🚫 Keeping your baby awake longer throughout the day will make them sleep through the night:
Unfortunately encouraging your baby to stay awake longer during the day in hopes of getting them to sleep through the night is a common misconception. In reality, this approach can lead to your baby becoming excessively overtired, fussy, and difficult to settle 🆘. Skipping naps can further exacerbate fragmented nighttime sleep and early waking, as it only increases your baby’s cortisol levels (stress hormone) 😖. It is important to have realistic expectations and remember that night wakes and feeds are developmentally normal up to around 9-10 months, when solids become more established 🥰
🚫 A late bedtime will fix early rising:
Believing that a late bedtime can resolve early rising is another widespread misconception 🙅🏻♀️. In reality, a late bedtime often worsens early rising because it increases your baby’s cortisol levels due to overtiredness 😴. This can lead to difficulty settling at bedtime, frequent night wakes, and early rising 😫. Instead, establishing a consistent bedtime routine and ensuring an early bedtime whenever naps have fallen apart during the day encourages more restorative sleep 🙌🏻
🚫 Once a baby sleeps through the night, they will always sleep through the night:
Wouldn’t this be amazing!? Unfortunately, like anything in life, there are highs and lows 🎢. Our babies go through so many developmental milestones and regressions, particularly during the first year of life 🤯. Factors such as developmental milestones, teething, growth spurts, sleep regressions, separation anxiety, and illness can all affect their sleep patterns. Every baby goes through these phases, but the impact can vary based on their temperament, your parenting style, and their sleep associations and routines 😴
What sleep myths have you been told? Let us know in the comments below! 👇🏻
If you are struggling with any of these issues, we are here to support you in consolidating your baby’s sleep 🩷. Book a consultation or download our sleep essentials guide via our website so we can restore sleep for you and your family 💫🩷🌸