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Is there such a thing as a 6 month wakeful?

RioG1978RioG1978 member
in Attachment Parenting

It's 9 pm.  My 6 month old went to bed (and to sleep) at around 6:30 as per normal.  Even put herself back to sleep after a brief wakeup.  Now, at 9, she is raising hell in her exersaucer, wide, wide awake.

 I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be "helping" her back to sleep, or if just going with it (and taking her to bed with me when I go) is the right thing to do.

At 6 months I confess I am getting a bit afraid of "sleep associations" and long term sleep "problems" but I'm not sure if I should be (afraid, that is).   

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Re: Is there such a thing as a 6 month wakeful?

  • Emerald27Emerald27 member
    DS was wakeful around that time...just becoming more and more interactive and aware of his surroundings, sitting up and wanting to hold toys. I say go with your gut. If she is getting enough sleep and her naps are ok, and if she is a happy baby, I'd let her be up and play until she shows tired cues or you are ready for bed. Try not to worry too much about sleep associations. Good luck!
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  • MouseInLuxMouseInLux member
    DD was an amazing sleeper...one waking a night for milk...until 6 months and then all he11 broke loose! She's 17 months now and it's getting better *knocks on wood*.
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  • RioG1978RioG1978 member

    imageEmerald27:
    DS was wakeful around that time...just becoming more and more interactive and aware of his surroundings, sitting up and wanting to hold toys. I say go with your gut. If she is getting enough sleep and her naps are ok, and if she is a happy baby, I'd let her be up and play until she shows tired cues or you are ready for bed. Try not to worry too much about sleep associations. Good luck!

     I wonder if I need to get her on more of a schedule... so far I just go with my gut, and definitely follow her cues.  She's pretty predictable - up at 7, nap at 9, nap at 11 or 12, nap at 3 (that one I lay with her, and sometimes it's 90m - 2 hours long) and then bed at 6:30.  All per her cues.  But lately it's like she's treating bedtime as a nap, and wants to be up again after the "nap". 

     Maybe we're just in a weird hybrid zone where she's dropping the 4th daytime nap (used to nap 4x/day) and still sorting out nighttime.  I just hesitate to implement a rigid schedule because I really believe in listening to her and following her cues. 

    and I think it's all tied in to half the night in her crib and half the night bedsharing... she definitely prefers the bedsharing, but mama just doesn't want to go to bed at 7!

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  • Emerald27Emerald27 member
    imageRioG1978:

    imageEmerald27:
    DS was wakeful around that time...just becoming more and more interactive and aware of his surroundings, sitting up and wanting to hold toys. I say go with your gut. If she is getting enough sleep and her naps are ok, and if she is a happy baby, I'd let her be up and play until she shows tired cues or you are ready for bed. Try not to worry too much about sleep associations. Good luck!

     I wonder if I need to get her on more of a schedule... so far I just go with my gut, and definitely follow her cues.  She's pretty predictable - up at 7, nap at 9, nap at 11 or 12, nap at 3 (that one I lay with her, and sometimes it's 90m - 2 hours long) and then bed at 6:30.  All per her cues.  But lately it's like she's treating bedtime as a nap, and wants to be up again after the "nap". 


     Maybe we're just in a weird hybrid zone where she's dropping the 4th daytime nap (used to nap 4x/day) and still sorting out nighttime.  I just hesitate to implement a rigid schedule because I really believe in listening to her and following her cues. 


    and I think it's all tied in to half the night in her crib and half the night bedsharing... she definitely prefers the bedsharing, but mama just doesn't want to go to bed at 7!



    That's possible! You don't necessarily need to put her on a strict schedule. You could try dropping the last nap and see if that makes bedtime better. When you do that, try waiting a bit longer for the new last nap...when she shows tired cues, see if she'll hold off for 20 more minutes, but if she gets very tired, don't push it. You may also have to move her bedtime up a little bit for a few days.

    Even if she is ready to drop a nap, she might have a hard time dropping it all at once, so with gentle encouragement and flexibility on other nap times, you can drop that nap without much trouble. Good luck!
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  • LatteLady5LatteLady5 member

    There is a wakeful period for every age.

    Seriously.

    6:30 is an early bed time. You could try rolling it back slowly. N has accomplished all of her major milestones after 9pm when she was supposed to be sleeping. (rolling over tummy to back, back to tummy, crawling, cruising, walking etc.) She's 14 months and still doesn't STTN. One day she will sleep.

    There is so much pressure for kids to sleep the right way, not just on babies but on moms. Do a bed time routine, roll back her bed time, etc. Sometimes babies just want to be awake with mom and dad. N has gone through phases of crashing at 7 waking up at 8 and then staying up until 10 or so. It usually doesn't last longer than a week and if it's not an every night thing I wouldn't worry. 


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  • RioG1978RioG1978 member
    Thanks Latte. :)
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