How do I stop very early waking?

[GoldPlatedNineDoors]

Dd can wake anytime from 4am.and it's not "coo, giggle, gaga, I want to be up and play" but crying. Almost, I would think, that something has woken her.

She will then cry on and off for up to an hour. Wirh me going in and giving dummy and teddy before exhausting herself back to sleep.

If it was "lets get up.and play" I might just get up with her or she might be happy to just play in her cot.but its crying still sounding tired waking.

She is 11mo amd hasnt had milk.in the night for around 2 months but this waking thing is a few weeks now.

Ive contemplated.a GroClock but not sure if she is too young to comprehend it. Also, she tends to get very very cross when I go in to her and will not entertain pick up put down or cuddles or shhh pats on the back - they seem to wind her up even more.

Heelllllp!

[GoldPlatedNineDoors]

Well, she went back over at 5.30 and woke full of chatter and giggles at 6.45. I know she needed to go back to sleep this.morning - just seems she disagreed.

Still looking for hints and tips though!!

[GoldPlatedNineDoors]

Any other sleep advice going?

glares at MNers who all seem to have perfectly sleeping toddlers

[easytiger12]

Hello. I think they go through all sorts of funny little phases that often just pass on their own. DS1 would go through a fortnight here and there of early waking and then just stop and sleep until a more reasonable hour on his own!

However, at 14mo (when DD arrived) he started waking at 5am and it stuck. Two months later he was still doing it ... waking at 5am, crying, moody but insisting on getting up. Was a miserable shitbag until napping around 10am.

We decided to tackle it. Just went in when he woke with his beaker of milk, gave it to him, lay him down and said 'night night' and walked away. Cue an hour of crying ... we just went in every 10 mins and repeated those words, lying him down again. On that first morning he eventually went back to sleep around 6am and slept until 7am. We did the same thing the next few mornings and by day 4 or so he was sleeping on his own until 6.30-7am. Now, if he does wake up early, we just bring the milk in, say 'night night' and he generally settles back to sleep without complaint - I think he understands the signals mean he should go to sleep again ... sometimes he drinks the milk before going back to sleep, sometimes not - as I say, I think the milk is more the signal that it's not time to get up yet.

That worked for us. Good luck!