My 8 week old son wakes every morning, without fail, at 6am. He's not hungry or wet, he goes right back to sleep as soon as I pick him up and sleeps with me til 730 or 8. I've tried leaving him in bed, but he just gets mad and I've tried picking him up, getting him back to sleep and laying him back down and he wakes everytime. He usually eats bottles of breastmilk at 130 and 430 and again at 730 or 8. He never wants to eat at 6, just to be picked up and sleep with me! Is there any advice to keep him asleep in his bed at 6, or should I just know it's a phase and try to enjoy the cuddle time, despite my sleep deprivation? :) He's done this for a couple weeks now.
Thanks!!
He just wants to be close to you. Try to think about it from his perspective - he is on this cold, hard mattress all alone and wants to feel the warmth of his mother and get some good morning cuddles. Both my kiddos did this and I loved it (despite my sleep deprivation!)
Editted because my fingers are faster than my brain! :P
Just because he wants to go to bed with you doesn't mena you have to let him.
In the next month, drop his 4:30 bottle. He will want it, but he won't need it. Let him get mad. He will go back to sleep if you don't come pick him up. It will take a week or a little more. Then a month later, drop the 1:30 bottle. He wont need to eat so much at night. You need to just feed him in the daytime.
It is called sleep training. And doing it will get you all more sleep.
You're actually pretty lucky that he'll go back to sleep – I've known dozens of babies who wake as early as 4:30 for the day, or who still switch their days and nights at 6 or 8 weeks.
I hope you'll read Dr. Harvey Karp's material on The Third Trimester (google, or read The Happiest Baby on the Block, a terrific little book). He explains why babies are so extremely dependent on contact, cuddling, hearing Mommy's voice and heartbeat. They are still in a transition period between womb and world, operating mostly on need and instinct until they are at least 12 weeks old. Then they begin to become more alert, curious and engaged in things that are not Mom.
Your son's sleep, eating, and emotional needs will change often during the next year or longer. I'd make the most of this time while he wants that cuddling. It may feel like "forever" to you while you're sleep-deprived, but will be gone before you know it, and I'll bet you'll miss it then.
He's 8 weeks old. He'll never be this small again. Enjoy it!
Totally disagree with Lisa J.
Just enjoy a few hours of snuggling. At least he's not taking a long time to get back to sleep. My older son used to WAKE UP at 6:00 or 6:30 every day. He still does and he's 5 now.
Enjoy it! He wants you close to him. It won't last long - my 14 month old only cuddles with me now when he is sick. I wish I had cuddled him more but I nursed him as much as he wanted at night and tried very hard to provide as much cuddling as I could at the time. Tough when you are struggling to stay awake. He will be a big boy before you know it - I still look at my 5.5 year old and wonder what happened to my baby R.
C.
Enjoy it! I miss those early morning snuggles. Easy for me to say 5+ years later when I've been able to sleep all night for a long time but really, don't fight it. I found that going with the flow on things like that and just incorporating that into our routine made it more bearable.
Remember...the days are long but the years are short. Enjoy your little snugglebunny.
Actually, that's one of my favorite times. If you're willing, have the crib near you so you can just roll over, get him and roll back to sleep yourself. Cuddling is wonderful. I've been sleep deprived for almost 5 years :)
Like some others have said, you're lucky he's going back to sleep at all! My guy went through a phase where he was up at 4:30 for the day! Just enjoy your time with him, in a month it'll be something else. Someone suggested sleep training on here - do NOT sleep train your 8 week old! You shouldn't do that until at least 6 months. You could also let him sleep in a bassinet or something curved like a swing, I think. It's more comfortable and womb like, and since I had to sleep train my baby eventually anyway, I wish I'd just him sleep wherever he would instead of worrying about him being in a bed all those months. :)
Yep, enjoy the cuddle time. We do miss that once our kids are sleeping alone.
Wouldn't you...? I don't blame you for wanting him to stay sleeping alone but I'm the wrong person to ask. This is how it started with me, except my baby boy was only weeks old and he never slept for more than a few hours in his bassonet, and I was so exhausted I'd nurse him in bed with me and we'd both pass out and sleep sooo well. He's now almost 3 and still in the bed with me. Sometimes I lose sleep because of it, it has been hard on my husband and I even though he was raised this way and totally supports it, and sometimes we all wake each other up, but I wouldn't change it for the world. There is nothing I love more than cuddling up with my little boy, and he with me and his Papa. It makes me sad when I think of transitioning him into his own bed which will be happening soon.
Your son just wants the warmth and protection of his Mama! Good luck
I bet you are glad he sleeps right back and doesnt want to stay awake. Enjoy your cuddle time. You will start missing it when they grow older :)
Know it is a phase and enjoy the cuddle time. Pretty soon, he will drop either the 1:30 or the 4:30 feeding on his own so the sleep deprivation wont be so bad.
Make sure you take a nap when he does.
And, of course, when having him in your bed, take whatever precautions to make sure he is safe.
Congratulations - I know you mostly feel tired, but feel lucky to have a sweet little bundle to hold every morning.
Bu
Just enjoy the cuddle time.
Enjoy the cuddle time! There are many of us moms who are very envious. Even as babies, it was rare for them to sleep past 6:30. I would have given anything for them to fall back asleep for another hour or two! For that matter, I still would. :)
I say enjoy the cuddle time!
Maybe he's gearing up for a growth spurt. Maybe the time change is affecting him. Or maybe he needs to be swaddled or just have a little TLC. Is he in his own room? Did you recently transition him to a crib or different sleep environment? I personally would often nurse my baby in the middle of the night and then just snuggle with her for a bit. My DD is 3 and sleeps in her own bed. Snuggling your child (as long as the bed is set up to be a safe place for him) isn't going to wreck his sleep forever.
Babies are instinctually needing to be next to Mommy the next 3 months... they are biologically designed to need to hear her heartbeat and breath (which regulates their own breathing), feel their warmth, smell and voice. Why do you think bed sharing has been the main part of an infant's life in most countries? Even in America, babies were once always with their Mother's bed for the first year to 3... until men started taking over child birth, and demanding their place in Mommy's bed and use of her body, even right after birth..
Bottom line... your baby is trying to communicate it's NEED of you and you are complaining rather than accepting of it. Co-sleeping ALL night will solve your sleep deprivation. How easy is it to wake up, put a nipple in his mouth and both fall back asleep rather than get a bottle, warm it up, feed it to them... and try to get them back to sleep?
It is probably just a phase. Both my children slept with me at least part of the night until they were between 3 and 4 months old. Then they were able to sleep longer in their crib. Also, some babies are just early risers and 6 am isn't too bad. My daughter is 16 months and wakes up around 6am about 90% of the time and always has. She is just earlier riser so I generally start my day around that time and try to get to bed earlier.
But if you want to sleep later, try putting room darkening curtins in his room. The sunlight in the morning could just be telling his body that it is time to wake up.
