10 Month Baby Boy Wakes up Early

Hi A.,

Wow, I thought I wrote that myself as I'm going through the exact same thing. I've tried putting my son down a bit later, like at 8-9 and he still wakes up pretty early. So I have stuck to his regular 7:30-8 bedtime because it works for us. I figure that's just his rhythm right now. I have at 5-6 am taken him into bed to nurse a little so we could all get some rest. I am a working mom too. I feed him very well for supper and he does get milk before bedtime too, which helps him last through the night. I do believe he gets hungry at 5-6 am because it's about 12 plus hours since his last meal. I wake up hungry too! Sometimes if he wakes up early, I just let him babble and fuss a little in his crib, in case he's not really ready to wake up yet. If the crying gets louder and I know he's ready to get up, I go in and get him. My son is also not napping that much- teething and on the brink of crawling/walking. Sorry I don't have any real advice about prolonging sleep (wish it were so simple) but I do what you do and for now, it's working.

Rather than "rewarding" him for waking up and crying, anticipate: 1) try feeding him a bit of cereal at his last feeding in the evening and see if that will last him another hour. 2) set an alarm for just before he usually awakens and gently change him and nurse him and return him to his bed and see if he sleeps a bit more. 3) Take him for a walk outdoors every day...he might rest better. 4) allow him more freedom to move about; he might be reaching a baby touchpoint just prior to beginning to walk. Read Brazelton's TOUCHPOINTS.

Hi A.:

I have 10 months old twin boys. Their sleep pattern during the night changes due to teething or reaching their developmental milestones etc. Both of them usually take 2-hour nap in the morning. I always make sure that their stomachs are full before they take the nap and also try to be as quiet as possible during their sleep. You are probably already doing so, but to me this is the main reason that they are able to take long nap in the morning.

Good luck!

D.

Sleep patterns are so variable at different stages. He is growing, and he is just getting into the world around him and interacting with it. So some babies just are more into being awake and playing than sleeping.
You can give him a nap during the day that is a little longer, let him cry it out to help enforce the pattern you want him to have, or have him go to bed later. You could also have "quiet time" with him at any given time. So if you wanted to go back to sleep you could put a lullaby cd on or give him a book or quiet toy so you can catch a few extra z's. I know some feel paranoid about doing this, but it will get him comfortable enough that he can be by himself.
You could feed him something of substance before bed so it might help him sleep better- I mean, I find that just feeding my daughter consistently throughout the day helps. I mix say baby cereal with everything I give her, and instead of adding water to mix or make any baby food I put in breastmilk. She eats what she does and she is full for a while.
Its normal, so don't worry. :)

If he is waking up earlier, he may not need to sleep much more. I would put him to bed later and see what happens. My 6 month old gets put to bed at different times each night (due to an older sibling) and he always sleeps 12 hours, so if he makes it to bed by 7 PM, he will wake up too early for me (7 AM). When he goes to bed at 8 or 9 PM, he wakes up at 8 or 9 AM, which is a perfect time for me. So, try putting him to sleep later. I think it is torture for the baby and for you to try to make him sleep longer if he does not want to. Poor thing! and poor you!