Comments on: What Does Drowsy But Awake Mean Anyway, When It Comes to Helping Your Baby Sleep?

By: Nicole Johnson, Founder and Lead Sleep Consultant

Nicole Johnson, Founder and Lead Sleep Consultant — Sat, 15 Feb 2020 13:57:37 +0000

In reply to Kristin. @Kristin Some babies are like that and for those babies, we typically stick to the routine and then put them down awake. With enough repetition and consistency, they typically learn to fall asleep from an awake state. It might take several weeks, so while 40 minutes might seem like a lot of time, you may need to give her longer and more days in a row to see progress. And, make sure her room is very dark. Good luck!!

By: Kristin

Kristin — Tue, 11 Feb 2020 19:20:49 +0000

What about babies that don’t get drowsy?! My first still talks and talks and moves around and then bam asleep. My 1yr old is the same! They are either awake or asleep. I have tried and tried but if I don’t put her to sleep then she doesn’t sleep. My son was the same way until 2 1/2! He goes to sleep by himself now but is still talking and singing and reciting books right up to the second he’s asleep. They are very bright and I think have trouble shutting their brains off. If I put baby down awake at all she is up and ready for the day. And that after trying for 40+ minutes to get her to sleep. It just doesn’t seem worth it anymore!

By: Janelle Reid

Janelle Reid — Fri, 10 May 2019 15:24:05 +0000

In reply to Stephanie.

Hi @Stephanie, thank you for writing to us. I’m sorry that the method that was working so well hasn’t been working as well recently. Hang in there! Here is a link to a sample schedule for a 4 month old so you can check and make sure the daytime sleep doesn’t need to be tweaked a bit (as this can be a factor in night time sleep): https://www.babysleepsite.com/schedules/5-month-old-baby-schedule/
You’ll see that at this age you may still need 1-2 feedings, so even if he was doing 1, if he went up to 2, that would be ok too since he is being so much more active with the rolling he may be using a bit more calories than he was before.
If you need more help let us know! Feel free to contact us directly at contact@babysleepsite.com and we can help more from there!

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Thu, 09 May 2019 14:05:31 +0000

Hi.
I started sleep training my baby at 4and half months old using ferber method and put him down drowsy awake. He was doing great after the 3rd night fell asleep on his own. If he woke up at night it would take less then 10 minutes he would fall asleep on his own and i would feed him at 2am but he would wake up at 530am.
He then started rolling on his stomach while sleeping and wouldn’t wake up and i would do a dream feed at 3am he would wake up 6am.
That was great until he started waking.up when rolling. I started putting him down awake.on his stomach. He falls asleep no problem but he now wakes up at random times during the night. I still.use ferber method but it took him 1 hour to fall asleep from 1245am to 110am to waking up at 4am..which i gave him his feeding He then woke up at 7am
What do i do? I want him to go back to waking up once a night anytime after 2.am. Why is this not working anymore.

By: Janelle Reid

Janelle Reid — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 13:16:48 +0000

In reply to Alexandra.

Hi @Alexandra, thanks for writing to us. At 4 months old we would still expect your daughter would need a couple of feedings, so it’s possible she is waking because she is ready to be fed? Even if she was sleeping through the night previously and it can feel like things may be taking a step backwards, keep in mind that as babies grow they are getting more active and needing more calories as well. Here is a link to a 4 month old schedule that may help you troubleshoot to see if there’s any changes you may want to try: https://www.babysleepsite.com/schedules/4-month-old-schedule/
Please let us know if you need any more help, we have a ton of resources available that can help you. Thanks for visiting!

By: Alexandra

Alexandra — Tue, 02 Apr 2019 19:29:07 +0000

Hi, I have a 4 month old and 1 week. I put her down by rocking to sleep after her bedtime routine that consists of shower, massage and pajamas the I sing to her a Lullaby and rock her to sleep. She usually falls sleep within 10 min in my arms. Now after around 4 to 5 hours of sleep she wakes up not sometime opening her eyes sometimes not and start pulling her and moving very uncomfortable like something is bothering her, scratching her face anyways I’m not able to figure out what is happening. I need help I don’t know if it’s that she can’t soothe herself back to sleep and that’s why she reacts like that. Please I need advise. She naps thru the day sometime 30 to 1:30 mins

By: Janelle Reid

Janelle Reid — Fri, 11 Jan 2019 16:02:26 +0000

In reply to Sarah.

Hi @Sarah, thanks for writing! For the record, I don’t think you’re doing anything wrong! It sounds like you’ve got a champion of a sleeper. 🙂 Naps can be a little trickier for some babies to get the hang of. Both of my boys weren’t super great at naps until they were a little older, but that doesn’t mean your son can’t do it now, just hope to encourage you that you’re not alone. Here is a link to a free guide with some tips for nap help that you can try to improve them: https://www.babysleepsite.com/free-baby-nap-guide/
I hope this helps! If you need anything else, please let us know!

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 06:37:12 +0000

Hi, my 4.5 month old starts yawning after 30 mins of being awake (the time it takes to nurse him). He’s yawning as I burp him and is staring off in space. So I read his cues and try to put him down for a nap. I swaddle and rock and he goes to nurse and I usually end up nursing him into a deeper drowsy state, but he wakes a few mins later. I’ve tried not nursing him, but he just cries and cries. Help! I feel like he should be able to stay up longer than 30 mins, but I don’t want him getting over tired. He sleeps 10-12 hours at night, no waking, no dreamfeed. And has put himself to sleep a few times for nap time and also will sleep occasionally in the stroller. What am I doing wrong??
Thanks!

By: Janelle Reid

Janelle Reid — Thu, 27 Dec 2018 01:13:32 +0000

In reply to Kate.

Hi @Kate, thanks you for visiting the Baby Sleep Site! I’m sorry to hear you’ve been struggling with your little one’s naps. I know at that young age naps were really challenging for me and both of my boys. At this age, short naps are pretty common, unfortunately! You’ll find as she gets older she’ll start consolidating those tiny catnaps into longer more efficient naps. I know those first few months can feel like you’re either constantly feeding them or trying to get them to sleep to repeat it all over again. Here is a link to download our free guide with tips for newborn sleep: https://www.babysleepsite.com/15-free-baby-sleep-facts-new-parents-must-know/
If you want more in-depth information I’d like to also recommend our ebook “Essential Keys to Your Newborn’s Sleep” which will cover you all the way through the first year: https://www.babysleepsite.com/essential-keys-to-your-newborns-sleep/
Hopefully these resources can help give you more of an idea of what’s going on, but if you need more help please let us know! We have so many resources I didn’t want to overwhelm you. Feel free to contact us directly as well at contact@babysleepsite.com and we’ll be happy to help you more from there.

By: Kate

Kate — Mon, 24 Dec 2018 19:37:35 +0000

I have a 2.5 mo and napping has been really difficult. She fights going down, sometimes as soon as we head toward her room. We’ve been able to do drowsy but awake just a few times. Getting her down on a good day takes 10-15 min, but it’s not unusual for it to take 30-45. We are watching for sleep cues but even when we seemingly catch her subtle early signs, she fights it. We’re tired of committing so much time to naps, which only last 35 min, and when she starts daycare this won’t be an option. I’m just wondering if you have any advice