i also feel your pain! our DD (16 months)regularly wakes up between 4.45 and 5.15 and nothing will get her back to sleep (believe me, i have tried!!). I can count on one hand the number of times she has slept past 6am in the last six months or so. I am so tired I can't actually work out how tired I am today (if that makes sense). just feel all fuzzy!!

I feel your pain. DS has always been an early riser and used to coo quite happily in his cot until I went into him. He's a climber so now in his own bed at 18 months and now at 5am I get an early morning visitor.

This morning he woke me up by stuffing a sock into my mouth and yesterday it was a drumstick beating my foot.

I just start the day earlier now.

Hi - i know you posted this some time ago but I wondered if you had any success with your ds. Mine is waking just like yours at 5am and is also driving me mad - I have structured day time naps and bed time is 7pm and he has 3 meals a day and all his milk! He is nearly five months old now. But the thought of 5am waking for the next few months does not appeal and I just wondered if anything had worked - many thanks.

I know that it might sound a bit cruel, but have you tried just ignoring him? All babies come into light sleep at this time of the morning and some are able to turn over and go back to sleep whilst some others aren't. My DD is rather erratic in when she gets up as she often rises early, but the difference between her getting up at 4:30 and 6:00 is often when I don't respond too quickly to her little shouts. I often discover that she is turning over and trying to go back to sleep when I go to get her out of her cot.

The only other thing that I would say is that adding lunch may not help at all but he is of an age now where it wouldn't be unrealistic to introduce a third meal even if you did start weaning a short while ago. My DD went from 0 to 3 meals over about two or three weeks.

You could try offering water first as you will soon know if he is going to settle from having water alone.

The other thing that seems to make a huge difference to a lot of babies is how their naps are structured in the day. I know that many people slate Gind Ford and I do not agree with much of what she says but, having followed her nap routines DD's nighttime sleep dramatically improved. GF says that having an afternoon nap too late or going to bed too late often means that the child wakes early. When I jiggled DD's naps around she started sleeping until 6/6:30. The childminder let her sleep until 16:50 the other day as 'we were running a bit late today' and that meant that DD took an extra hour to go to sleep then got up at 04:30 the next day

I too, can only offer sympathy - my DS (nearly 2)still wakes at 5.30, despite every trick in the book! Dream feed, cool bedroom, bunny clock (yes I know he's too young - we were desperate!)I think the thing that makes it really hard for me, apart from the exhaustion, is the fact that all the other Mums I know seem to have children who sleep until at least 6.30, making me feel like a complete failure.. So, although I can't offer any pearls of wisdom, perhaps just knowing that this IS happening to others might offer a bit of solidarity.. Or maybe not! We just have to believe it will get better xx

Have you tried treating it like a night feed? Not much eye contact, no chat, then back in his cot? Mine (6.5) doing this too, but find I can get him back to sleep this way. Gives me an extra couple of hours before my toddler gets up at seven. Exhausted otherwise. If all else fails I bring him into bed with me and he tends to fall back to sleep breast feeding. Trying to break the habit, but.....

no tips, no advice, sorry, just sympathy. My ds is 2 on Sunday and still wakes up at 5am almost every day and has done so since he was a few months old. Sadly I think some children are just early risers, we've tried everything

My ds is 6.5 months old and is waking usually between 4-5.30 and it's driving me nuts!!!!
if only he'd last a couple of hours longer!! I'd get up at 6.30 and start the day, but not at 5am! he's my second child so i can't go back to sleep in the day as his sister is a busy toddler, who, by miracles, sleeps fine at night.
ds is breastfed on demand (usuallly 4 or 5 feeds) and given breakfast and dinner. he goes to bed at 7.15 and asleep by 8ish

should i give him more milk feeds, more food or just offer water at the 5am feed? he lost 6oz this week, which i don't care too much about as i look at him and know he's fine and healthy - this post is a selfish one, i need just a little more sleep and i feel my life will be sorted! [hmn]

ideaa/tips anyone?

thanks