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I am so F***ing fed-up with getting up at 4.15am

33 replies

artichokes · 06/11/2007 09:54

DD is 15 months and has always been an early waker. She used to be a good sleeper other than the fact she rose at 5.30ish.

For the last week she has been getting up at 4.15 . Nothing will entice her back to sleep and if we leave her in the cot she screams blue murder. She has also started waking around midnight (unless given Medised before bed - Calpol does nothing) and refusing to go back to sleep unless bought into our bed.

The night waking would be bad enough but it adds insult to injury if I have co-slept since midnight (meaning I will have slept terribly since midnight) and STILL get woken at 4.15.

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Nip · 06/11/2007 10:34

artichokes, my DS is 18 months, he has been getting up between 4am-5am for 3 (nearly 4) weeks now. But if we bring him into bed, he doesnt go to sleep he just harrasses us!
We dont really know what else to try, but we have been keeping him up later which sometimes keeps him asleep until 6ish. But its really not fun keeping him up till 9pm - we are both totally exhausted and just hoping this 'phase' will pass bloody soon!

YOU HAVE MY SYMPATHY

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bethoo · 06/11/2007 10:38

and mine too. myson is 8 months and wakes every two hours and is up and crawling at 5.30 which does not help me as i have work in the morning! i am almost suffering from sleep deprivation!

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artichokes · 06/11/2007 10:45

Its nice to know that I am not alone. When I stumble downstairs to get my first coffee at 4.30am I get some comfort from picturing others doing the same .

We have tried to avoid putting her to bed later Nip. Out evenings feel really precious and DD is knackered and grouchy by 7ish. Sadly we may have to follow your lead. It seems DD might only need about 9 hours a night. She doesn't seem worn out by her early waking - its just DH and I who are failing to cope.

I need at least 8 hours sleep to function so if she settles into a 9 hour routine I will get exactly 1 hour to myself every 24 hours .

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Weegle · 06/11/2007 10:45

Artichokes - does she have her canines yet? If not, hold fire and ride it a bit longer. Some little ones seem to have hell getting them (and for a fair while before) and it really plays havoc with their sleep. Just when it's coinciding with separation anxiety, makes for blinking hellish nights because they need you there ASAP, or as you say they scream blue murder! I wonder if that's it because pain killers are obviously helping and for that to be the case there has to be a reason, is you see what I mean. It's absolute pants and you have my utmost sympathy having been there myself.

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Weegle · 06/11/2007 10:46

Oh yes we have also pushed bedtime to 7.30 - it's not much but it just about puts wake-up in to the realms of bearable.

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artichokes · 06/11/2007 10:53

Thanks Weegle. She does not have her canines or molars. I did wonder if it might be teeth as she is also grinding her teeth alot in the day. And she shoves food in her ears at every oppurtunity (MiL said ear pain might be realted to teeth pain). However if it is pain then why does Calpol not help? Why only Medised? Even Medised fails to keep her asleep in the mornings, it just addresses the midnight screaming.

I am so, so, so tired. We have stopped TTC number 2 for a while as I could not cope with pregnancy tiredness on top of this .

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GogoTheSmall · 07/11/2007 05:15

I remember back when DD was little and would sleep all night and wake at 7.30am... bliss... for the last few nights she's woken at 4am and wants to play!... then for the rest of the day she's too overtired to nap properly...

It's reassuring to hear this is just an 8-month stage but when some of you are doing this with toddlers it fills me with despair!

Also am a bit worried I might be pg again and at the moment the thought of a second is horrifying. I can't cope with the one I've already got, let alone another one.

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RoRoMommy · 07/11/2007 05:33

can i join this group pls, 430 wakings for two weeks...

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Wallace · 07/11/2007 05:36

4.30 here too since clocks went back have had a couple of 6am mornings which get my hopes up, but then always back too4.30 (or before like this morning)

Ds2 is 15 months too. He is also still up a lot in the night.

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artichokes · 07/11/2007 09:18

Oh dear, how depressing for us all.

DD woke at 2.30am and would not settle so went into the spare bed with her Dad (I have a cold and really wanted proper sleep). She then slept to 5.40am. The horror is that we were so excited by this. 5.40am! It felt like a luxurious lie in.

