Reply To: Wakes after one sleep cycle and feeding blends with sleeping

[Emma H]

Hi Em,

First of all, please don’t apologise — you’ve had an incredibly rough stretch, and I can only imagine how physically and emotionally exhausting it’s been. Between the vaccines, the clock change, illness, and a hospital stay, that’s a lot of disruption for both of you. I’m really glad to hear he’s okay now, but I completely understand how thrown off things must feel.

The regression you’re seeing makes so much sense. Babies are incredibly sensitive to change—especially when they’re unwell or overtired—and even a few days of disrupted sleep can reset things in a big way. The good news is that because you’ve already seen some improvement before all of this, we know your little one can get into a more settled rhythm again.

Right now, it’s just about gently helping him reset

To get a clearer picture of where things are at and how we can best support him, I just have a few quick questions:

• Is he fully recovered now, or do you think he’s still in that post-illness recovery phase?

• Have you been able to start reintroducing some of the strategies we discussed earlier?

• Is his wake-up time fairly consistent each morning?

• During the day, is he staying awake after feeds and following a “wake, feed, play, sleep” rhythm?

• When it comes to settling for naps and bedtime, have you been able to start using the settling pyramid, or are you still needing to rock him to sleep?

• Is he still using the pacifier to fall asleep, or have you started phasing that out?

I know that’s a lot of questions—but it really helps me understand where things are at so I can suggest what to tweak next to get things back on track.

I have also answered your questions below

1. Bringing bedtime forward

You could think about starting to bring bedtime forward, but before you do I think it would be good to hear what he is currently doing and then what we can tweak to improve his sleep.

2. Daytime sleep and illness

It’s completely normal for your little one to sleep more while he’s unwell or recovering—extra rest helps his body heal. But once he’s feeling better, too much daytime sleep can start to impact his night sleep.

That’s because we all have a limited amount of sleep we need in a 24-hour period. For babies around this age, that total is usually between 12 to 15 hours. On average, they’ll manage about 3 to 4½ hours of sleep during the day, with the rest happening overnight.

If he sleeps too much during the day, there simply isn’t enough sleep “left” for nighttime.

Also, keep an eye on the timing of his last nap. If it ends too close to bedtime, he might not have had enough time to build up sleep pressure—which means he won’t be tired enough to fall asleep easily or stay asleep for long.

3. Teething
It’s definitely possible that teething has started—most babies get their first tooth between 4 to 7 months, but some can begin earlier. If it is teething, the painful part usually comes when the tooth is pushing through the gum, and this discomfort tends to last around 3 days. You’ll likely notice he’s fussier both during the day and night, and you may see a bluish-grey cyst or swelling on the gum where the tooth is about to break through.

That said, another very normal reason he might be biting down on his hands is simply developmental. Around 4 to 6 months, babies become more aware of their hands and start gaining better control. It’s a time when they explore the world by touching, grabbing, and mouthing everything, including their own hands and fingers. So, it may just be that he’s discovering a new way to self-soothe and explore!

Sorry again for even more questions.

Emma