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Copyright 2017 Sleeping Should Be Easy. All rights reserved.

STRATEGY 1:
Be Aware of Your Babys Awake Time
With so much of our day focused on getting our babies to sleep,
its easy to forget how often theyre awake. We might take
them to family gatherings where they get passed from person
to person, unable to fall asleep for the length they need. Or we
keep them up, thinking that staying awake will lead to a longer
nap. Other times, we watch for cues we cant seem to find, and
end up putting our babies to sleep much later than they needed.

As you and I know, babies arent always the sleep machines

who can fall asleep whenever or wherever. While other babies
knocked out during a stroller or car drive, mine slept a
whopping one time in a stroller. Not all babies fall asleep easily
the minute they feel tired.

We risk keeping our babies awake longer than they should be.
The problem? Overtired babies have a harder time falling asleep.

Sleep begets sleep, as ironic as that may seem. Youd think

babies would be more likely to fall asleep if theyve had a long
and eventful day. But more often, babies have a harder time
falling asleep because theyre too tired. They fuss and cry, or
cant seem to sleep for long stretches. And thus, enter our arms
as the only way to get them to fall and stay asleep.

How do you know if your baby has been awake too long? I
wasnt good at finding the sleep cues my baby was supposed to
give to let me know he was tired. Instead, I watched the clock.

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 Strategy 1: Be Aware of Your Babys Awake Time

Most babies cant be awake longer than 60-90 minutes. The

younger the baby, the shorter his awake time. Any longer than
that window of awake time and youll likely have a difficult time
putting him to sleep.

Dont wait for your baby to cry or fuss to put him to sleep. In
fact, fussiness often means hes already overtired.

In a few months, your baby will lengthen his awake time longer
than 60-90 minutes. This happens as babies and toddlers begin
to drop naps and can stay awake for longer periods of time.

But for now, err on the side of shorter awake times. To break it
down even further, below are specific awake times depending
on your babys age:*

Birth to 6 weeks: 45-60 minutes

6 weeks to 3 months: 60 minutes to an hour and 45 minutes
3-6 months: 2 hours

*Source: Precious Little Sleep

By the time my twins arrived, I knew better than to hope theyll

fall asleep when they felt tired. I was able to avoid much of the
fussiness that can often happen when we try to put overtired
babies to sleep.

Instead, I watched the clock. After an hour of awake time, Id

see if they could use a nap. And if 90 minutes had already
passed, I laid them down to sleep, no questions asked.

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 Strategy 1: Be Aware of Your Babys Awake Time

Action Steps: Begin timing your babys awake time, starting

from when he wakes up for the day. Depending on your
babys age, see if he could use a nap after an hour or so
of awake time. Keep his awake time no longer than 90
minutes max between each sleep time.

In this strategy, I shared how my first mistake was to keep my

baby awake too long. In the next strategy, well talk about my
second mistake and why you should avoid it if you want your
baby to sleep well.

Click here to get the complete guide