• Home
  • About Rachel
  • Contact
    • Work With Me
  • My Shop
  • Start Here

A Mother Far from Home

  • Discipline
    • Toys And Play
    • Big Family
    • Family Culture
    • Diapers & Potty Training
    • Irish Twins
    • Teething
  • Emotions
  • Faith
    • Christian Holidays
    • Church Related
    • Spiritual Principles
  • Home
    • Cleaning & Chores
    • Meal Time & Eating
    • Organizing, Tidying & Decluttering
    • Emergency Preparedness For Families
  • Motherhood
    • Mental & Emotional Wholeness
    • Mother’s Helper
    • Type A
    • Books to Read
    • Pregnancy
  • Routine
    • Baby Schedules & Routines
    • Toddler Routines & Schedules
    • Mom Schedules & Routines
    • School Routines
  • Sleep
    • Sleep Troubleshooting
    • Napping Tips
    • Basic Sleep Tips
Home » Sleep » The Easiest Way To Get Babies and Toddlers To Sleep Later (It Involves Feeding!)

The Easiest Way To Get Babies and Toddlers To Sleep Later (It Involves Feeding!)

Updated February 19, 2021

595shares

Want simple chaos-erasing family routines? Who doesn't? Check out our Family Routines Reboot!

Want simple chaos-erasing family routines? Who doesn't? Check out our Family Routines Reboot!

Do your babies or toddlers wake up early? This is an awesome and easy trick to get them to sleep later in the mornings and from naps.


If there is one Nugget of Truth I could give to first time moms when they are pregnant… it would be this.

You can basically decide what time your baby will wake up for years to come. 

No, I’m not kidding.

No, I’m not full of it.

Yes, I am serious.

You see, I’ve done it 5 times.

baby resting with pink blanket

It’s not because I’m a mythical supermom  or because I have it all together. It’s because I was told this one piece of advice that is just Golden and it works.

It works wonders.

It has worked with 4 babies that have 4 separate personalities and I want to make your life a little easier today and share it with you.

Here it is…

You’re dying, right?

JUST TELL ME, you are saying.

Okay fine, I’m 38 weeks and 6 days pregnant and can’t handle this suspense making.

➡️ The way you get your baby to wake up at a consistent time each morning is to feed them at that exact time every morning. 

I’m going to dig into how this works with babies of various ages below, but suffice it to say… it’s that simple. It is so simple one might even call it a Hack.

Now, word of caution, if you have a 13 month old this will require a lot of consistency since their metabolism is likely set to a much earlier time. I start this with my newborns and that makes it easier. But still, there is hope!

Table Of Contents...

  • Feed at the exact same time
  • Time the early morning feed just right
  • Delay breakfast, if needed
  • Let baby play if they're happy
  • Give a hearty bedtime snack if baby is 6 months or older
  • Be consistent (but not legalistic)

Getting Babies and Toddlers to Sleep In: The Easy Way

Now, this will change as toddlers grow up, drop naps, and change eating habits. And, of course, we know babies aren’t robots who confirm to our every whim.

That said, done consistently, this will help your children sleep later and it will help them be content if they wake early. Use our daily baby logs to start this process.

Read: Tips For Swaddling Baby At Night

Feed your baby or toddler every morning at the same time

It’s that simple. Choose a reasonable time each morning and feed your baby or give your toddler breakfast at this time.

The End.

Now, you may have to gradually move breakfast back until your desired time since they are not used to this new time, but it’s worth the effort.

If your baby is screaming the house down, of course, feed baby. However I’ve found babies wake early often and are content to play or be played with.

Do this for 15 minute increments or until you’re able to move breakfast back without having a seriously fussy baby or toddler on hand.

The reason this works? Their metabolism gets used to eating at that time and, at that time, they will wake up. It’s why you get hungry at noon if that’s your lunch break.

Babies will get used to being fed at a certain time (and not earlier) and they’ll gradually adjust until they wake up close to this time.

