The Baby Sleep Site® is dedicated to helping your baby sleep better – of course – but there are a few times it is a good strategy to wake your baby. I know it might feel crazy to wake your baby when you are working so hard on helping him sleep better, but in some cases, not waking your baby can actually lead to other sleep problems. Here are 5 times waking your baby can help with sleep problems:
1. Wake for Safety – Ensure Safety First!
As much as we want our babies to sleep, if your baby is sleeping in an unsafe manner, it is best to wake them rather than let them continue to sleep unsafely. The safest way for your baby to sleep is on their back in a separate sleep space with nothing else in the bed with them. Review all of the safe sleep guidelines by the AAP so you are up-to-date on best practices.
2. Naps are too long
Once you’ve learned to avoid common baby nap mistakes and mastered your baby’s naps and schedule, believe it or not, naps can get too long. Many people who frequent this site may not have this issue (most are trying to lengthen naps), but sometimes this does come up!
Except for newborns, your baby or toddler’s napping should not surpass 3 hours total for a day, on average. Of course, there will be exceptions, but many times if naps get too long during the day, it will impact night sleep, since the amount of total sleep in a day will remain relatively constant. If you feel bad waking your baby because she is sleeping horribly at night, but let her make up a lot of lost sleep during the day, it could reinforce the very sleep problems you are trying to resolve at night. It can become a chicken and egg problem. Instead, you should solve the nighttime sleep problem and keep naps properly balanced. After all, night sleep is more restorative.
3. Sorting out day / night confusion
When your baby is a newborn, he may be confused about days and nights. Since most people say “Never wake a sleeping baby.” many new parents will let their newborn sleep 8 hours straight during the day if they want to, but then wonder why he is up all night, sleeping on and off one hour here and there. Although I do agree with the adage to never wake a sleeping baby, there are exceptions to that rule, and this is one of them. In order to help your newborn sort out day and night, he needs to be awake during the day for his internal clock, or circadian rhythms, to adjust to life outside the womb. Therefore, it is best to limit any single nap to two hours and keep your baby up for at least 30 minutes to an hour after each nap to help “reset” his clock.
4. Long waking at night
If you have a toddler whose schedule is being thrown off with a long night-waking, or insomnia, in the middle of the night, the worst thing you can do is let her sleep in late the next morning. Now, I don’t mean one “off” day here or there. Of course, then, you’d let her sleep in. What I mean is if your toddler is staying awake for long periods night after night, you need to be proactive and help her sort out her schedule. Although there are a few exceptions, long waking at night is usually caused by a schedule problem, especially if she is sleeping enough, but in multiple fragments. When you let her sleep in, this only exacerbates the schedule problem.
5. Wake to manage naps before a nap transition
Along the same lines of naps getting too long, sometimes right before a nap transition, it is necessary to manage your baby or toddlers naps by waking him from one of his naps in order for there to be time for subsequent naps or to stop bedtime from being “too late.”
Nap transitions can be tricky and difficult in that babies or toddlers who are over-tired at bedtime tend to have more difficulty falling asleep at bedtime and staying asleep all night. Most of the time, bedtimes should be between 6 and 8 p.m. for most babies older than 3-4 months old and young toddlers. There are exceptions and all families need to find what works for their specific dynamics, but most babies have a biological need/rhythm to go to sleep early and wake early (before 8 a.m.). Quite often, a baby waking too early is due to bedtime being too late.
BONUS REASON: Wake To Feed
There is one other time you need to consider waking your baby, but it only applies to the youngest of babies.
If your baby is just a few weeks old, you should wake him from sleep to feed if he is sleeping 4 hours or longer.
Sleeping longer than 4 hours is usually too long for newborns and you need to make sure you are feeding your baby so you won’t have slow weight gain issues. Once your baby is around 6 weeks old, your doctor will likely tell you that you can let your baby sleep in longer stretches of more than 5 hours, but until you get the approval from your doctor, you should wake your baby to feed him or her. Once your baby is doing well with weight-gain, you will no longer need to wake for a feeding.
Waking your baby from sleep should not need to be a long-term strategy, but more of a temporary one to fix a specific problem. There have been a few rare cases I’ve had a family who needed to wake their baby from their morning nap, long-term, in order to have time for a second at a young age, but it is not the norm. If you are finding you are waking your baby longer than a week, maybe two, to fix a specific sleep problem, there may be something else at work. On the other hand, if your baby or toddler has only had this specific sleep problem for a short time (less than 1-2 weeks), then it might be a phase and you should see if she self-corrects her schedule before you start taking action and waking her.
Erin says
My baby is 5 months old and has been sleeping the same since 2 months. I put her down at 6pm and she sleeps till 9am the next morning. Should I be concerned? That’s 15 hours straight of sleep….she is a healthy girl who is 1 pound above average.
