Baby Wise?

Ivorytower2 · November 2014

Anyone have any experience with this book? I'm not necessarily trying to get DD on a schedule, but after reading the book I did realize that she wasn't sleeping nearly enough during the day and I was keeping her up way too long btw naps. However, since I've now been trying to get her to sleep more during the day the nights have been horrendous. She was up every 1-2 hours last night.

By 630/7pm she seems really ready for bed, but I'm wondering if I should give her one more late nap at that time and try to move her bedtime back to 930/10? Otherwise her one and only long stretch of "night" sleep is from 8-12 and I usually go to bed around 1030.

Anyone have any experience with late naps and how a late nap may or may not impact night time sleeping?

Edit: whoops, the book is called Baby Wise, not Sleep Wise ( I must have sleep on the brain)

kateronium · November 2014

My lo actually send to do a little better at night getting a little nap around 5. I get my toddler bathed and then her and she goes down by 8:30-9

Ahlome08 · November 2014

My LO goes to bed the same time yours does OP, I just go to bed when he does. If I put him down later than that, my chances of him even getting ONE long stretch are limited. I just say be lucky he gives you a stretch of sleep, he will be sleeping longer when he gets a little older. All babies are different and if that is YOUR babies sleep habit, there's not much else you can do except go to bed earlier.

nilvero · November 2014

Your baby's long stretch is like mine. I just go to bed at that time (I fall asleep around nine). We tried having him take a nap later but it throws off our bedtime routine so it wasn't worth it to me. Like @aholme08 that may just be what you have to deal with. I will say he is starting to last until 1 more often.

meg91214 · November 2014

I just read "Baby Wise" a couple of weeks ago. I also realized I was keeping my LO up too long between naps, he was not getting enough sleep during the day, and this had an impact on his sleep through the night (he woke up very frequently). My LO is 7 weeks old now. In the past few weeks I have tried to loosely follow the eat, awake, sleep cycle that the book recommends. I was surprised with how easily LO fell asleep at times he was supposed to using this schedule. I make sure to pay attention to the time (and sleep cues) and if it is around the time he should be falling asleep I try to do an activity to encourage a nap (rocking, white noise, swing, swaddle, etc) and he's usually out. Sometimes he doesn't fall asleep and that's fine too. I feed him when he's hungry and we start the cycle over. I don't let him CIO to fall asleep like the book suggests. I do put LO in a swing around 6:30ish so we can eat dinner, clean up, spend couple time, etc. Many times he takes a 30-60ish min nap around 6:30-7:00 in the swing. Other nights he just quietly hangs out. The nights that he takes a nap that late do not affect his sleep later (I was afraid they would). I feed him one last time around 8:30-9:30ish and then he is ready to sleep. He has been good about sleeping through the night and he gets up from 12:30-1:30ish, 4:30-5:30ish, and then is up for good around 7:30- 8:00ish. I don't know if it's the eat, awake, sleep cycle, the fact that he's getting a little older, or a combination but having him sleep for 3 plus hour chunks through the night has been glorious!! He was not sleeping that long before I tried the baby wise schedule. It also gives us a better idea of when to expect feeding time, nap time, etc. Again, I just follow it loosely. Each day/night is different. The evening nap doesn't affect his sleep through the night, he just goes down later (9:30-10:00ish).

SaraPEwell · November 2014

My LO is 6.5 weeks old and he pretty much follows the schedule that they recommend for his age in Sleep Wise. He wakes up for the day about 7:30 and eats every three hours until 7:30 PM. Then we do his bed time routine (bath or massage, change into pajamas, story time, then rock to quiet music). He usually eats one last time around 9 or 9:30 then goes down for the night about 10. He still does one MOTN feed at about 4. For naps; he usually takes long naps after his 7:30 AM and 4:30 PM meals. We do activities after the others and he takes cat naps. I love the schedule because it makes it so much easier for me to plan my day, but the schedule was really set by LO. I tracked his eating and sleeping habits the first four weeks and the "schedule" is the pattern he fell into. Sometimes he switches it up (like during growth spurts) and we always follow his cues over the schedule, but generally he likes the routine.

Ivorytower2 · November 2014

Thanks everyone!

@meg91214‌ I felt the exact same way and I couldn't believe how easily DD had gone down for naps since I started this format!

hadeelb · November 2014

I'm trying to loosely follow the baby wise schedule too, my LO is 8 weeks now. Are you putting them down for naps drowsy or asleep? I have not had success with drowsy baby he will start fussing right away, it's only worked when he is asleep but then only sleeps 30 mins at a time.

SaraPEwell · November 2014

@hadeelb‌ we have been putting LO down as soon as he starts showing sleep signs. He is still awake, and if he fusses we will go in and soothe him.

meg91214 · November 2014

@hadeelb‌ It depends. If I know LO is super tired, I'll put him down drowsy (usually with a paci and white noise or music to help). Other times I will do things that will help put him to sleep (swing, ergo, walk in stroller, walking around bouncing, etc). Sometimes he will take a short nap (10-30 mins) and other times he'll nap longer (1-2 hours).

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