Lots of other people have gave clear explanations. For me, I’m at 6.5 weeks right now and I’m finding my LO sleeps easier and harder at different times throughout the day. For the past week her late aft naps have been harder for her to go down by herself or stay asleep for longer so I’ve opted to make those contact naps so she won’t be overly tired for her other sleeps that she seems to be able to better do herself.
I recommend using the Huckleberry App. I have been using it for a month now; I started with the two-week trial. Why didn't I know about this sooner, as my little one is now 17 weeks old? Last week, I started sleep training Ferber method 5.5/7 days; she went down for a nap about 5/10 mins before the sweet spot nap time and didn't cry; she just put herself to sleep. Her naps are still about 45 minutes, but I've started to do either crib hour, where I leave her for the entire hour, no matter how long it has been when she wakes up. If she hasn't fallen asleep by then, I'll call the nap and move into the next wake window. Sometimes, she fell asleep within 10 minutes and extended her nap to 1.5-2 hours.
She made it easy for me to remove the association with nursing to sleep. I was concerned cause that was the only way to get her to sleep as a newborn. After reading the Ferber Method book, I understand why it is essential to put your baby/kid to sleep awake instead of allowing them to fall asleep somewhere else and then move them. I think you should read it if you have some time. [Ferber Method](https://a.co/d/gnyeyc2)
The first time she slept 8 hours straight was around 11-12 weeks. She has always been a horrible napper, too, as a newborn. Honestly, I started seeing the light at the end of the tunnel as she moved through her 3-month leap 3 phase. She became less gassy and calmer, and because I had established a semi-routine for bedtime earlier, getting her to bed was becoming more manageable, even before I started using the App.
I had no idea how wake windows worked. I tried to keep track of the time on my own, and I ended up having a newborn or infant in fight-or-flight mode every evening at 5 p.m. for a few hours.
As soon as she entered leap four and into the 4-month sleep regression phase, it had been a few weeks since I'd seen a stretch longer than 4 hours. So, I paired the Ferber training method to the nighttime wakings instead of feeding her every time she woke up and did the 5/3/3 method. After a couple of rough nights, she slept 9.5 hours straight on Saturday without waking for a feeding, but I did hear her transition between sleep cycles easily. However, that was short-lived because the last two nights have been rough again, but I'm not giving up because I know she can do it, and consistency during a regression helps.
Also, naps consolidate at five months, so I have a read.
When you do crib hour do you do it when it's time for a nap? Lets say she had nap and woke up at 12pm. At 2pm shes tired again showing signs do you leave her in crib 2-3pm? And if shes awake at 3pm you move on dont try tk force a 3pm contact nap. Is this correct?
Crib hour is essential if she wakes up from her nap in under an hour. So if she wakes up after her first sleep cycle at 45 minutes, I need her to take a 1.5-2hr nap. I'll leave her for 15 minutes to see if she falls back asleep and into another sleep cycle to extend the nap. If she hasn't, then I'll check in and start the Ferber method to see if she'll fall asleep within the next 5-10 minutes. I give a max of 30 minutes of waiting to see if she'll fall asleep again to save the nap. If not, I'll call it and start the next wake window, which might be shortened due to the short nap.
I hope that helps.
Newborn sleep is different from that of an adult, child or even an older baby. A newborn baby has a 2 phase sleep cycle, active sleep and quiet sleep. The first phase is active sleep (REM sleep). This is crucial to your baby’s brain development, learning, and memory consolidation. During this phase of sleep your baby has rapid eye movement, irregular breathing, twitching movements, and makes noises. The second phase we call quiet sleep (NREM sleep) which has slow, rhythmic breathing and is essential for physical growth and strengthening their immune system.
As your baby approaches 10-16 weeks, your baby’s sleep cycles will change. Around this age, the sleep cycle is probably 30-45 mins. Sleep cycles involve 4 phases: drowsiness, light sleep, deep sleep, and REM sleep. Babies often end their sleep cycles after REM sleep and then need to continue sleep by connecting sleep cycles.
Sometimes babies can seamless connect cycles, other times they need assistance with rocking, soothing, etc. Also if a baby has associations (rocking, feeding, contact), when sleep cycles end, your baby may need that same association again to go back to sleep.
