Sleep problem in 2 yr old driving us mad

[MandyCap]

Help! We have a very active 2yr old boy who insists on waking at 5am. We have tried putting him back to bed but he wakes early and is ready for the day. If we dont get him up he will open his gate on his own and get out of his room and wake his sister up as well, she has just started full time school so we try to let her sleep as late as possible. I have tried cutting out lunchtime sleep but he obviously still needs it because if he doesnt have a nap, even just half hour, he is really teary and clingy all afternoon and just ends up falling asleep in pushchair when I pick 5 yr old up from school. Any ideas???

[elsmommy]

Is it because its getting light early?
I've been putting a blanket over dds window to block the light.
It hasn't worked for her though

[natts]

try letting him have a really good sleep at lunch time if he is tired. sleep induces sleep theory. What time is he going to bed?
try a ridged bed time routine bath story bed,music cd.You probably already are.
Black out blinds?
maybe sending him to bed a little later depending on what the routine is now.

[MandyCap]

hi thanks will give that a try. We were in Tenerife past 2 weeks and it was dark at 5am over there and he was still waking early though!!!

[elsmommy]

Mine wakes early too. I think she just doesn't need much sleep unfortunatly!!
Sometimes if I'm lucky she'll have another hour in my bed, so some days are better than others!!

[MandyCap]

To Natts Hi thanks, yes he goes to bed around 7 - 730 as I have to get DD into bed for 730-8ish because of school next day. I find if he has a sleep at lunchtime as well, he is not tired enough at bedtime, and then he needs me to sit with him at bedtime to go to sleep, otherwise he gets out of bed and crys at the doorgate and just disrupts my DD bedtime. This can sometimes be half hour sitting on the end of his bed, meantime DD is waiting to go to bed - I do the bedtime thing on my own as hubby at work until 10pm! Its very frustrating at the moment!!

[natts]

well that sounds a very reasonable bed time, you can't really make it any later then can you. try the back up blinds!

[Thomcat]

My little girl started doing this when I put her into a big girls bed.

Things that helped were the following.

• making sure she is really warm at night so she doesn't wake cold notice it's light and get up. So a vest under cosy pj's, or put one of those sleeping bags on him (if he's tall snip / unpick bottom off), lay him on hop of duvet and fold the bottom over and then tuck in each side.
  
  
• black out blinds (till I could get properly sorted I taped double thickness black bin bags at window
  
  You could also try using a lamp and putting it on timer and telling him when it comes on he can get up, (this'll take time but should work eventually) or you could get one of those bunny clocks that opens it's eyes etc when it gets to 7am or whenever you set it for.
  
  Change you gate and make it more childproof and keep on putting him back every time he gets up.
  
  Good luck.

[choccychic]

Just a thought but my DS2 started waking early at around 2.5yrs because (well, I think it was because) he started being aware that he needed a wee, he was still in nappies but at that time of morning in a light sleep it just seemed to bring him to. He is now 5 and still gets up first every morning (5.45ish) goes to the loo then just dozes until 7 when he knows it is OK to get up. When I used to moan to my mum about him getting up so early she just used to say "he needs a wee" and it was really frustrating, what can you do? Sorry, I guess this is no help but I do sympathise! I have three DS and they have all had phases of waking up early probably due to loud birds in the Spring, cold in the winter, light in the summer! and the loo thing, it is really frustrating I suppose it is just trial and error! Good luck!