5am? Just why, ffs?

[MakesCakesWhenStressed]

15 month old. Good daytime sleeper, sleeps through at night as long as nothing specific is bothering him (like teeth for instance) but constantly wakes at 5am and won't go back to bloody sleep then needs a 90 minute nap 2 hours later.

doesn't matter what time he goes to bed or how we deal with the 5am wake up. We've tried keeping it dark rocking - every trick we have basically. He had a blackout blind and curtains so it's not light levels.

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions? I was in tears this morning because I just really really needed more sleep but it's dh's day for a lie in

[LittleMissLucy]

Maybe its an early morning wee waking him up? Mine used to do this and it was torture, but it didn't last forever.

[IAmJacksRagingBileDuct]

I really feel your pain OP, dd1 went through a stage of this and it was torture. Unfortunately I don't really have any tips as we also tried everything but nothing really worked until she just grew out of it. If you're not averse to kids tv we did sometimes snatch an extra 20 minutes by plonking her between us in bed and putting the telly on.

Dd2 is starting to wake earlier and earlier now, I fear we may be on our way to 5am Sundays again too.

Hope you get some kip soon. Extra strong for you.

[CreatureRetorts]

Have you tried feeding then cuddling back to sleep?
Could it be the birds? They are bloody noisy from 4.30am and I live in London.

Otherwise, I'm afraid there's little you can do. With ds I'd go to bed early and be thankful he slept through sometimes

[Fairylea]

I'm really sorry it's not what you want to hear but both of mine have been exactly like this whatever we do... ! I do think some dc just want to wake up then, I know how exhausting it is. I've just had ten months of it with ds and dd now aged 10 years only really started sleeping later when she started school .. but even now a lie in to her is 6.30/7 on a weekend. Even if she goes to bed at 9.30/10pm!

I don't have any great words of wisdom but you're not alone..!

I have to go to bed at 9.30 to make sure I get enough sleep.

[survivingthechildren]

Ooh love, that's tough. Maybe try pushing bedtime back a little? It may mean he wakes just that hour or so later, and you can catch a little more sleep.

[MakesCakesWhenStressed]

later bedtime just means he's more tired when he wakes at 5.

No bird noise, it's a new development and the trees aren't big enough for birds yet.

Feeding just seems to pep him up these days. sigh.

I wish it was a phase but he's always woken at 5. I just assumed it was part of the crap baby sleep thingbut it's starting to look like he's just one of nature's larks.

[SurreyWithAFringeOnTop]

At least as he gets older you will be able to encourage him to stay in his room and play until at least 6am. Our DS has done this since he was about three, just playing with his toys, now reading books etc. (he is four and a half now).

[fififrog]

Much sympathy here. We did eventually move DD from 5.15 to 6.15 by moving bedtime later but it was hell in a shell to accomplish and we couldn't do it til she'd dropped her morning nap. One thing you will hopefully find is that the 5am awfulness is marginally less awful in the summer than the winter... One thing we decided was that 6am was morning and not earlier - after many months of wriggling and kicking us in our bed after she'd been brought in at 5.15 we just decided to leave her to it in her cot unless she was really miserable. She used to whinge a LOT but over time this became less and less and for the last six months or so she's been perfectly happy babbling away in her cot for up to an hour (though the 5.15s are thankfully rare now). She just chats to her cuddly toys :)

[fififrog]

PS sorry forgot to say she's 2.1 now

[xyla]

have you tried the "wake to sleep" trick? No experience personally but I've read some success stories on here.

[Ledkr]

I've been researching this and I've read and experienced that a later bedtime can make it worse as can letting them nap too early. You need to make his early nap later each day by five or ten mins until he is eventually having it after 9 then another afternoon nap. It really works.
Try googling it there's loads of advice.

[fififrog]

Oh yes Led I was petrified of later bedtime but in the end it worked - once DD was older and a little more resilient. But I totally forgot about that no nap before 9am rule - that made a big difference when we had a previous phase of the dreaded 5am when she was 7 months.

[MakesCakesWhenStressed]

wake to sleep?

[GailTheGoldfish]

I feel your pain. All I can say is mamamama memememe mo milkshake. And coffee.

[MakesCakesWhenStressed]

[Ledkr]

I'm finding an earlier bedtime means the same 6am wake up but that she's then had enough sleep rather than being tired by 8.
I think as you say best to do the later bedtimes when they are a bit more settled sleep wise.
The next step for us is a bed
Op re early waking I'd say take it in turns and sky plus for the early morning entertainment.

[omama]

Op i wouldn't push bedtime later at this stage either. While he's up so early, all that'll do is make him overtired.

Ime the crux of the problem is that early nap. Most other lo's his age are either napping at 9.30/10ish, or are already on just one nap around lunchtime. Does he have 2 naps or is that his only nap of the day? I think if you can get him napping at a more appropriate time his wakeup will most certainly improve.

Its not easy, as due to the early wake he will be tired & grumpy. I would suggest pushing it no more than 15mins later every 3-5 days, until its at 9.30am at the earliest. If you try to do it quicker than this he may well get overtired & it may backfire. Keep in mind it will take consistency over several weeks to see an improvement, but eventually his waketime will get later.

If he still has 2 naps you may find as the first nap gets later he refuses the second one, in which case do early bedtime & carry on shifting that single nap towards lunchtime. If he already just has 1 nap, for now keep his bedtimes early, once you get the nap around 11am earliest you may be able to slowly push bedtime back out towards 7pm.

I had to do this with my ds & it really does work. He woke early for a year prior to trying this, soon as we did it our ew problems stopped & he's been a regular 7am waker since, & often much later!x