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Erin – Thanks for writing to us! There is a wide range of sleep needs, and you may have a baby who needs more sleep than others! If you are concerned at all, please do check in with your pediatrician! They will have the best info for your baby since they’ll be able to do a full history/exam and look at her growth and development as well! Good luck Erin!
Meg says
My baby started taking great naps a few weeks ago, and her night sleep was getting better too, but for the last week she’s been waking up 6 minutes more times per night! Is it possible that she’s getting too much night sleep and I should cap her naps? She takes 1.75 hour nap in the morning, then a 1.75 hour nap in the afternoon, then a 30-45 minute nap. She’s 5.5 months old. Should I maybe wake her up earlier from her second nap? Or her first nap? What do you think? Thank you!!
Meg says
Sorry I meant to say she’s waking up 6 or more times per night now.
Danielle says
Hi Meg,
Thank you for visiting The Baby Sleep Site! I’m sorry to hear you’re having trouble with nights all of the sudden! If you’ve ruled out a health issue, like an ear infection, that you may be dealing with a scheduling issue. It looks like the amount your baby is sleeping is within the range for her age, but if her last nap is ending too close or too far away from bedtime, that could be causing more night waking. We have a sample 5 month schedule here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/schedules/5-month-old-baby-schedule/
And a sample 6 month schedule here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/schedules/6-month-old-baby-schedule/
You can also email our client services team with a brief overview of your current schedule, and we’d be happy to help further: [email protected]
Good luck with everything!
Vikki says
Hi I have a 10 week old that sleeps 8 hours at night straight and also has at least one 6 hour nap straight as well as a few hours here and there he has no problems gaining weight. Is this normal?
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Vikki –
Thank you for writing to us! It sounds like you have a great sleeper in your 10 week old! There is such a wide range of sleep needs, and at this age we see an average of 14-16 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period, and naps are typically 3-4 times a day. 6 hours is definitely a long nap, but perhaps he sleeps this long as an extension of his night sleep? If your baby is growing and developing well, and has plenty of time for play, he may just be higher on the sleep needs end of the spectrum! You can always ask your pediatrician too! This article and sample schedules should help too:
https://www.babysleepsite.com/newborns/newborn-sleep-schedules-by-week/#10week
Good luck Vikki and thanks again for writing!
Jennifer says
I have a 5 weeks old baby and she sometimes stays awake for long tome during the day and sometimes catches up on her nap. Usually she naps for 2 hours – should I wake her up if she naps for more than 3 hours? Should there be a limit?
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Jennifer – Thanks for writing, and congratulations on your new arrival!! 3 hours is a very long naps, and you’re right, she may be skipping other naps because of the long nap. Have you checked out our suggested schedules for 5 week olds? This may help you adjust your baby’s schedule a bit. Here is a link:
https://www.babysleepsite.com/newborns/newborn-sleep-schedules-by-week/#5week
I hope this helps! Good luck Jennifer and thanks for your comment!
Sandi says
My grand daughter sleeps very less during the day takes short naps but sleeps during the night well how can we get her to sleep longer during the day
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Sandi – Thanks for writing. I’m sorry that you’re struggling with your grandbaby’s naps! You’re not alone! This article would be a great place to start for information about lengthening those short naps:
https://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-training/25-baby-toddler-nap-time-tips/
Hope this is helpful and she’s sleeping well in the daytime very soon! Feel free to contact us if you would like more help at any time!
Shallu says
Hi I am shallu
My baby is one year 4 months .
She goes to sleep at 6 in the evening at times and wakes up at 7 next day.
I try to wake her up for dinner. But she does not.
Should I keep her on milk for the night or wake her up for dinner
Neosha says
@Shallu – Thank you for reading and for sharing with us! Who would have thought you’d worry about your little girl sleeping too much!? 😉 We generally look at a child’s whole development when determining if she should be awakened to eat – please reach out to her healthcare provider to find out if she is healthy enough and getting enough nutrition otherwise throughout the day to skip “formal” dinner each night. This would be the first step we’d suggest before taking any other action. Hang in there, and please keep reading and sharing!
Ayahna says
My daughter is nearly 3 months old, she sleeps very well throughout the night. My question is, if she hasn’t eaten in 10 hours or more, should I wake her to feed? She doesn’t have a weight gain problem.
Danielle says
Hi Ayahna,
Thank you for visiting The Baby Sleep Site! In general, if a baby this age is healthy, gaining weight appropriately, and eating enough during the day, you should not need to wake her at night to eat. But, we do recommend checking in with a pediatrician, as it is relatively rare at this age (though not totally unheard of!). You can check out our 3 month-old baby feeding and sleep schedule to get more information on the most common sleep habits at this age, and also information on nutritional/feeding needs: https://www.babysleepsite.com/schedules/3-month-old-baby-sleep-and-feeding-schedule/
I hope this helps!