It’s why your stomach growls for a snack when you’re used to eating crackers at 3:30 pm.

Same for adults, same for babies.

Read: Feeding Baby Until One Year of Age

If you are nursing throughout the night, time your early morning feeding accordingly

So, for babies who are still nursing at night, this can seem a bit tricky, but it doesn’t have to be. If your baby normally feeds at 5:00 am and is tempted to stay awake… wake yourself up at 4:00 and feed them.

Don’t unswaddle baby if baby hasn’t swaddle weaned yet. Simply feed in a dark place without unswaddling, then put immediately back to bed.

Follow these tips with swaddling and basic night feeding good practices and then try to wait until your desired wake time to feed them again.

This may be 6:30 am or even 7.

If they generally feed every 2 or 3 hours at night and you want them to wake around 6:30 then feed them sometime between 3:30 and 4:30, even if they don’t wake up naturally.

You wake them up, feed them, then put them immediately back to sleep. No stimulation, no talking or cooing, simply feed your baby and put him right back down to bed.

Related Reads:

  • The 3 Month Old Sleep Schedule
  • The 4 Month Sleep Regression And How To Get Past It
  • The 7 Month Old Sleeping Schedule
  • The 9 Month Old Routine That Works
  • The 1 Year Old Sleep Schedule
  • The 2 Year Old Sleep Regression & What Not To Do
mom holding her baby

If they wake early, try to delay breakfast until your desired time

With a toddler, if they wake very early do not give them breakfast yet. You can let them play quietly with books or soft toys in their bed or room and simply start having breakfast at the time you desire each morning.

With my babies, they’d often wake up a tad bit early depending on teething, the sun, and time changes.

However, unless they were going through a growth spurt and were truly starving at that early time (in which case I fed them) they were usually content to remain in the crib for a time playing, talking, or cooing.

This is a good sign!

It means with consistency they can learn to sleep later.

  • If your desired wake time is 7:30 a.m. and baby wakes at 7, don’t rush to feed. Let baby sing, play quietly, crawl, or start a slow morning routine. Try to hold off on feeding until 7:30.
  • If baby is crying from hunger, feed baby. The goal is to get to the desired wake time and gradually will work as well. Add a few more minutes each day until you get there.

Allow play in the crib or bed until time to eat

This may seem like a stretch to you, but allowing my babies to play happily in their cribs until our normal wake time has been a lifesaver.

➡️ If you’re a tired mom, you need to grab hold of this.

Its okay for your baby to play in their crib for 20 minute before you feed them. Our normal wake time is 7:30 am. Does this mean every child wakes at 7:30 am each day? No.

Some kids wake around 6:45 and play on their bed until I come. Sometimes they all sleep until 8:00 a.m. Regardless, unless there’s a growth spurt or we’re leaving the house early, no one eats until 7:30 a.m.

And, before you send me hate mail, they are okay with this and no one is crying. In fact, we often push breakfast back until 8:00 because everyone is milling about in their rooms or playing.

It’s all about consistency and offering breakfast at a set time each day. 


Give big bedtime snacks if necessary

This is the name of the game. As soon as your baby is eating solids, be sure to give them a hearty bedtime snack before (or after) nursing at bedtime.

This will often help them sleep another hour later each morning. I did this regularly with my first three kids, but when I had my 4th I was so busy with the Bedtime Routine that the snack slipped my mind.

When he didn’t get a snack, he’d wake up as much as one hour early! So if you know your kids are waking up starved, give them a hearty and filling bedtime snack that can help carry them over later in the morning.

If you have a baby, cluster feed in the late afternoon hours then offer a dream feed before you drift off to sleep.

Related Reads:

  • Wind-Down Routines that Really Work
  • Baby Bedtime: 4 Essential Elements For Success

newborn sleep schedule 1

Be consistent (but not legalistic)

This is pretty much applicable in all of parenting.

We want to be consistent. Communicate our values. Keep our boundaries firm so the kids feel secure. Not be willy nilly changing our minds, changing the rules, and surprising our kids with “Don’t Do That!” when yesterday we allowed it.

