False Start Bedtime: Helping Your Baby Sleep Better
The newborn stage invokes fear and terror for many new parents. Anxiety runs high. Sleep runs low. If you’re dealing with false start bedtimes, the situation worsens.
You put the baby in bed. The transition was perfect. You tip-toe out of the room and gently close the door.
You can finally take your victory lap. Your couch is waiting for you. Your partner congratulates you for the successful mission.
A few minutes pass, and everything is still quiet.
30 minutes…
45 minutes…
1 hour…
A little over an hour has gone by, you haven’t heard a peep. Suddenly, you hear a sad little cry from the baby’s room… A false start bedtime…
What is False Start Bedtime?
A false start bedtime is essentially when your baby thinks it was naptime. You’ll go through the whole bedtime routine. Everything is going smoothly, but they wake up about an hour later.
Their bodies thought it was just a nap, so now they want to stay awake for another hour.
Reasons You Need to Know About False Start Bedtime
It’s important to diagnose any issue before you try to solve it. You might be thinking that the baby simply doesn’t sleep through the night. You’re not wrong, but false start bedtimes are a little deeper.
False Start Bedtime isn’t an uncommon issue that new parents run into.
In this case, the changes you need to make might be during the day. With our baby girl, we struggled to get her to sleep through the night. Not knowing what to do, my wife would feed her, rock her, and everything else to try to get her back to sleep.
We later found resources to help deal with false start bedtimes. A couple of weeks went by and we were finally able to get some sleep.
Just in time too because it wasn’t too soon after that we found out we were having a 3rd baby.
Instructions to Deal with False Start Bedtime
We need to look at a couple of angles to solve the problem.
- Sleep Patterns/Age
- Time of bedtime
- The baby’s behavior
- Feedings
Sleep Patterns/Age
Depending on the age of your baby, you might need to adjust their wake windows.
- Babies under 12 weeks should have wake windows of about 60-90 minutes.
- 3-6 month-olds will have about 2-hour wake windows.
- 6 months – 1 year old need about 3 hour wake windows.
Time of Bedtime
I know that we want to have an earlier bedtime some days.
Their bodies think they just took a nap, so they might not have been physically ready to get to bed for the night. Try doing bedtime a little later.
You still want your babies scheduled to include 11 -12 hours of sleep at night.
The Baby’s Behavior
Body language is the only kind of communication they have right now. Is your baby overtired? Are they not tired enough yet?
If your baby has an attitude and is throwing tantrums, they might be overtired. They might not be getting enough sleep during the day or might even need to go to bed sooner.
If your baby is alert, staring into the depths of your soul, they might need more activity or more time awake.
Feedings
Your baby needs a regular sleep and nap schedule, right? Your baby also needs a regular schedule for their feedings. Recent studies show the link between sleep quality and regular eating patterns.
Essentially, if your baby is eating regularly and on a schedule, they will have better quality sleep as well.
Key Considerations with False Start Bedtime
We all want our kids to stay in bed. Other things you need to look at are focused on the baby’s sleep environment.
Is your baby comfortable? How do you dress your baby for sleep?
Your baby should have a mattress without any toys, blankets, or pillows. But do they need a better-quality mattress?
Another key ingredient you might be missing is a bedtime routine. I know they’re young and might not understand what’s happening, but having a bedtime routine will help prime their bodies for bed.
Unfortunately, all of our babies have gone through inevitable sleep regressions. Sometimes there’s nothing you can do but wait. If your baby is learning something new like rolling over or trying to stand up, that’s awesome. They’re excited, and you’re excited. Sleep regressions will happen over and over again, so brace yourself for them.
My Experience with False Start Bedtime
We’ve dealt with false start bedtimes with each of our kids. The question “What’s going on?” gets thrown around a lot. The 4 instructions found here are usually the solution. Pay extra attention to the rest of your day. You might find the issue and know how to resolve it now.
I’ve noticed that we struggle most during transition phases. We take a nap away and increase wake windows and the problem is solved. Your baby will grow up too fast. Before you know it, they aren’t sleeping all the time. Then suddenly, they only need 1 nap.
Be prepared for the sleep regressions and transitions. Keep calm. Sleep deprivation has caused a lot of arguments for us. They’re not worth it. The fight needs 2 parents working on the same team, not fighting against each other.
