Waking baby for the Baby Whisperer sleep method?

by Brigid - Answer by Heidi Holvoet, PhD
(Reading)

Question: Hi I would like to know when I am supposed to wake my 2 month old baby – In the Baby Whisperer Breastfeeding book (page 26) it talks about the routine and it starts from 7am.

Should I be waking her at 7am every morning or can I let her wake on her own? Some times she wakes at 7am and then other times she sleeps till 8am. I do follow the E.A.S.Y routine, by just adjusting the times.

Many Thanks
Brigid Lee

Heidi's Answer:

Hi Brigid,

Disclaimer first: I do not work with the Baby Whisperer methods nor do I fully endorse her approach (more on all that here. I'll give you my personal opinion on light of your experience though.

Yes it is OK to let her wake on her own, you do not have to wake her up to start the routine at 7am.

What counts is that the regular routine you follow is recognisable and that you do the E.A.S.Y. things in the correct order.

There's a quote by Tracy Hogg that says "you cannot fit baby into a clock" showing how she would focus on regularity rather than clock-timing.

I would like to add that in my own experience this is certainly so for waking up times. For putting to bed times, it may be an extra help, in particular in a little while when she's 4 months and older, to have a specific (clock) time, simply because our bodies tend to become drowsy at the time when we usually go to sleep.

But summarizing, following the Baby Whisperer method, no you do not need to wake her up at 7am but can let her wake up by herself, and then adjust the times for the E.A.S.Y. routine as you mention.

Kindly,
Heidi