Early Waking - How do you handle?

CA2006

DS goes to bed between 7-8pm.  Usually it's closer to 7:15 or 7:30.  He is always tired around then and really can't make it up any longer.  We always start his bedtime routine when he starts yawning or rubbing his eyes, as that is how we know it's time. He used to sleep until 6 or 6:30am.  For the past week or so, he has been waking between 5-6am (but always before 6am).  What gives?  He is NOT ready to get up at that time, but won't go back to sleep (we let him fuss for a while if he wakes before 6 to see if he will go back to sleep).  We have been getting up and giving him his bottle, but he is just so tired (rubbing his eyes and just not ready to be "up" yet).  So, we end up putting him back down and he sleeps until 7.  I don't want to create a waking habit (we use Ferber and know all about them), but I am not sure how to handle this.  Anyone deal with something like this successfully?

Smittenkitten05

The books all say to try putting them to bed ealier to handle this problem. Sounds counter-intuitive, I know. We tried it though and it worked. GL!

jess1984

Carter did this for a week. The first day I went in to see what was up... but then he learned how to find his own paci in the crib and he knows how to put it in, so he'll talk/babble find his paci and fall back asleep. It was just letting him learn how to do this himself. I just hope it sticks. Good luck.

CA2006

The thing is, he isn't really hungry at that time.  He only ate 4 oz. at that "feeding" this morning.  He was doing just fine with 7pm (ish) to 6am(ish) before.  He wasn't ravenous when he woke up and was always in a good mood. 

DG1

sounds like a standard variance in sleep pattern. 

 

we have six (yes, six) pacifiers in the crib to make it easier for him to find one when he needs it.  That helps a lot, but sometimes he's too tired to really look for it/find it.  

And, since he does it rarely, I'll sometimes give him his morning bottle in his crib and just leave him in there with it.  Not a habit I like to get into, but he'll drink the bottle (usually the whole thing) and then go back to sleep for an hour or two.  

Sunny1inTucson

I don't know that I have any advice...but I can at least commiserate.

DD tends to wake up around 5:30. We cosleep so it's easy to let her babble in bed between us until she falls back asleep or feed her a little and she'll often go back out. This is on the weekends. During the week, we often have to get up around 6-6:30 anyway so it's kind of a moot point. 

It's a combination of things - it gets light REALLY early here and we don't have blackout curtains, DH gets up to take his shower around that time, the dogs are kinda noisy, etc.

With the summer approaching, have you noticed it getting lighter much earlier in his room? Maybe the light is a factor?

KathrynMD

DD does this too - I just get up and give her a bottle and she goes right back to sleep.  I'm going to start giving her less and less in the bottle though and see if that helps.  I can't put her to bed any earlier though unless I quit my job.

CA2006

We have a dark sheet up in his room, so it doesn't get light in there.  I am really stumped, to be honest.