11 month old waking for the day before 5am

[Shantotto]

DS will be 11 months on Friday. For last couple of months he has mostly slept through.

The last month or so he has been waking most days around 4.45. He is still very tired, but I just can't get him back to sleep. Have tried nappy change, a bottle, boob (we mix feed, mostly formula now but a feed in morning, before bed and to sleep for some naps), patting, shushing... He just will not go back to sleep. I'm beginning to get very tired! And he's just not well rested.

He will go to sleep any time between 7.30-8.00pm with my DP next to him until he drops off. So this means he's only getting around 9 hours sleep. I wouldn't be too bothered but he is obviously knackered still - he's got dark circles and bags!

His day napping is random. Example, Sunday he napped for 90 mins on the bed at home which he never ever does, then two hours during an afternoon walk. Yesterday, he napped in his buggy for 30 minutes, then later when we were out only another 40 mins and spent most of the afternoon very upset!

Looking for tips on trying to extend his sleep if anyone has any. I've tried a few times getting him ready to sleep by 7, but it just took him longer to go to sleep and it was the usual 7.45 time. At the moment DP gives him a bottle around 7 or 7.15.

He grew out of his co-sleeper cot so we now use an ikea cot with the side off attached to the bed, some people I know have just ignored them in a different room until they eventually give up and go to sleep! Bringing him in with me doesn't help him sleep.

Anyway this is getting very long. Any tips appreciated!

[Diddlydokey]

some people I know have just ignored them in a different room until they eventually give up and go to sleep

I did that but when he was a bit older and had just got into a random habit.

I found that a fairly regular daytime routine helped and whenever he was waking up early I'd push back the first nap of the day. An early nap seemed to result in an early waking.

Blackout blinds are a must in the summer - the gro blind is the best one.

Treating it like a night waking. No milk until 7am when it is an acceptable morning time

[TeaBelle]

I'd try only 1 day time nap by that age.

[Whatthefreakinwhatnow]

My DD wakes really early to, and doesn't wake later if she goes to bed later, so I put her down around 6.30 to ensure she's getting enough sleep.

Could you try bringing bedtime forward?

[Shantotto]

Thanks guys. We have blackout curtains in our room.

Daytime routine is very sketchy. He's really random as to how long and where he will actually sleep so it is different every day.

Today he had a 90 minute nap starting around 8 am. After lunch he was yawning and eye rubbing, I tried to bf him to sleep for a nap and he burst awake after 10 mins and that was it. He has been awake around 5 hours by then.

I was thinking of one nap, but he is always so tired looking!

I'll have to try earlier bedtime and keep at it perhaps, as when he's been put to bed earlier he's just used the extra time to roll around and grumble and fight sleep even longer until he dropped off at normal time.

We have a long routine too, I can't imagine him being all done and ready for 6.30! We have dinner, bath, book, then a BF for 20-30 mins (have real supply problems - we don't really do it in the day anymore so do a long time at morning and night) which won't put him to sleep at night anymore, then he needs a bottle and then he takes a while to actually go to sleep.

He turns one at end of July and part of me thinks just carry on til then and then make a big effort to bring sleep forward, try and improve napping. My life would be transformed if he had just one long nap!

I seem to feed him, cook for him, make him nap all day long and I never get anything done. Depending when I manage to drag myself out of bed it can be about an hour after his first waking, but most mornings he probably does have breakfast before 7. And as he's right next to me in the co sleeper cot it's so hard to just ignore him so he gets bored.

[Diddlydokey]

Maybe he'd do better in his own room

[Whatthefreakinwhatnow]

I second own room! DD2 was with us for ages as we had a 2 bed, as soon as we bought the 3 bed and she was in her own room she was much happier! We defo disturbed each other!

[Shantotto]

I've been thinking that. We were properly consleeping before I got the bigger cot, and he would wake up for up to hours at a time! cosleeping was never the miracle sleep cure a lot of people say it is for us.

Now just having moved him into a cot next to us with the side off his sleep - when he finally goes off - was much improved.

We're in a tiny London flat with a laughably sized second bedroom that we can't squeeze a cot into as its full of stuff we just have absolutely nowhere else to put, his clothes and stuff are in there too.

We'll be moving in a few months time and we could do it then. It's so nice to wake up next to him having a wee chat, not at 4.45 everyday though!

[Shantotto]

Gah. We were ready to sleep about a good 20 mins earlier than usual (slowly working towards an earlier bedtime!) but he just took longer to go to sleep, not helped by two dirty nappies about 20 mins apart and woke crying a few times and once in the night so I brought him in next to me.

He woke up at 4.30. I popped him on boob and I think he did go back to sleep for about an hour after ages on boob (I fell asleep!) doing his usual staring at me with his eyes wide open thing. So a bit better but also a bit worse!

[WordGetsAround]

Own room, blackout blinds and regulate his daytime naps. Aim for something like 45 mins in morning 1.5 hours early afternoon.

[iknowimcoming]

I'd look at the bedtime routine. When does he have his solid food - I'd make sure that was nice and early say 4-4.30 so he has time to digest that then bath at 6 story and milk and into bed for 6.45-7. If he needs bf and formula before bed I'd consider doing the bf after the afternoon nap then just formula before bedtime. Good luck!

[Flumpnugget]

I have used this with all of mine at different ages & stages....it might be worth a try?

About an hour and a half before they're due to wake up (at the time that isn't desirable!) go in to them and potter about; make enough noise to disturb them, but not wake entirely. I used to reposition them in the cot or turn a light on and then off again quickly. The hope is that they shuffle about, but stay sleepy & then when they go back to sleep, it sends them into a different part of sleep that then extends past their usual waking time.

I last did it with my youngest when she was just under a year and was wide awake and practising walking around her cot at 4.30am!! I did it for maybe 2 nights and she settled into sleeping until closer to 7am. I would leave her playing with a couple of books until 7.15/20 (when I'd had a coffee!) Also in a small flat, so sympathies OP!

[DollyBarton]

My 6mth old is waking around 4.30 this last week and at 5am for the 3 weeks before that. I've coslept since birth but now she seems to do better in the cot. Ive her own room nearly ready, waiting on the blackout blinds, and will move her in asap. I know being in the room with me is disturbing her. My dd1 coslept till 6 months, 3-4 wakenings a night. Then slept through after 2 nights in her own room and 1 yr later has only woken us a handful of times when sick. Cosleeping is overrated after about 4 months in my experience of 3 very different babies. It's great when they are tiny but then encourages regular waking for feeds and light sleeping once they are more alert and start to roll etc. (In my experience)