Why Drowsy But Awake Isn’t Working Anymore
It’s so common to expect a baby to just peacefully drift off to sleep after going into their crib sooooooo drowsy, but there comes a point when this doesn’t work anymore and it can be so frustrating for everyone involved. Personally, I need absolutely no enticing to go to bed and if you want to push me in a hammock until I’m drowsy, even better lol. But baby sleep is much more complicated than that!
When you have a fresh newborn at home, there is so much help that happens when you put your baby to bed - and that’s how it should be! Newborns don’t have any self-soothing skills, so I always recommend helping them all the way to sleep and that is why laying them down drowsy makes sense.
One difference between newborn sleep and “baby” sleep is that with newborns, they only have 2 stages of sleep - NonREM & REM. However around the 4 month mark, there is a permanent change that happens to their sleep and they go from having these 2 stages, to our regular 4 stages of sleep.
This drastic change in their sleep patterns can either completely throw off their schedule, or they continue being decent sleepers.
That change is why the 4 Month Sleep Regression has so much clout on Google.
Around this 4 month mark is also when “drowsy” isn’t working anymore. When we lay our babies down drowsy, usually 1 of 2 things happen…
They immediately wake right back up - PISSED. They’re like “what the heck, I am not asleep yet, keep rocking and don’t you dare try to lay me down.”
They briefly open their eyes, just to close them again, but then they wake up 45 minutes later…the dreaded false start.
Because of the permanent change in your baby’s sleep cycles, drowsy doesn’t work well anymore and in fact, I recommend trying to lay your baby down completely awake. Tired, but awake. That way when they wake up in the night (which they will, it’s biologically normal), they will remember exactly where they are and they’ll be able to put themselves back to sleep.
Laying a baby down awake can feel so scary, especially if you’re used to putting your baby to sleep every time, but only do it if you have a plan. I work 1-on-1 with parents daily teaching them the ins and outs of sleep training, and I’d love to help you too.
That said, there are a few different sleep training methods to choose from, but generally a baby in the 4+ month range, I recommend using a stay-in-the-room method or a leave-and-check method.
But I challenge you to ditch the “drowsy” and instead try out “awake” in the crib - it’s worth it.