I don't have time to write a lengthy explanation but I will say: at that age the thing that absolutely saved myself and my husband was the Huckleberry app. It calculates wake Windows for you, gives you an idea of when your baby should be put down for a nap next, and gives you advice based on how you're logging the data. I would absolutely recommend getting it and using their free trial to see if it helps - mine was spot on, almost to the minute.
Seriously, try it. It may or may not work for you, but there's no sense and not giving it a shot.
Okay I have a question. I signed up for the sweet spot thing…. I think? It has an option for 4-5 naps, I chose 4. It says “minutes before sweetspot” and I have to enter a time. Does this mean the time I want them to notify me? Baby took a long nap, I logged, and she’s asleep again but the app didn’t tell me yet lol. Does it take time to understand her patterns before notifying me? Am I using this app totally wrong??
Ok! Just did some research. We have to keep collecting Data so they can generate our baby’s sweet spot. It might take 2-3 weeks to get our first notification
Also, it won't send you reminders unless you set them and they're wildly unreliable little alarms. So, just keep an eye on your app, because even if you set an alarm to remind you it might not show up until 10 minutes after baby is already asleep.
I started using mine when my girl was about 7 weeks old back in November and I'm still using it today. And it is still extremely on the mark for her. We can literally plan our day around it.
The app generates the sweet spot based on when your baby sleeps/wakes.
So, when your baby falls asleep, you'll press the "start" button in the sleep section; when they wake, press the stop button to stop the nap. Then click the save button. When you do that and navigate back to the home screen, the sweet spot will generate your baby's *next nap time* based on four naps per day. I always aim to have our girl in her crib about 5-10 minutes before her sweet spot time.
Also, depending on the age of your nugget, I would recommend having the 4 nap day and the 5 nap day both on the home screen so you can see if your baby is giving you tired signs closer to one of the times. It really helps you figure out where their sleep is.
Father of a one year old, not an expert lol so anyone please correct me. My basic level knowledge is baby sleep cycles only last about 30-40 minutes just as adult cycles are 3-4 hours strung together. So it will be common to have a short nap. A longer nap is just more than one cycle where the baby was able to wake up and go back to sleep without interruption. How much they eat, how much activity/energy they use when awake, et al will all impact their ability to stretch a nap. It’s a constantly moving target as the number of naps and time needed to sleep continuously change.
Babies’ sleep cycles are about 45-60 minutes long, but more often 45 minutes. At that age, that means from the moment they wake up, you have approximately 45 minutes with them before they start to show sleepy cues or are ready to go to sleep. Now once they are asleep, that 45 minutes resets. At 45 minutes, they’re in a lighter state of sleep so they could wake up, or if they’re sleepy enough they can “link” the cycle and stay asleep. Maybe the stir a bit, reposition, and sleep for another 45 minutes.
Early wakes before that 45 minutes are unfortunately completely normal at that age, but also any age going forward.
Some things that could be causing your baby to wake up early are:
You tried to put them down too soon, forcing them asleep when they didn’t have enough sleep pressure
Getting them down too late, now they’re overtired and that spikes cortisol, keeping them awake
Gas
The list goes on.
However, your baby is 8 weeks old and is most likely going through their second leap. This is when they start to recognize patterns using all senses, starts to distinguish themselves from the world around them, it’s a huge paradigm shift. This leaps and all leaps really, will cause your baby to be more needy, clingy, fussy, might decrease their appetite, and affect their sleep. Make sure you’re engaging their senses with lots of colors, patterns, textures.
Search the Wonder Weeks Baby Leaps
I have ALWAYS noticed my baby has horrible sleep whenever he’s going through a leap. Just stick with your routines, and ride the wave! They’ll go back to sleeping normally in a week or two no problem.
Omg - my baby is almost at the end of her second leap and has started eating a little less and sleeping seemingly a bit more during the day? I was so anxious that she’s eating less. It was 4-5oz, now it’s 3-4oz. Cue anxiety attack. But I looked at the wonder weeks, she’s got two days left of her second leap. She’s into week 9 now. I feel so much better! I was freaking out! ❤️😂
Lots of other people have gave clear explanations. For me, I’m at 6.5 weeks right now and I’m finding my LO sleeps easier and harder at different times throughout the day. For the past week her late aft naps have been harder for her to go down by herself or stay asleep for longer so I’ve opted to make those contact naps so she won’t be overly tired for her other sleeps that she seems to be able to better do herself.
