If you've got an early riser it can be frustrating. One that means you have to become an early riser and
lose sleep. Two it can throw your baby's schedule off. Many babies become early risers, at least for a while, once they hit the one to two year old stage. Luckily you can try some tactics that may get your baby to sleep in at least a little later.
Don't indulge little night owls. It makes perfect sense to keep your baby up late if you want him to sleep late in the morning, however little ones don't always make perfect sense. Multiple studies and health organizations note that not only does this not work but it can make your baby cranky all day long. A lack of sleep can actually result in a baby who spends more time awake, in spite of being tired. I.e. sleep = more sleep. Aim for an early bedtime such as 7 or 8pm. Along the same lines as above don't skip naps. At this age your baby still needs daily naps and skipping them can mean your baby wakes up earlier the next day. Keep it dark. Early morning sunshine pretty much screams, "WAKE UP BABY!" To avoid this make sure you have dark shades you can pull down in the nursery. Try some solo sleeping. Co-sleeping is fine and so is cuddling your baby to sleep, but if your baby dozes off in your arms 100% of the time he may have trouble getting back to sleep on his own if he accidentally wakes up at 4:30 am. The result - he'll cry until you wake up and cuddle him back to sleep. Find out how to plan the
perfect baby bedtime routine.
