6 month sleep habits (very long)

Becky520

Found this sleep timeline on the alpha parent website. I thought it had some helpful info that you ladies may be interested in.

 

 

• By now, your baby?s world is an endless source of fascination, and she will be wide awake and alert during play periods. Whilst she?s more likely to sleep well after these interludes of intense activity, she may be less willing to cooperate at naptimes or bedtime ? after all, there are so many interesting things to do.
• Your baby?s brain no longer simply ?shuts down? when she?s tired, so she?s now able to stay awake at will, even when she needs sleep (Holland 2004).
• From now onwards, your baby?s sleep cycle will gradually lengthen (Coons and Guilleminault 2008; Grace 2010). This means less awakenings during the night.
• According to some sources, your baby is now physically capable of sleeping for up to 12 hours at night uninterrupted and without milk (Cave and Fertleman 2012). However...
• The average 6 month old still wakes two times a night (Cooke 2009) for an average of 23 minutes each time (Teng et al 2012).
• Your baby will usually nap two to three times a day and then sleep for 10 to 12 hours at night, though not always continuously. The most important factor in how many naps your baby needs through the day is her ability to stay awake ? particularly in the morning after a night?s sleep. A baby who can stay awake for 1-1.5 hours every morning needs three naps. A baby who can stay awake for 2-2.5 hours in the morning will start to nap just twice.
• If your baby is only napping twice, the lunchtime nap will be longer, between 2 and 3 hours long (Cave and Fertleman 2012).
• At this age your baby will experience another growth spurt. Once the spurt has passed you may find that your baby drops one of her night feeds altogether. This is because her sleep-wake cycles are becoming less dependent on hunger: as her stomach capacity grows, she can go longer without needing to feed.  
• Your baby will likely be teething in earnest at the moment. The average age for a baby to cut her first tooth is around 6 months (Grace 2010). However whilst teething can interfere with sleep, it does so far less than many parents anticipate or believe. To ascertain how much sleep disruption stems from your baby?s teeth, compare day with night behaviour. If she?s her usual self all day but extra cranky or difficult at night, it is probably not teething causing it.
• The risk of SIDS is reduced significantly by 6 months, likely related in part to a baby?s ability to roll herself over and lift her head effectively and also to the fact that she is more neurologically mature.
• The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths recommends that your baby shares your bedroom for the first six months, so she can now be moved to her own bedroom if you wish.
• Your baby now has a growing sense of being an individual, and may wake up and miss you in the night.
• Now that your baby has started solids, you may want to introduce so-called ?sleep training? (think Gina Ford), although it is unnecessary. If you?ve kept your baby in your room with you for the recommended six months and have decided to move her into her own room, allow her whatever time she needs to get used to this arrangement before starting any kind of sleep training. Bear in mind that most sleep therapists recommend that you wait until your baby is 12 months old before you attempt any sleep training which involves leaving your baby to cry (Hames 1999).
• Your baby should neither go to bed hungry nor with too full a tummy. If your baby has started eating solid food, she should have this meal at least an hour or two before going to sleep at night.
• When introducing new foods, it is best to offer them in the middle of the day so that you can see whether she tolerates that particular type of food. Then, if she gets an upset stomach, it will happen during the day and not the night.
• Any significant change to your baby?s daily routine may lead to a period of increased waking during the night. One significant change that could happen around now is your return to work. As well as missing you, your baby will be coping with a new childcare arrangement.
• Your baby is in the process of learning to sit up unaided and will temporarily start waking up at night to practice this new skill.

143BabyCakes

I can relate to some of this. Although if I go in and check on K and he's sitting up it may scare the crap out of me haha. Thanks for the post!

BabyMakes 3

Thanks! Gosh that's a lot of info. Benjamin is currently changing things on me and I think that there is something to growth spurts and cognitive development affecting sleep. I'm rolling with it at this point.

zmoss

Thanks for posting!