At 8am I called my childless best friend to check on plans for the weekend, and she told me off for calling so early...

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RoRoMommy · 07/11/2007 09:33

I don't even bother keeping up with my childless friends anymore. Too depressing to see the glow of youth and plenty of sleep in their faces.

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Piggy · 07/11/2007 09:34

Every sympathy. We are generally all awake at 5. Have been for as long as I can remember. We only survive by going to bed ridiculously early (9 pm).

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tonysoprano · 07/11/2007 09:39

my ds 18 months wakes between 4 and 5 and i give him a bottle of milk in his bed and he goes back to sleep until 7.30am. it is a terrible habit I know and i would never have done it with my dd who is now 4 but i just want some sleep.....

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artichokes · 07/11/2007 09:41

I wish milk would do it for DD. I have tried. I would do anything if it got her back to sleep. Sadly milk only excites her more.

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oremstango · 07/11/2007 09:42

I'm not alone- yay! (or really boo for us all) Was going to post on this and saw everyone else on this. Was so very happy when sleep training finally got ds sleeping through at 10.5 months, but now he's waking between 5:00-5:45 on a good day. Seems fairly rested but a bit grumpy/tired for sure. I try to stretch him to normal nap at 9:00 which makes for a very long morning for us all. Also sometimes waking 4:00-5:00 and leaving him; after an hour falling back to sleep. Who knows. Has keeping them up later helped?

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tonysoprano · 07/11/2007 09:44

later never helps for me unless it's 9pm (if we have been out for example) and I can't bear tonot have my evenings. also, he never ever eakes at that time if he stays at his grandmas, which is at least once every three weeks!! he saves it just for us

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Wallace · 08/11/2007 05:26

Ds2 didn't wake at 4.30 this morning...

He woke at 4am instead! (that is a sick with tiredness emoticon btw)

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mmelody · 08/11/2007 05:49

Oh I completely sympathise.. been up since 4.21am here. Am gonna wreak revenge in his teenage years!!!

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upallnightagain · 08/11/2007 06:29

please can I join this group.... My dd - 13 months is waking anytime between 3am and 5am . Then refusing to go back to sleep. Tried bongela , capol, warm milk , bringing her into our bed. I have given up this morning and brought her downstairs . Tried hard not to put the tv on before 6am but gave up after she started screaming the house/street down(waking dh ?????) and put in the night garden (sky plus) on !!!!I think its her teeth or she has just decided sleep is for wimps !!
ps will try a later bedtime tonight

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upallnightagain · 08/11/2007 06:33

ps it is nice to know their are others in same situation .

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artichokes · 08/11/2007 09:32

We were up at 4.40 this morning [i am suggest mumsnte introduce a yawn emoticon]. Looking on the bright side it was a 25 mins improvment on 4.15 and she slept through to that point so no co-sleeping last night.

DH wants to engage a sleep consultant. Our neighbour used one with great success for night wakings. However that lady said early waking is the hardest habit to tackle . I am therefore worried it will be a waste of a lot of money.

UpAllNight - it is our Sky Plus recordings of In The Night Garden that get us through the early hours too.

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RoRoMommy · 08/11/2007 11:09

Hello lovelys,

DS made it to 5:45am this morning. That feels like an accomplishment after nearly a week and a half of 4:30ams. I tried a nappy change for a few nights, and that seemed to settle him a bit (I guess I wouldn't want to sleep in dirty pants, either).

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upallnightagain · 08/11/2007 11:23

Hi roromummy , what time did you do the nappy change ? I feel so spaced out today . DD of course is bouncing around full of beans after having a half hour nap at 9 !!!artichokes - sky plus rules !! It has kept me sane ....

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dosydot · 08/11/2007 11:25

can I join ds 20 months 5.10 am precisely for last 10 months??? no diference dependant on bed time

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RoRoMommy · 08/11/2007 12:11

Nappy change at 4:30am waking, sometimes able to settle him until 6pm (at which time it is no longer "night", but has passed into "day" and DH must take over care of DS "HOORAY"!)

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