Early Riser help!

[user1467393664]

My 2.5 year old son has always been an early riser 5AM most days. During the summer it can be even earlier with the bright mornings. I've tried to get used to it but even after all this time it's a killer.

We've tried everything to try get him to sleep longer even until 6AM would be a lie in.

His room is very dark with no natural early morning light due to a blackout blind and curtains.

He typically goes to bed at around 8PM, we've tried both earlier and later times but neither make a difference. In fact later times means an even earlier start.

We tried a gloclock but that didn't make any difference and I feel he is a bit young for it and didn't get the concept.

He still takes a nap around 12 or so and will nap for about 1.5 hrs but typically more like 45 mins lately.

Rather than get up at 5am we will lie back down beside him but he will never go back asleep and by 5:45am wants to get up.

He doesn't eat breakfast straightaway so it doesn't seem to be hunger waking him and we try give him porridge before bedtime.

I've tried to accept that this is his natural rhythm but still find it hard. We need to be in bed early to in anyway counteract the tiredness but sometimes just want to be up later at night and just be an adult!!

We have a 6 month old that does be up during the night too so on top of the very early start we have broken sleep anyway.

Has anyone other ideas we can try?

[beginnersewer]

That does sound tiring...
I know a groclock doesn't work for everyone but my 2.5 yr old definitely gets the concept (he just ignores it...). He knows that when it turns yellow it's time to get up. To start with (can't remember when we got it, definitely a few months ago) I used to press the button to make it yellow whenever he woke up at a vaguely reasonable time so that he made the connection.

[Cinnamon2013]

I have no useful advice but just wanted to say you are not alone - we have exactly the same situation, all timings etc. My ds is 3. Gro clock does do something as he's so proud if he does sleep till it goes, but it hasn't changed anything really. Good luck and tell me the answe of you find it!

[user1467393664]

We've gone through it a few times and he's knows moon for sleepy time etc but he just ignores it when he wakes. So in taking it he doesn't understand or just doesn't care

He has a cough that's been treated and is getting his back molars so has been waking up frequently during the night for a few weeks.

He's harder work than the baby

[Artandco]

Do you have to get up with him?
I would just leave some board books, and some teddies or quiet toys in his room. Add a touch nightlight he can turn on, and leave him to play if he wakes. So his choice is ' it's bedtime still. You can go back to sleep, or you can quietly look at books or play, but mummy is going to sleep'. Add stair gate on his bedroom door if needed.

Maybe his room is too dark? Does it have to be completely blackout?

[SunnySomer]

What you could do is give him books/toys to play with until the light goes yellow. We found our DS would alter his clock to wake the rabbit when he woke up (old fashioned version of similar concept), so we taught him what 6.30 looked like on a wall clock that he couldn't reach and change, and told him to play until then.
He's been v good about it.

[Poocatcherchampion]

I'd do what art suggests.

In fact I do.

[Eyre89]

My ds is the same age and what worked for us was stopping his nap. I was convinced he still needed it. For us it worked really well. 7-6 is his sleep now and that's a lie in for us. Sometimes he sleeps until 6:30. Took a few days to get used to it. Have you tried that?

[user1467393664]

His room is blackout as we thought it was the early bright mornings that were waking him as the summer saw the new 4:45am starts. It did make a slight difference as in an extra 15/20mins.

I'll try the toys again and let him play previously he just starts pulling all his toys off their shelf noisily and then gets bored and starts calling for me.

We have tried giving him the iPad to watch cartoons. I wasn't mad on that as felt it was a reason to wake up earlier? Plus it didn't work after a few minutes he'd just want someone in with him.

His early starts are like a running joke with my family while if it wasn't me I'd find it amusing but it's different living with it.

[user1467393664]

He gets super cranky around 12 and stays that way for the afternoon. We did no nap the other day and he coped better but was still up early the next day but I don't know if one day is indicative of a trend.

The nap is my only time at all during the day to get anything done and the baby sleeps around the same time and takes her longest sleep then otherwise She's woken by him so gets crap micro naps the rest of the day.

[Mol1628]

My son is the same. Always has been. He now knows we refuse to get up at that time so he just plays in his bedroom whilst we doze.

He is the same in that a later bed time means an even earlier start. We stuck to a later bed time for a couple of weeks to try and change his body clock but his behaviour that week was absolutely awful.

I don't believe in gro clocks or anything like that for him, if he's awake he's awake.

Im hoping once he's at pre school every morning it will get a bit better? Probably not. :/

[user1467393664]

I go through days where I think "this is it just need to accept it and move on" most of the time that's fine but then other days I'm just frustrated. It's good to know there are others having the same!! all the other kids I know of the same age sleep until 7/7:30 a few need to be woken by their parents which makes it even more annoying.

[Owlytellsmesecrets]

I have a bunch of early risers in this house and like you just. 2 year age gap.
I think you now have to accept that he no longer needs that nap and things in routine have changed so while it is still nice start the change.
Take them out to the park or just for a walk. Let him walk, run and play in the grumpy, sleepy time.
Leave housework for the weekends she DP is about and can do the entertainment. It will get easier but you need to prepare yourself that the baby days are done and your break in the day is done!
Good luck .... This is from a mummy of 3 and I've been up with DS2 since 2:30 am and we use two drugs to make him sleep .... Sleep deprivation sucks

[HometoMandalay]

I have one of these too. He's 4 now and I've realised that this will only end when he's old enough to get up and go downstairs on his own. Annoyingly he often poos first thing in his nappy, so I can't even ignore him.

Nothing made any difference: not naps, gro clocks, running around outside. Nothing. It's knackering. You have my sympathy OP.