Here's the scene: it's 10pm. Your little one fell asleep at 8:30 after putting up a pretty decent little fight, and your stomach drops as you hear that first cry.
Convinced that something is terribly wrong, you rush in to your little one's room where you pick them up, rock them, and spend the next hour trying to get them back to sleep.
SO, what happened?
Here's the deal: every 45 minutes, 90 minutes, and 180 minutes, your baby goes into a light sleep cycle. During this light sleep, they move around, cry out, practice new skills, and readjust their sleep position. It's called a partial awakening, and it happens to all of us.
Sometimes, they fully wake up during this transition and need assistance returning to sleep.
But sometimes...they don't. What they actually need is time and space to practice returning to sleep on their own.
So, what do I recommend?
Stop. Pause. Don't intervene immediately.
If your baby is experiencing a partial awakening rather than a full wake-up and they have the skills needed to return to sleep independently, they'll work through it on their own within 10 minutes.
Setting a 10-minute timer and allowing them the opportunity to practice returning to sleep independently can resolve these partial awakenings quickly and easily. If baby is still awake and crying or calling for you after 10 minutes, that's a perfectly acceptable time to intervene. They're likely fully awake at this point and will need whatever sleep prop they used to fall asleep or your assistance.
If your baby is frequently waking up throughout the night and partial awakenings aren't to blame, a consultation is a great next step to get those figured out and under control. Reach out to me through email to book!
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