And yet, sometimes we have to go with the flow.

Growth spurts mean feeding when they are hungry. Time changes mean sleep disruptions. Being in survival mode means doing what it takes to survive. That is okay, that is fine. That is right. Keep consistent with your goals, but be willing to read your children and meet their needs in a flexible way.

As they say…

“Blessed are the flexible. They don’t break when bent.”

Get Your Sleep Later And Longer Checklist Printable

Download the checklist, print it out, then start watching baby sleep later in the mornings!

 

I’ve created a free email series just for you! There are truly only a few reasons why babies and toddlers have struggles sleeping… really, I mean it. I am going to teach you the main 3 reasons and how to start making small changes to help your baby go from:

  • fighting sleep to embracing it
  • night wakings to sleeping through
  • needing you to jump through hoops to going to sleep on their own

Click here to sign up for my free email series or simply click on the image below.

Baby Sleep Funnel Opt In With Free

Rachel

New to this community? Start here, friend.

595shares

Filed Under: Sleep, Sleep Troubleshooting

« Simple Ways To Make Your Home Hygge For The Winter
The Ultimate Guide To Having A Mother’s Helper You’ll Love »

Recommended For You From Our Shop

Coos To Snooze (Baby Sleep Course)

In this step-by-step course, you will learn the keys to teaching your baby to sleep.

You know there's got to be some way for baby to sleep better. Don't waste more hours and nights in an exhaustion induced fog, learn the secrets that have helped thousands of babies (and their mothers) sleep through the night.

Click For Personalized Help

I'm Rachel, mother of 5 young kids living in the Florida panhandle with my Australian husband. I write about family culture, family rhythms and routines, and boundaries in motherhood and life. You can see snippets of my daily life here and visit my shop for baby sleep, organizing, and routine help.

“Inside my brain”

Geeezzz, it was like you were inside my brain today!  (and most days recently)  I needed this badly.

Thank you!!!
Andrea P.

“Nothing was working…”

I just wanted to say thank you for your easy peasy routine for 2 year olds! I day-weaned my 2 year old a month ago and have been trying everything to get him to go down for a nap without the nursing. Nothing was working and I was starting to think he would never have a nap again.

Anyways I started following your routine and we just sat in bed and had what I told him was “quiet time.” We sat and read and made a fort and had warm milk. Then today I told him it was quiet time again and he tried to escape the bed a couple times, but in the end he snuggled up after the warm bottle and fell asleep for 3 hours! I was almost in tears I was so excited! So thank you!

Meghan

“Thanks for your bundle!”

Thanks for for doing this Everyday Mom Super Bundle sale. I’m four months into my parenthood journey with a sweet and spirited boy.

I was feeling overwhelmed and frustrated just yesterday, thinking if only I had the right resources and “trail guides” I could figure this all out. Your sale is serendipitous. I can’t wait to dig into my download materials and start learning from your tips.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

Lauren N.

“It’s a breath of fresh air”

I just wanted to let you know that your blog and emails have been a tremendous help to me. Your practical, honest, and humble writing is a breath of fresh air!

With help and encouragement drawn from your writing, I have made some incredible changes in the order (and sanity) of our home, in just the past few weeks. My kids are doing chores daily, and I also have clearer expectations of myself.

My husband is in awe!

Which helps reinforce what you said- the problem wasn’t me; it was my systems. Our home is in much better order, and so is my mind. So, thank you!!!! You have made a difference for me and my family.

Ann S.

“We are slowly getting back to normal…”

I stumbled upon your blog one morning after praying night after night for God to fix my home! I had just had a baby this May 1st and also have a 2 and 4 year old and my home broke out in complete chaos!

Even my marriage seemed like it was on the brink of extinction and this had happened in 2 weeks! I read numerous amounts of your entries and applied them to my home life and I am happy to say we are slowly getting back to normal. Thank you Rachel! 

Madison S.

