Early wake up

MC03 · February 2013

I think this has been discussed before.... But I can't remember any of the suggestions and I need help! DD is waking up most mornings at 4:30 and I am sooo tired, she's killing me! Any suggestions as to how to fix this?

Currently she naps once a day usually two hours, but sometimes twice, with one hour in the morning and one in the afternoon. Bedtime usually between 7:30 and 8. We have tried as early as 7 but it didn't help the early wake up. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you!!

smwiggle · February 2013

No tips, but just want to say I sympathize. DS1 wakes up anywhere between 4:30 and 5:30. About a month ago we were struggling with 3:30 wake ups and I was thanking God when he went back to 4:30.

RedCamaro · February 2013

I don't really have any suggestions either, but also wanted to sympathize. DS is not sleeping according to his schedule lately and this morning he was up at 5:30. He's also been very bad with his diet. Maybe there's a correlation. GL, to both of you!

smilelari · February 2013

We dealt with this with DS and it's rough. First, early rising is usually a sign of overtiredness, so move bedtime a bit earlier and make sure you're getting good naps. That by itself probably won't fix it though, especially if it's been going on for a while. It's going to involve tears and it's going to take a while to fix. This is what I'd do:

-Bedtime NLT 7:30

-If she wakes for the day any time before 6, go into the room and tell her it's still night-night time. You can either sit by the bed or leave. I prefer to leave. Keep interaction minimal.

-Don't get her out of bed until 6. Be firm with this time. She'll probably scream the whole time. If you left the room, you can go back periodically if you wish. Tell her it's still night-night time and keep interaction minimal. We found going back just made things worse, so we didn't

-At 6, do a dramatic wakeup. Turn the lights on, open the shades, sing a song, get her out of the crib

This process might take a couple weeks. Be consistent with bedtime NLT 7:30 and not getting her out of bed before 6. 6 is now the enforced earliest wakeup time always, even after everything is fixed. Remember that DD is probably sensitive to being overtired, so be careful about avoiding things like skipping naps. If she skips a nap or naps like crap, move bedtime earlier for the night

You can fix this! DS woke at 4:30 every day for a long time and at age 3 he's about the best sleeper ever

MC03 · February 2013

Thanks Ladies, it's at least nice to know I'm not alone in dealing with the early wake ups.

And thanks Smilelari, I will be definitely be trying out your tips. What age was your DS when you started that and how long did it take until he "got it"? Thank you again!

smilelari · February 2013

MC03:
Thanks Ladies, it's at least nice to know I'm not alone in dealing with the early wake ups.
And thanks Smilelari, I will be definitely be trying out your tips. What age was your DS when you started that and how long did it take until he "got it"? Thank you again!

He was right around a year old. We started with that at about 14 months and it definitely took a couple weeks and even after that we had to re-visit from time to time, but it was more like he would start waking at 5:30 and we would stay consistent with not getting him out of bed until 6 and we never again had issues with 4:30 a.m. wakeups. At around age 2 we got him a toddler alarm clock, so now if he wakes up early it's as simple as reminding him that he can't get up until the clock turns green. You have to be consistent because with these kids that are early risers it just gets earlier and earlier unless you draw a line in the sand.

HPickle23 · February 2013

I've had the same problems sometimes. It comes and goes. I have moved DD's bedtime from 6:15 to almost 7 and she was sleeping untul 6:30...just recently starting getting up a little earlier though. I wouldn't even go in until 6:30 unless the crying was extreme. This morning I went in, gave her some books and went back to bed haha I was too tired.

My only advice is if your LO is only down to one nap, stick with it. My DD has been a one nap a day since 6 mos. for two hours. If she sleeps beyond that I wake her up...and no later than 2pm if she doesn't go down until 11:30 -noon. Two naps a day one day and one nap the next might be screwing up little one's internal clock. Try and keep the naps consistent whether it be one or two naps for the same amount of time each day and I bet you'll see a difference in nighttime sleeping. Take into consideration that sleep patterns change a lot in the first few years...just hang on until the day comes when LO is begging to sleep in and you get the secret pleasure of getting them up for school.

MC03 · February 2013

HPickle23:
...just hang on until the day comes when LO is begging to sleep in and you get the secret pleasure of getting them up for school.

This is what I am looking forward to!

Thanks for all the advice. I'll try to remember to post again after a few weeks and let you all know how it's going.

lana22 · February 2013

my LO went through a phase of waking up around 5/5:30 at 10 months when he went to bed around 7. i started moving his bedtime earlier and earlier, until he was going to bed at 5:30 and sleeping 12 hours. a week or two later he naturally started sleeping later, but for awhile he kept the 5:30 bedtime. even now he goes down around 6/6:30 every night and sleeps till anywhere between 6:30 and 7:30. my rec would be to move his bedtime even earlier.

gajumper · February 2013

Having the same issues here...he is waking at 5:30am. During the week he needs to be up by 6:45am and this getting up at 5:30 is throwing a huge kink in MY morning routine!!!

Let me ask what may be a stupid question...how does moving the bedtime UP (say from 8 to 7:30) help with getting them to sleep longer?

I will say that last night he was so tired we moved bedtime to 7:30 and he slept until 6:30 this morning...so it does work I guess.

He is not a good napper at school...they nap from 12-2 and I think he generally only naps for an hour, whereas at home he will willingly take two naps, one from 10-11 and one from 3-5.

lana22 · February 2013

gajumper:
Let me ask what may be a stupid question...how does moving the bedtime UP (say from 8 to 7:30) help with getting them to sleep longer?

not really sure, but the earlier my son goes to bed the later he sleeps. he also seems to nap better. i've heard a saying that "sleep begets sleep" and it def holds true for my son.

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