Do you wake a sleeping baby in the morning?

[Maddys_Daddy]

Hello,

My DD is 4.5 months old and EBF.

We started moving towards a 4 hour routine (currently at 3.5 hours).  Here's our EASY day assuming she wakes at 7am:

7am - E
7:15-8:45 - A
8:45-10:15 S (45-60 minutes of sleep and most often 30-45 minutes of pu/pd)
10:15 - E
10:30-12:15pm - A
12:15-1:45pm - S (45-60 minutes of sleep and most often 30-45 minutes of pu/pd)
1:45pm - E
2-3:45 - A
3:45-5:15 - S
5:15 - E
5:30-6:30 - A
6:30-7:00 -Bath
7:00 - E
10:30 - Dream Feed
2:45 - NW Feed
sometimes waking between 5-6:30

My question is: Should I wake me DD if she goes to bed at or around 7pm and is not awake at 7am, after having one or two (at the most) NW feeds?  If not, how long should I let her sleep and how will this effect her routine?

In the past, she has had days where she was up as early as 6am or as late as 9:30 and this has not impacted her ability to go to bed in the evening.

Thanks.

Matthew

[Ryan&HollysMom]

hi matthew,
what happens when she wakes between 5 adn 6:30 am? does she go back to sleep?
i'm not an expert on this, can only tell you what my experience has been. if ds was up vastly before the "agreed upon time" i'd try my darndest to get him to go back to sleep. if he didn't at least i'd try and get him to be in his bed, alone. then i'd have to adjust his day routine. if he slept well past his time i WOULD wake him up (my son that is). i always allowed a grace period of an extra 30 min and just assumed that he needed it for whatever reason. i wouldn't leave it too late, as in more than 30 min at this young age. once my kids hit about 9 or 10 months and were operating on less naps, or especially after switching from 3-2 or 2-1 nap and battling extra tiredness i let them sleep however long they wanted.
the overall goal is a 12 hour day and a 12 hour night. this istn' true for everyone, my kids currently sleep more than 12.
if i were you, i'd see if an extra 30 min or so in the AM affects her PMs, if not, you're golden, if yes, you can always start waking her up again.
HTH good luck

[Mum-of-Two]

Also not the expert here but with my DD we had in home daycare so we NEVER woke her in the morning (naps, yes;  mornings, no).  Her BW routine began whenever she woke up so that did sometimes mean different bed times.  Amazingly enough she kept fairly regular on her own and those odd days weren't a concern because we were home to manage it and because she always had a predictable night.  I was home for 6 months with her too so I never ever woke her before 6 months and enjoyed the sleep in should I ever get one 

My son, however, needs to be on a more fixed schedule in order to fit with all of our school/work schedules so he is a MUST wake in the morning or things get way off.

If there is nothing off, no illness, no missed nap the day before, just business as usual... I'd say wake her in the morning if you like your current schedule/routine.  Otherwise, just like all of us, sometimes they do need to catch up for one reason or another and you'll get those off days.  But, an off day is better then accidental OT so its a balance.

[Maddys_Daddy]

Hi,

Thank you for the great advice!

Typically, if she wakes up at 6 or 6:30 she is not a happy camper.  When she's had enough sleep she will coo for a few minutes before letting us know that it is time for us to pay attention to her.

Thanks again!