“You’ve been a life saver!”

I’m a first time mom to a 15 day old baby girl. I had no idea what I was doing and couldn’t get her to sleep in her crib until I found your blog.

You’ve been a life saver!

Candace R.

“Within a week or two our little girl changed!”

I tumbled into post partum depression/anxiety and didn’t know what to do anymore. I was a mess, baby girl was a mess and I don’t even know how my husband was dealing with it all… 

I googled everything I could think about but there was never really something that felt right, that felt genuine instead of just telling do’s and don’ts. 

And then I found your website and read your pieces about sleeping and eating. I carefully read through your schedules and decided to try it.

IT WORKED!! 

And within a week or two our little girl changed from a frustrated baby into this happy dappy smiling ray of sunshine, that is able to settle herself down by sucking on her fists, even in the middle of the night. At 12 weeks baby girl slept through the night and now at 20 weeks old she sleeps a good 10 to 12 hours every night. 

I just wanted to thank you for sharing your experience online. The way you wrote your experiences made it understandable, seeing it from the babys side but also the moms side. Maybe we were lucky that your way fitted our baby, but it worked and I tell it to everyone that wants to know!

Stephanie P.

“Had tremendous success from Day One!”

I just wanted to thank you for your sample routine.  I’ve been using it for a week with my 13 month old and had tremendous success from day 2! Wind down time is so important and so is consistency.  Thank you so much!!!

Sam M.

“In a few short days…”

I am grateful to have found your blog, as I do a great deal of searching on Pinterest when I am up against a parenting moment that I do not feel qualified to handle.

I will say though that since reading your blog I am really focusing on remembering that every moment is a learning \ experience for my son and I try to take a breath and count to ten. In the few short days that I have been exercising this method I truly have noticed a change for the better in his response to me.

Tami K.

Comments

  1. Jillian says

    Hi there! I love your blog! I had a quick question – my baby recently turned 1 and we have dropped all bottles except the nighttime before bedtime one (looking to drop that one this week) Can you share what you offer as a snack before bed and how you structure it? (Does baby go back in the highchair, just have a snack somewhere else prior to going to the bedroom, etc.) My son gets his dinner around 515 and then is in the crib at 7pm to go to sleep. I’m curious how you do it. Thank you so much!

    • Rachel Norman says

      So I’ve done a few things. At times I’ve put the baby back in the actual high chair and fed applesauce or yogurt, something filling. Maybe even toast if they like that. Something that will sit a bit heavier in the tummy. But anything will do. Other times I’ve put the food in a cup and sat in the room with the baby and fed him or her on my lap. So that it’s still quiet but they’re getting food in. Hope that helps :)

  2. Tootiredtoremember says

    Ah, you’ve missed out the bit about what to do with a newborn then baby then toddler who feeds every twenty minutes after three in the morning. I wish I were exaggerating.
    I once decided I needed to strengthen my own boundaries around sleep. It went badly. Then the baby had a day when a lack of sleep induced a fit.
    I still torture myself reading about how there’s something that might change his sleep patterns. Apparently they grow out of it before they leave for university.

    • Rachel Norman says

      Rachel, have you tried feeding him every hour all throughout the day time instead of night? Would that help get him all he needs? Also, how is your supply?

  3. Ashley Smeddle says

    Hi Rachel,

    I’ve kept a 730 breakfast time for my family for months. My son has always been an early riser but content to be in bed til about 630. But suddenly my son is waking at 4 and 5 am ready for the day, screaming and very awake. Do you think an added snack before bed would do the trick? Otherwise, I’m doing what you suggested and is suddenly not working. I’m running on fumes because he’s also suddenly resisted naps. He sleeps on hour, that’s it, once a day. He used to be a 2-3 hour napper. He’s almost 16 months.
    Thanks!

    • Rachel Norman says

      Yes, give a bedtime snack for sure, could be a growth spurt? Also, is he down to one nap now? Around that age 1 nap may be enough so 2 naps may mean he’s just getting enough sleep during the day.

