Crying When Waking Up.....Is It Just Me???

[SunshineMama]

My sister took some kind of class at her church once that talked about the "45 minute thief" (or something like that). They were told that many kids wake up about 45 minutes into their nap or night-time sleep. There was some kind of physical reason for this about rems or something but I cannot remember the details, wish I could cuz this would make more sense. The important part was that they told them they should not go get the child up or anything. If the child is left for a few minutes, he/she will usually settle back down and fall back to sleep for the rest of the nap. I have found that many of the kids I have watched who would wake up like that would settle back down and fall back asleep without me doing anything.

Young children's sleep cycles are similar to adults, only shorter. After about 45 minutes, they go from a deep sleep to a light sleep and period of brief wakefulness. If they can make it through this phase and get back to sleep soundly, then you will get another hour out of them through the next cycle. Babies wake up and cry because they have not learned how to get themselves through the period of brief wakefulness like most of us adults do. Which is why it is important to help them get through the sleep cycle until they learn themselves. Some babies can teach themselves, some need CIO, and others, (like my dd), need to be shhusshed until they feel calm enough to go to sleep (those are the babies who drive everyone nuts and make you want to pull your hair out and term).