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Hi Giedre!
Thank you so much for the update—it’s wonderful to hear how much progress your little one has made, especially with her naps and connecting sleep cycles! You’ve clearly been putting in a lot of effort, and it’s really paying off.
In regards to improving her bedtime and night wake-ups I have a few thoughts:
Morning Wake-Up Time
It’s great to hear she’s waking up later in the morning, typically between 6 and 7 am—much better than those early 5 am starts! If you’re open to it, could you narrow down her morning wake-up time to a 30-minute window? If this is something you are willing to do, to find her ideal wake-up time, I suggest tracking her wake-ups for the next few days. For example:
- If she generally wakes between 6 and 6:30 am, then set the latest wake-up time at 6:30 am.
- If it’s more around 6:30 to 7 am, then you could set 7 am as the latest wake-up.
Keeping her wake-up time consistent will help align her internal clock and set a more stable bedtime.
Last Nap of the Day
Since she’s able to fall asleep independently for naps, her resistance at bedtime might be due to either being not quite tired enough or too overtired. Finding that perfect wake window before bedtime is key to helping her settle more easily.
Could you track her bedtime routine for a few days? Specifically, note what time she actually falls asleep in your arms and when her last nap ends. This will give us valuable insights into whether she’s ready for bed at a consistent time, potentially revealing her true bedtime. It will also help us better understand how long her wake window is before bedtime.
At 5.5 months old, most babies can handle a wake window of about 2 to 2.5 hours during the day, with the last wake window of the evening sometimes stretching to 2.5 to 3 hours. Tracking when her last nap ends and what time she’s falling asleep for the night will help us determine if her current wake window is just right or needs adjustment.
Based on her transition to 3 naps, I imagine her schedule might look something like this:
- First nap: Around 8:30/9 am
- Second nap: Around 12:30/1 pm
- Third nap: Around 4/4:30 pm, ending by 5/5:30 pm.
Does that sound close to her current schedule?
Gradually Reducing The Rocking at Bedtime
In the meantime, if she still needs to be settled in your arms at bedtime, here’s something to try: gradually reduce the amount of movement as she falls asleep. This can help her adjust to falling asleep with less intervention.
- Complete her bedtime routine as usual, and if the settling pyramid doesn’t fully work, go ahead and pick her up to soothe her.
- Start with shushing and rocking, but as she begins to calm down, slowly stop the rocking while continuing to shush.
- Once she’s relaxed, gradually stop the shushing, letting her settle more with just your presence.
This approach helps her get used to falling asleep with less movement and noise. Over time, it will make it easier to transition back to using just the settling pyramid once we fine-tune her bedtime.
Let me know how you go with tracking her wake windows and bedtime routine over the next few days.
Emma