So... what do I do?

[cristeen]

Mods - This is purely a hypothetical question, since by the time I get answers it'll be a moot point. I'm just curious to see what other people would do.

My little guy went down for a nap at 6 (his idea, not mine). His normal bedtime is 8. It is currently 7:30 and he's still out. So what do I do? Do I go wake him up and keep him up and then try to get him back down? Should I have woken him up right away? Do I try to keep him from getting up when he wakes - treat it like it was his normal bedtime? Or do I let him get up when his sleep cycle wakes him and then wait a couple hours and try bedtime then?

Just so you get the full picture, his sleep lately has been crap, and he took 2 naps today, for a grand total of about 40 minutes. He's 8 mos old, and he's most definitely not in a night-time diaper, so whatever I do I'm going to have to change him before too long.

So what would you do if this was your kid?

[QuestionGal]

let him sleep!! change the dipe before you go to bed

[mmhinton]

hmmm, 8 months! My guys were both TERRIBLE sleepers (night AND naps) til over a year (ds1) and over 2 yrs (ds2). Personally, I think I would have awakened him / not let him fall asleep at that time....OR let him fall asleep and try to get him to stay asleep as long as possible..
Does he sleep "through the night" (more than 4-6 hours straight) on a normal basis? If so, maybe he was just extra tired and would sleep all night this time?

For me personally though, if I let him sleep and then went to bed myself at bedtime, I would most likely have a hard time sleeping as I would continue to worry "when's the baby gonna wake up"? or that kind of thing - always expecting to hear him "any minute"

Either way...I'd say, whatever he does right now...it'll change just as soon as you think he's "set"

[bumblecat]

My girl is almost 8mos and usually goes to bed for the night around 8 as well. She has fallen asleep at 6 a few times - sometimes it turns out to be a nap and sometimes it's just an early bedtime. I don't wake her - I just wait til she wakes to put her night diaper on. I don't like the idea of her waking from her "nap" at 9 or 10 and wanting to stay up but she hasn't done that. She's either been up again by 7, pushing bedtime back to 9, or she just sleeps through and only wakes to nurse.

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by mmhinton

Does he sleep "through the night" (more than 4-6 hours straight) on a normal basis? If so, maybe he was just extra tired and would sleep all night this time?

Nope. Lately I've been lucky to get 2 hours at a stretch.

My personal philosophy is not to wake a sleeping baby, so I haven't. But it's just about 8 and he's still out. I'm just afraid he'll wake up just as I sit down to dinner, ya know?

Of course, this is liable to mean that he'll be up at 4 instead of his usual 6. Thankfully I have nothing planned for tomorrow, so I can just be a zombie mainlining coffee if necessary.

[jeanine123]

I'd change his dipe an hour or two before you plan on going to bed. Then if he does wake up and is ready to party you won't be too disappointed that you can't go to bed right then.

[bluebirdiemama]

I've learned from experience not to wake a baby. I'd let him sleeeep

[Learning_Mum]

At 8 months I'd let him sleep and when he woke up I'd change his nappy in the bedroom and try to get him back to sleep.

[cristeen]

Well, he woke up at 8:15, just like he would have if it were 11... crying but eyes closed. So DH fed him while I changed him and he went right back to sleep. Guess the poor little guy was exhausted. We'll see how late he sleeps tomorrow.

[Purple*Lotus]

Sending good sleeping vibes to your little one.

[Kidzaplenty]

A little one, sleeping, I leave alone and let them sleep.

[Bellabaz]

Haha. During our (usuelss) birth classes, the one theme pounded into our heads was "Never, Ever Shake a Baby!!!"

Dh and I quickly modified this to "Never, Ever WAKE a Baby". So thats my vote

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

Sooooooooooooo? How did it go?

[Amatullah0]

I would never wake up ds! ever. not even to change his diaper. actually, i've changed it many times while he was sleeping on his tummy, and thank God, he stayed sleeping!

ok, i might wake him sometime, but only if i think theres something wrong, i.e. newborn is sleeping way too long, or sick and needs to eat...

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by Barbie64g

Sooooooooooooo? How did it go?

He was up 5 times, as usual, but he slept untilhis normal time - 6:15

[dawncayden]

If it were me, I'd wake him up after 30 minutes then start bedtime at around 9pm. Unless he seemed like he was getting a cold or something, then I'd try to carefully put him in a nighttime diaper and nurse him back to sleep.

[VisionaryMom]

At 8 months, I would leave him. I had a bad sleeper, and there's no way I'd wake him up!

[childsplay]

I'd let him sleep and deal with the soggy diaper later.

[rightkindofme]

Hey! I know you!

I'm in the 'never wake the baby' camp. I'm glad he slept till his normal time.

[pianojazzgirl]

Another vote for never wake a sleeping baby!