You always hear that Babywise babies are so happy, flexible and well-adjusted. I saw this firsthand in Little Bug this weekend as we were out of town for my cousin’s wedding.

I knew Friday and Saturday night would be late nights for Little Bug. And they were.

Little Bug is usually in bed between 8 and 8:30pm and she gets 11 to 11.5 hours of sleep each night. Friday night she was in bed by 9:30 and the night of the wedding she went to bed at 10:30pm! (Little Bug hasn’t been to bed past 10pm since she was probably 3 or 4 months old!) She still woke up around the time she normally wakes up (around 8am) so she definitely lost several hours of sleep those nights.

During the trip naps stayed the same. I knew it was critical for her to get her afternoon nap in because she would be having two late nights in a row.

Overall, Little Bug did AWESOME Friday and Saturday night. My parents kept commenting that she sure is a well-adjusted little girl to be up past her bedtime and to be doing so good. I did notice that she was whinny towards the end of the evenings but that was fully expected. We would get in the car and she would fall asleep on the way back to the hotel. Then I’d put her to bed as soon as we got to the hotel.

It wasn’t until Sunday morning, the morning we were leaving to come back home, that Little Bug had a melt down. She had only gotten about 9 hours of sleep two nights in a row. Saturday night she had woken around midnight and cried for about 5-10 minutes before going back to sleep (I am positive that was because she was so overtired).

That morning we met up with my Uncle David, Aunt Mary, Lauren (cousin) and my Grandpa for breakfast at the hotel. Little Bug was fine while she was eating but once she was done she became this child I did not know!

She was whining and crying. She was restless and was not happy to sit in her highchair. I gave her a fork to hold and she threw it down in anger! Once I gained my composure from that incident, I knew I had seen first-hand the result of a toddler who had not gotten adequate sleep.

Uninterrupted, adequate amounts of sleep really is critical for babies/toddlers/children.

Little Bug is 16 months old. She’s never had late nights like that before (because we make bedtime a priority) and she, up until that time had never thrown something in anger. It truly was not my Little Bug that was at that breakfast table! The lost sleep had caught up to her and had made her a monster!

Unfortunately, I feared that things were only going to get worse because we had a long car ride ahead and Little Bug’s naps in the car seat tend to last 40-45 minutes max! She needed a good LONG nap that day.

Much to my surprise, Little Bug fell asleep soon after we got in the car and slept an entire hour. Then, after lunch, she did the unthinkable! Little Bug fell asleep at 3:25 and slept until 5:30… in her car seat! I knew I had gained some ground with 3 hours worth of naps in the car and we would be well on our way to having a well-rested Little Bug back if she got in bed on time (or even early if she was showing signs of being tired earlier) that night.

This is just my opinion, but I think parents tend to underestimate the importance of their child getting adequate sleep. On Becoming Babywise talks about studies that have been done that show children who got adequate sleep as babies have higher IQs. They also go on to say that generally speaking, Babywise babies/children are happier and more obedient. They are more alert and are at their optimal learning capacity during their waking hours. This makes sense. Think about the last time you were lacking in adequate hours of sleep. You probably felt sluggish and you weren’t at your best. It’s the same for babies and young children. A baby who isn’t getting enough sleep can be classified by the three C’s: crying, clingy & cranky, according to The Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg.

One of the most important things I’ve learned from Babywise is this: Baby’s sleep must be respected. This does not mean that life halts at naptime and there are no exceptions. But this does mean (for me, at least) that when it is Little Bug’s naptime I am going to make an effort to be at home so that she can nap where she naps best (in her crib) so that she can get the sleep she needs. Yes, life happens and there are times when Little Bug hasn’t been able to nap in her crib. That is the beauty of a flexible Babywise routine! It allows life to happen, but at the same time it provides structure and predictability so that I can plan my day so that when it is naptime, we are home so Little Bug can get her nap(s) in.

Is it inconvenient sometimes? Most certainly, yes! Especially when Little Bug was napping 3 times a day! As she has moved from three naps to just one, it has gotten easier and easier to plan activities and outings around naptime.

Something that really helped me be able to respect Little Bug’s naptimes (especially when she was napping 2-3 times a day) was to remember that it was only for a season! There was a time when Little Bug was napping around 9am, 1pm and 5pm daily, but it didn’t last long! Typically by 15-18 months or so, toddlers are down to only one nap. One nap is so much easier to work with and plan the day around than three naps was!

The sacrifice that was necessary for Little Bug to get her naps in was well worth having a baby who was getting adequate sleep. I can’t tell you how many people have told me that I have the happiest baby they have ever seen. I’ve even had people ask me if she ever cries. My dad was astounded that Little Bug was crying so much at the hotel that morning because Little Bug is generally so happy and rarely cries. From the time I started Babywise there has rarely ever been a time when Little Bug was crying and I had no idea why. I am serious when I say that. There is always a reason and typically, because she is on a routine, she has no need to cry because she knows what is coming next. All her needs are met before she ever has to cry and ask for something.

Babywise gives sleep guidelines, which was great information for me to have during Little Bug’s first year. Remember, Babywise gives averages*.

Newborns nap 6-8 times a day, depending on how many feedings they have (because Babywise follows an eat, play, sleep routine that repeats itself over and over every day). At two months, baby sleeps 7-8 hours straight during the night and naps are at least 1.5 hours long.

By 3 to 5 months of age baby sleeps 10-12 hours per night and has three naps that range from 1.5 hours to 2 hours in length.

Typically around 6-8 months the 3rd nap is dropped. Baby continues with two naps until dropping the morning nap around 16-20 months. Baby continues to need 10-12 hours of nighttime sleep and has one 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon.  *All of these averages come from On Becoming Babywise Chapter 7, page 131-133.

I found having this knowledge in my mind very useful as I was plugging along with Little Bug the first year. Babies are hard enough to figure out, but having these guidelines/averages to follow was very helpful to me to ensure my baby was getting adequate rest. (And just so you see those ages above are averages… Little Bug was 5 or maybe even 6 months before she started sleeping 11-12 hours straight through the night. She was 10 months old when she dropped her 3rd nap and 15.5 months old when she dropped the morning nap.)

So in summary, I’ve learned to not underestimate the importance of Little Bug getting adequate sleep through uninterrupted nighttime sleep and naps. It does take some sacrifice on my part but the end result of a well-rested, happy, secure baby is well worth all the sacrifice!

- Elaine