Baby Sleep Problems: My Baby Doesn’t Wake Up Happy

 

Would you like to have me answer your sleep question in my next video? If so, scroll down and submit your question in the comment section below. I will pick several questions a month to answer and post them here on the blog!

If you would rather read than watch my above video then here is the transcript of this week’s video:
Hi, Kim West The Sleep Lady. Today I’m going to answer Beth’s question. She wrote in and said:
“My 14 month old son is sleeping well through the night and decently at naps most of the time. Thank you for your help in the book. He still never wakes up without crying out. Is there a way to help him wake happy without having him cry to come and get me?”

That’s a good question, Beth. It is true that some kids’ temperaments are such that they go through phases where they cry a few minutes to go to sleep and they cry when they wake up or they’re slow to wake up. But I think it’s too soon to determine if this is part of your son’s temperament. Especially because you said that you’ve just recently (with the help of my book) gotten him sleeping through the night and taking “decent naps most of the time”. I think that’s where the magic is…”decent and most of the time”. Most of the time means to me that he naps well some of the time or not all of the time. Combine that with “decent” and he may not be getting enough day sleep yet to feel fully rested and to wake up happy or at least well rested and happier.
Once he’s consistently sleeping through the night for at least three weeks and sleeping for approximately 11 hours at his age and taking naps totaling around three hours a day, more times than not you should start to see a change in how he wakes up.
I think you’ll also see a change when he becomes more verbal because at his age he understands more than he can say.
Keep working on those naps!
Sweet dreams,
Kim
The Sleep Lady
Video filmed by In Focus Studios

If you have noticed a change in the way your child wakes up when they are well rested verses not please share your support with Beth. Please feel free to click the “reply” link under this article and leave them a comment. Supporting each other makes parenting so much easier!

Author: Kim West, MSW, Mom of 2, creator of The Sleep Lady Shuffle
My name is Kim West, and I’m the mother of two beautiful girls, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has been a practicing child and family therapist for more than 21 years, and the creator of the original gentle, proven method to get a good night’s sleep for you and your child. My sleep journey began when I started experimenting with gently shaping my daughter’s sleep by not following the conventional wisdom at the time. After having success (and then more success with my second daughter!), I began helping family and friends and my step-by-step method spread like wildfire, exactly like an excellent night of sleep for a tired parent should!

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