cut back on his milk, try reducing slightly on the amount of water he has to see if it will encourage him to drink more milk. Also, at mealtimes, make sure he has taken at least half of his solids before offering him a drink.