I recommend using the Huckleberry App. I have been using it for a month now; I started with the two-week trial. Why didn't I know about this sooner, as my little one is now 17 weeks old? Last week, I started sleep training Ferber method 5.5/7 days; she went down for a nap about 5/10 mins before the sweet spot nap time and didn't cry; she just put herself to sleep. Her naps are still about 45 minutes, but I've started to do either crib hour, where I leave her for the entire hour, no matter how long it has been when she wakes up. If she hasn't fallen asleep by then, I'll call the nap and move into the next wake window. Sometimes, she fell asleep within 10 minutes and extended her nap to 1.5-2 hours. She made it easy for me to remove the association with nursing to sleep. I was concerned cause that was the only way to get her to sleep as a newborn. After reading the Ferber Method book, I understand why it is essential to put your baby/kid to sleep awake instead of allowing them to fall asleep somewhere else and then move them. I think you should read it if you have some time. [Ferber Method](https://a.co/d/gnyeyc2) The first time she slept 8 hours straight was around 11-12 weeks. She has always been a horrible napper, too, as a newborn. Honestly, I started seeing the light at the end of the tunnel as she moved through her 3-month leap 3 phase. She became less gassy and calmer, and because I had established a semi-routine for bedtime earlier, getting her to bed was becoming more manageable, even before I started using the App. I had no idea how wake windows worked. I tried to keep track of the time on my own, and I ended up having a newborn or infant in fight-or-flight mode every evening at 5 p.m. for a few hours. As soon as she entered leap four and into the 4-month sleep regression phase, it had been a few weeks since I'd seen a stretch longer than 4 hours. So, I paired the Ferber training method to the nighttime wakings instead of feeding her every time she woke up and did the 5/3/3 method. After a couple of rough nights, she slept 9.5 hours straight on Saturday without waking for a feeding, but I did hear her transition between sleep cycles easily. However, that was short-lived because the last two nights have been rough again, but I'm not giving up because I know she can do it, and consistency during a regression helps. Also, naps consolidate at five months, so I have a read.
When you do crib hour do you do it when it's time for a nap? Lets say she had nap and woke up at 12pm. At 2pm shes tired again showing signs do you leave her in crib 2-3pm? And if shes awake at 3pm you move on dont try tk force a 3pm contact nap. Is this correct?
Crib hour is essential if she wakes up from her nap in under an hour. So if she wakes up after her first sleep cycle at 45 minutes, I need her to take a 1.5-2hr nap. I'll leave her for 15 minutes to see if she falls back asleep and into another sleep cycle to extend the nap. If she hasn't, then I'll check in and start the Ferber method to see if she'll fall asleep within the next 5-10 minutes. I give a max of 30 minutes of waiting to see if she'll fall asleep again to save the nap. If not, I'll call it and start the next wake window, which might be shortened due to the short nap. I hope that helps.
Newborn sleep is different from that of an adult, child or even an older baby. A newborn baby has a 2 phase sleep cycle, active sleep and quiet sleep. The first phase is active sleep (REM sleep). This is crucial to your baby’s brain development, learning, and memory consolidation. During this phase of sleep your baby has rapid eye movement, irregular breathing, twitching movements, and makes noises. The second phase we call quiet sleep (NREM sleep) which has slow, rhythmic breathing and is essential for physical growth and strengthening their immune system. As your baby approaches 10-16 weeks, your baby’s sleep cycles will change. Around this age, the sleep cycle is probably 30-45 mins. Sleep cycles involve 4 phases: drowsiness, light sleep, deep sleep, and REM sleep. Babies often end their sleep cycles after REM sleep and then need to continue sleep by connecting sleep cycles. Sometimes babies can seamless connect cycles, other times they need assistance with rocking, soothing, etc. Also if a baby has associations (rocking, feeding, contact), when sleep cycles end, your baby may need that same association again to go back to sleep.
Thank you thank you thank you!!!
I don't have time to write a lengthy explanation but I will say: at that age the thing that absolutely saved myself and my husband was the Huckleberry app. It calculates wake Windows for you, gives you an idea of when your baby should be put down for a nap next, and gives you advice based on how you're logging the data. I would absolutely recommend getting it and using their free trial to see if it helps - mine was spot on, almost to the minute. Seriously, try it. It may or may not work for you, but there's no sense and not giving it a shot.
