Reply To: Recent Issues

[Emma H]

Hi Jennifer,

Thanks so much for answering my questions.

From these responses I think the reason she stays awake for 2 hours after an overnight feed is because she’s not tired, as she has already had a large chunk of sleep. As a result, she is staying awake from a full wake window to build up enough sleep pressure to fall back asleep.

I also agree that it’s very likely your husband finds it easier to settle her to sleep because she has been awake for 2 hours and is then tired enough to fall asleep.

Teaching her to fall asleep independently in her crib could make a big difference. Typically, once babies learn to self-soothe and fall asleep independently, they naturally reduce their overnight wakes because they can fall back to sleep between sleep cycles on their own.

You mentioned that your husband has successfully used the settling pyramid to help her fall asleep for her morning nap. Are you happy to start using this technique for bedtime and any other naps she has in the crib during the day?

Once she learns to fall asleep on her own in the crib, I expect those overnight feeds will start to reduce and her naps will start to lengthen again.

Does that make sense?

Emma