2 year old waking at 5am

[lyssie29]

Hi, my daughter has always been an early riser. She would wake at 6.20 almost every day but the past week she's starting to wake at 5am. She has blackout curtains in her room and she wakes happy and wide awake. She's only just turned 2 so I don't think she'll understand a groclock yet. We've moved her bedtime to 7.30 instead of 7pm but its hasn't helped. she does have a nap still for around an hr and a half but if she didnt have it she gets really grumpy in the afternoon. Any tips?

[TheWiseOldElf]

Both my DDs have been through phases of early waking. It usually lasts a week or so and then goes back to normal. I just have to ride it out now. I have friends whose children have gone through more prolonged spells and have had to experiment with different bedtimes, dropping the daytime nap etc. I'd advise leaving it a couple of days before doing anything and trying not to panic. It might resolve itself in the meantime.

[Liveinthepresent]

Hi my DS has had a couple of spells of early waking - you have my sympathy OP it's exhausting!
As PP said it may well resolve itself as for us it seems to.
having said that I would try a gro clock - my DS isn't quite 2 but definitely gets it ! I have gone in and told him to lie down again if it's too early and miraculously he has! I don't know for sure that this is the cause of the improvement as he may have come out of the phase by himself but we have had very few early starts the last few weeks so I am happy. He loves me setting it at bedtime too.
Worth a try?

[Sunbeam18]

In exactly the same boat - DS is almost 2 and has been waking between 4 and 6am for the past 2 months. It started very suddenly, he had been a 6.30/7.30am riser before then. It's bloody awful. I'm wondering if there is a developmental reason and this is a phase as I've searched the topic on MN and there seem to be a lot of posts on this age and issue? Hope it ends soon

[purplesnail]

My just turned 2 ds often wakes anywhere between 4:30-6:30, we bring him into our bed and he will go back to sleep even though he seemes quite awake and our room is lighter than his.