Whitney C. says
I have a 9 month old who started daycare about 3 weeks ago. Before daycare, she would take 2 regular naps (10-11am and 1:30-3:00) and sleep through the night (9pm-8am) like clockwork. We absolutely love our daycare and they totally pick up on her sleep cues and easily get her to sleep by rocking and comforting her. Both the caretakers say that she falls asleep easily for them. However, she is unable to sleep once she is transferred to a crib. She immediately wakes up and appears panicked. I know this because I myself have tried to put her down for a nap at daycare with the same result. So, she now takes one “cat nap” for 30 minutes in the caretakers arms about once a day. When she comes home, she isn’t interested in playing and immediately wants to nap. She either (1) takes a 2 hour nap, wakes for an hour, then goes to bed (still sleeping through the night but going to bed a little later: 10pm-8am) or (2) goes to bed at 6pm and stays asleep until 8am. I miss playing with my little girl in the evenings because all she wants to do is sleep.
I’m concerned that this shift in sleep schedule is a problem for her developmentally (and I miss her). I want her to be able to nap at daycare, but am struggling with how to help at home prepare her for naps at daycare.
A little more background information might be necessary. Our daughter had severe sleep apnea when she was younger and she still sleeps with a pulse oximeter that watches her blood oxygen and heart rate at home. She really doesn’t need this anymore but we have allowed her to sleep with blankets and pacifiers at home since she is monitored and her alarm would go off if something went wrong. However, we now are afraid to let her sleep with a blanket without the monitor. At daycare, blankets are not allowed but pacifiers are. I’m thinking this is what the problem is.
How do we “ween” our little girl off of needing a blanket to sleep with? How do we make her more comfortable sleeping at daycare? Should we try to exactly mimic the crib situation there?
Neosha says
@Whitney – Thank you for sharing with us. We’re so sorry to hear that you’ve lost quality time with your precious baby girl due to her sleepiness after day care. Daycare vs home sleep can be quite a juggle but it is great to hear that your daycare provider is so willing to work with you all. It’s often difficult at first for babies to adjust to a new nap schedule and environment and can take several weeks to adjust. Mimicking the daycare napping environment could help or it could produce similar results as to those at daycare. Due to the numerous considerations with your situation, I’d suggest you consider working one-on-one with one of our sleep consultants who will be able to help you and your daycare provider find a way to help your daughter get more daytime sleep. We regularly walk parents through day care sleep adjustments and would welcome the opportunity to help your family as well. Hang in there, Whitney. We look forward to helping you through this.
Carol says
Hi! My 7 week old can take up to 3 hour naps or longer during the day and eats about every 4 hours. How long should I limit my baby’s nap during the day? Should I be waking the baby at the same time each day? I’m new to formula feeding this baby also, so trying to figure out right amount of ounces and all. My first son naturally fell into a schedule by this time, so I’m looking for some advice to lead my daughter there. Thank you!
Neosha says
@Carol – Thank you for reading and for sharing with us. 7 week olds can definitely sleep for long periods of time during the day (and night). As long as your little girl is growing and developing well overall per her healthcare provider and getting enough sleep overall, we generally don’t find that you have to wake a baby her age. It may be a little hard, with her sleep patterns, to develop a fixed schedule, too. Check out our sample baby schedule for a baby her age to help you as you develop one that works for your family: https://www.babysleepsite.com/schedules/newborn-sleep-feeding-schedule/ Don’t hesitate to reach out to her healthcare provider regarding the amounts of food she should be eating as well as we want to make sure she’s getting enough. Hope this helps, Carol – hang in there!
Cherie Anderegg says
I have a 7 week old. She hasn’t been going down to sleep until after 230-3 am then wakes around 9 to eat, then back to sleep until 12 or 1. Ultimately I need her on a normal sleep schedule. She seems to do fine and go down early(9-10) when daddy’s around and we’re out all day. But the days when I have her with me (during the week, bc daddy works graveyard during the week and isn’t home at night) I’ve been having it rough! Is it too early to wake her up after 2 hour naps? Does she need to play more games while awake to get tired? What if anything can I do to get my little girl to sleep for mama?
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Cherie – Thanks for writing and congrats on your new baby! Your little one is likely too young to be on a super strict sleep schedule, but there is much you can do to help regulate sleep and get some fixed sleep times in her schedule! This article and the newborn sleep schedule samples within should really help:
https://www.babysleepsite.com/schedules/newborn-sleep-feeding-schedule/
use these as a guide, and gently adjust her sleep times to achieve a bedtime that works better for you! Interacting/stimulating/playing with her while she is awake is a great thing to do, for both her and for you!
Good luck Cherie and please contact us if you need anything!