      • Ashley Smeddle says

        Yes he’s down to one nap but doesn’t sleep longer than 60-75 min. with waking up at 530 it makes for a long day and he seems very overtired. I would also think growth spurt but it’s gone on for 7 weeks.

      • Rachel Norman says

        Ashley, what would happen if you woke him up at 4:30 a.m. and fed him while he was still groggy adn asleep and put him down. Do you think he’d sleep later? I often try this.

  4. Kate Harrison says

    This is brilliant. Our son used to sleep until 8 but now wakes at 5:40-6:15. Its brutal and been going on for about six months. He usually requests milk when he wakes and then we eat breakfast as a family about an hour and a half later. He seems to be satisfied with milk and playing early in the morning so maybe that is technically “feeding him”? I’d love any advice you might want to share. His schedule: 6AM wake; lunch 11; nap 11:30/12-2/3; dinner 5; bed 7. Thank you!!

    • Rachel Norman says

      Kate, if you gave him the “dream feed” will he sleep a bit longer?

  5. Alisha says

    Hi Rachel, I have 13 month old and she was doing so well waking up by 630 playing for ab 20 min and then I’d go up there and she’d have milk about 8 oz but now she is waking up at 530 on the dot every morning crying so I have to quickly get the milk ready and go up to her room I bring her down into my room and give her the milk but she’s up for the day after she’s done with milk she wants to play watch tv. She takes an hour nap sometimes hour and half from 930 and then another nap at 130 and then bed at 630…please help me get her to sleep longer!

    • Rachel Norman says

      Alisha, I would try not to feed her at 5:30 at all because that is going to set the habit. I wonder what would happen if you fed her milk instead at 10:30 pm or 11:00 pm. Then do you think she’d sleep later?

  6. Ellen says

    I have a very active 2 year old boy. We put him down at 7 but it takes until 7:45-8:00 for him to fall asleep. He keeps getting out of bed. Many times my husband lays with him to keep him in bed. So any tips for this would be great.

    Then he wakes between 5-5:45. There is something about the 5 o’clock hour that is so tiring. How do we get him to sleep later?
    Breakfast =7
    Lunch= 11:30
    Nap= 12 until 1:30 or 2
    Dinner= between 4 and 5

    • Rachel Norman says

      Ellen, to be honest we still had all our 2 year olds in cribs so when they went through a month or 6 week long phase of waking up early, they were captive. Ha! They all passed through it, however, so there’s hope there! Also, do you do a bedtime snack? Because he could be legitimately hungry if the last time he’s eaten is 5pm. At 5am that’s been 12 hours, he may be not quite full enough to get back to sleep.

      • Ellen says

        We try to do the night snack… I will have to make sure we are doing it nightly. Do you have a list of foods that you recommend? I wish he would have stayed in his crib but thought he was Houdini.

      • Rachel Norman says

        We do yogurt or applesauce mainly at the evening snack. Yogurt sticks longer :)

Hey y'all, I'm Rachel Norman, BA, MS, Language of Listening® parenting coach, mother to 5 babies in 5 years on 3 continents, no multiples. Join me in parenting without losing your mind. Read More >>

Search

Copyright © 2021 All Rights Reserved | A Mother Far From Home | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Accessibility














The top 3 reasons babies don't sleep (and the solutions!)

- The #1 thing you should do when baby isn't napping or sleeping well


- The way to get baby to go to sleep and wake up at the same times every day (it's so effective it's hard not to call this a "trick")


- The process for changing unhelpful habits to healthy ones, step-by-step

envelope
envelope
close
x













The top 3 reasons babies don't sleep well (and the solutions!)

- The #1 thing you should do when baby isn't napping well


- How to get baby to go to sleep and wake up at the same times every day (and this means way after 5 a.m.)


- The step-by-step process for changing unhelpful habits to healthy ones​

envelope
envelope
close
x
close

Download, print, and watch your little one start sleeping later!

envelope
x