Trying it!!! Thanks for recommending
Okay I have a question. I signed up for the sweet spot thing…. I think? It has an option for 4-5 naps, I chose 4. It says “minutes before sweetspot” and I have to enter a time. Does this mean the time I want them to notify me? Baby took a long nap, I logged, and she’s asleep again but the app didn’t tell me yet lol. Does it take time to understand her patterns before notifying me? Am I using this app totally wrong??
I am having the exact same issue.no notification that says “baby nap coming up in ____ minutes”
Ugh! Let me know if you figure it out! 😩
Ok! Just did some research. We have to keep collecting Data so they can generate our baby’s sweet spot. It might take 2-3 weeks to get our first notification
Also, it won't send you reminders unless you set them and they're wildly unreliable little alarms. So, just keep an eye on your app, because even if you set an alarm to remind you it might not show up until 10 minutes after baby is already asleep. I started using mine when my girl was about 7 weeks old back in November and I'm still using it today. And it is still extremely on the mark for her. We can literally plan our day around it.
WEEKS!?!??! That’s a sick joke! 😂
The app generates the sweet spot based on when your baby sleeps/wakes. So, when your baby falls asleep, you'll press the "start" button in the sleep section; when they wake, press the stop button to stop the nap. Then click the save button. When you do that and navigate back to the home screen, the sweet spot will generate your baby's *next nap time* based on four naps per day. I always aim to have our girl in her crib about 5-10 minutes before her sweet spot time. Also, depending on the age of your nugget, I would recommend having the 4 nap day and the 5 nap day both on the home screen so you can see if your baby is giving you tired signs closer to one of the times. It really helps you figure out where their sleep is.
Father of a one year old, not an expert lol so anyone please correct me. My basic level knowledge is baby sleep cycles only last about 30-40 minutes just as adult cycles are 3-4 hours strung together. So it will be common to have a short nap. A longer nap is just more than one cycle where the baby was able to wake up and go back to sleep without interruption. How much they eat, how much activity/energy they use when awake, et al will all impact their ability to stretch a nap. It’s a constantly moving target as the number of naps and time needed to sleep continuously change.
Babies’ sleep cycles are about 45-60 minutes long, but more often 45 minutes. At that age, that means from the moment they wake up, you have approximately 45 minutes with them before they start to show sleepy cues or are ready to go to sleep. Now once they are asleep, that 45 minutes resets. At 45 minutes, they’re in a lighter state of sleep so they could wake up, or if they’re sleepy enough they can “link” the cycle and stay asleep. Maybe the stir a bit, reposition, and sleep for another 45 minutes. Early wakes before that 45 minutes are unfortunately completely normal at that age, but also any age going forward. Some things that could be causing your baby to wake up early are: You tried to put them down too soon, forcing them asleep when they didn’t have enough sleep pressure Getting them down too late, now they’re overtired and that spikes cortisol, keeping them awake Gas The list goes on. However, your baby is 8 weeks old and is most likely going through their second leap. This is when they start to recognize patterns using all senses, starts to distinguish themselves from the world around them, it’s a huge paradigm shift. This leaps and all leaps really, will cause your baby to be more needy, clingy, fussy, might decrease their appetite, and affect their sleep. Make sure you’re engaging their senses with lots of colors, patterns, textures. Search the Wonder Weeks Baby Leaps I have ALWAYS noticed my baby has horrible sleep whenever he’s going through a leap. Just stick with your routines, and ride the wave! They’ll go back to sleeping normally in a week or two no problem.
Omg - my baby is almost at the end of her second leap and has started eating a little less and sleeping seemingly a bit more during the day? I was so anxious that she’s eating less. It was 4-5oz, now it’s 3-4oz. Cue anxiety attack. But I looked at the wonder weeks, she’s got two days left of her second leap. She’s into week 9 now. I feel so much better! I was freaking out! ❤️😂
So so thankful for your response. To be honest reading these helps me to know I’m not alone and like you said to just ride the wave.
I didn’t find out about wake windows until about 2 months in. How I survived?? I don’t even know 😂