Phoebe’s Sleep Journey Part III: 12-18 Months
By the time Phoebe was 12 months old she had been on two naps for a while. At 14 months, we had an early waking problem. She was consistently waking up at 5am and struggling to get back to sleep. This happened for about 2 weeks before I decided it was time to cut down or remove the morning nap.
Early Waking
Early wakes can be caused by a number of things, so before jumping to a routine change it’s worth going through a few things first. Have a look at the sleep environment. Is there noise or light that’s waking your baby up? Are they too hot or cold? Is it just habitual? If you have been through the list and still no change it’s likely the routine needs adjustment.
Early wakes can be a reliable indicator that the nap schedule is off. Babies and toddlers often end up using that first nap as a way to catch up with missed overnight sleep and then you enter a cycle of early waking which can be hard to break.
Routine Changes
I started by cutting the morning nap down to a 20 minute power nap. This had an immediate improvement on the early starts. 5am became 5.30 and then 6am which was much more manageable. By 15 months I cut the morning nap out completely and she was now having one nap a day around 1230pm for 2-2.5 hours.
Ditching the Dummy
At 18 months we decided it was time for Phoebe to let go of her dummy. She was having it more and more during wake time and I wanted it gone. We started by restricting it to nap and bedtime only. After a few days we removed it from the cot and only gave it to her if she asked. She soon got used to not having it and didn’t make a fuss at all. I thought it was going to be a long struggle and I really didn’t want to go cold turkey as she was so attached to it. We also gave her a teddy to have in the cot, she had nothing in there previously (not for lack of trying she just wasn’t interested), so she got used to cuddling that instead of having her dummy for comfort. It did take a couple of weeks for her to get used to falling asleep without it. We had a few evenings where I had to cuddle her to sleep. She wasn’t upset she just needed extra comfort to fall asleep. Once she got used to falling asleep without the dummy, I gradually reduced my support down to where it had been before - holding her had until she fell asleep.
The next stage is Part IV: 18 Months - 2.5 Years.
We will cover:
Early Waking (and how to fix it when you’re on one nap)
Split Nights
Long Sleep Latency at Bedtime
Bedtime Battles
Recommendations at this age:
12-18 Months Sleep Guide - This can help you with the 4 month sleep regression, other common challenges and building a routine that works for your baby’s individual sleep needs.
Nap Guide - My FREE Nap Guide covers everything you need to know about naps and signs you need to make changes.
Aden & Anais Sleeping Bag - Beautiful soft muslin sleeping bag - amazing for warmer temperatures.
Tommee Tippee Blackout Blind - Helps for light mornings and for a darker environment for nap time. It folds into a bag so perfect for taking with you when travelling.
