2 yr old waking up early

jlpev

DS has been sleeping in his toddler bed for a couple of months now but I'm starting to get tired of him waking up at 5 am!!! I'm pregnant and regardless of what time he goes to bed he wakes up at 5 or 5:30.
He naps usually 2 or 2.5 hrs and wants to go to bed around 7:30.
Everyone told me he's just adjusting but I think he's started a routine now at waking up at 5.
Any suggestions?

mrsjami

Shorten the nap and push his bedtime backeach by 1/2 hour.

JulySpark05

I suggest going in his room when he wants to wake up, make sure you do not turn any lights on in the house when you do this and tell him it's still nighttime and he has to go back to bed.

DD1 sometimes wants to wake up around 6:30am or even 7am and I do this and she will go back to sleep t'ill close to 7:45 or 8am. I didn't think it would have worked but it's working for us.

Good luck! That can't be easy with him wanting to wake up so early! 

jannv11

Try the Owl Ok to wake alarm.  Took a little time for DS to get used to but really works here!

Gingersnap_mama

My advice is a combo of the first two responses.  We literally just went thru this with our 2 yr. old.  She was going to bed around 7pm and waking up around 5/5:30am and it was brutal!  And while I'm not pregnant, we have an 8 month old whom she'd wake up, and I am NOT a morning person, so I can sympathize!

What worked for us was, like PP said, cut the nap shorter.  I'd say don't let him nap more than 90 minutes.  And then try moving his bedtime back by 15 minutes every night or so til you get to like 8pm.  After a month of her waking up early, one morning I decided to try the whole "go back to bed, it's night time" thing, not expecting it to work, and she slept in til 7:30!!!  I was amazed she listened to me! 

After doing both these things, she is now at a 7:30/7:45pm bedtime and a 7/7:30am wake time.  Every once in a while she's up at 6:30 (which is when her sister wakes up, they share a room). 

Try those things...and I have also heard good things about the alarm clock thing, but luckily, we didn't have to go that route.  HTH!

Mom2Mack1

I agree with PP's.  Shorten nap & adjust bedtime.  DD will sometimes have a week where she is up super early.  I'll only let her nap for 1 1/2 hrs, maybe 2 at the most.  She goes to bed at 8.

momofmanyinthemitten

jannv11:

Try the Owl Ok to wake alarm.  Took a little time for DS to get used to but really works here!

We have this toddler alarm clock and DD loves it. It really works well for us. If she wakes early, we remind her to go look at the bunny. She knows that if bunny is sleeping, she at least has to stay in her room, if not go back to sleep. The first two mornings, we went in her room and sat with her to watch for the bunny to wake up.