How Baby Wakes Up Happy from a Nap with Babywise

Follow these 3 basic rules for baby to start waking up happy from naps consistently.

by Sami Cone
Apr 24, 2019

Waking up happy from a nap is possible for your baby with a little help from Babywise. In fact, we have three simple rules for how baby wakes up happy from a nap with the Babywise method and some help from mom and dad.

Waking Up Happy from Naps: 3 Basic Rules

If you remember these 3 basic rules, your Babywise baby will start waking up happy from naps consistently:

Rule One: Mom, not baby, decides when the nap starts.

Rule Two: Mom, not baby, decides when the nap ends.

Rule Three: If your baby wakes up crying or cranky, it's most often because he or she has not had sufficient sleep.

If you're already a Babywise mom or dad, rules one and two for having baby wake up happy from naptime should not surprise you. But let's take some time to explore rule number three a little more.

The Final Rule of Waking Up Happy

The final rule of waking up happy from a nap directly correlates to when baby wakes up crying during naps. If baby wakes up crying from a nap, any of the following issues could be present:

dirty diaper
noisy neighbor
beginning of sickness
an arm or leg stuck between the crib slats

This is just a brief list of nap disruptors. You may also want to review some of the other articles we've written on nap disruptors:

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If you leave baby in the crib, even though baby may fuss or cry, he/she will probably go right back to sleep (within then minutes or so) for another rest period that extends thirty to forty minutes.

How to Know When Baby's Nap is Long Enough

When your baby gets enough sleep, you will notice a happy disposition. Baby will make cooing sounds, letting you know it's time to get them up.

As always, balance is important.

There will be times when your child may need five minutes of comfort in mom or dad's arms as he adjusts from naptime to waketime, but this happens more during the pre-toddler/toddler stage. And honestly, these moments can be some of the most precious of all your parenting.

A Final Word on Waking Up Happy from Naps

A parent's beliefs about sleep highly influences a baby's wake-up disposition. Your baby's disposition upon waking can be happy and content when you follow these basic Babywise rules.

Sami Cone

Best-Selling Author & Speaker

Sami Cone is the best-selling author of "Raising Uncommon Kids", is known as the "Frugal Mom" on Nashville's top-rated talk show "Talk of the Town" and educates over a million listeners every day on her nationally syndicated "Family Money Minute". She is proud to call Nashville home with her husband, Rick, and their two ‘tweenage' children.