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Join our Sleep forum for tips on creating a sleep routine for your baby or toddler.

Sleep

2.3 year old naps and early rising (4.30am!)

14 replies

Bigbagofchips · 18/12/2015 05:36

Hi, I've posted before about DS early rising but am back again! He has an hour nap at 12 noon (would sleep for over 2 hours if didn't wake him up!), goes to bed at 7pm and then wakes anytime between 4am and 5am. I was previously going into him when he shouted at this time and sitting with him but this didn't make him go back to sleep. So now go in, check he has his dummy and comforter, say 'go back to sleep' and then leave him. He will protest for a couple of minutes before going quiet but does not go back to sleep. So this morning he woke at 4.15 but was still wide awake at 5.10 so I've got up with him. I just can't understand why he isn't going back to sleep?!
Do I need to drop his nap altogether or would letting him have longer at lunchtime improve the early mornings? But he didn't nap at lunchtime the other day and fell asleep exhausted on the sofa st 4pm!
I wondered if anyone else had been through similar and had done something to the naps that made a difference?!!
Thanks x

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Fuckitfay · 18/12/2015 05:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MariaV0nTrapp · 18/12/2015 05:48

My youngest ds is 2.4y and is an early riser. I'm up with toothache today though not him lol. We started to put him to bed later and he gets up later. Hes also, of his own accord, knocked his day time nap on the head. After a while he got into a routine of sleeping 8-7.30 he would sleep longer if his siblings didn't wake him getting ready for school. Sometimes he will nap but very rarely and if I notice he is sleepy and it's getting too late for one I try and distract him with a snack or something and he will usually hold off for an early but decent bedtime. Hope that helps

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MariaV0nTrapp · 18/12/2015 05:50

On the other hand.. my 3y ds can go 18 hours without sleep.. he drives me nuts and no matter how much I try he won't change his routine. Hes so stubborn. Hopefully starting nursery in January will sort him out.

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Bigbagofchips · 18/12/2015 05:58

Thank you both. Maybe a combination of a longer nap and slightly later bedtime might work!
Maria - I dream of 7.30 wake ups but am not holding my breath as 6 year old DD rarely sleeps past 6! Fingers crossed nursery tires your DS out!

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Cinnamon2013 · 18/12/2015 06:00

First of all - you have my sympathy. Early rising like this is brutal! It really wears you out.

I don't have a solution I'm afraid, but here's how it is for us. My son's the same age, and has always tended towards early rising, 4.30 at various points, typically 5-5.30. We moved his bedtime back 7-8. No difference at all. Now it's stuck at 8.

2 hour lunch time nap - have tried reducing it, again no difference whatsoever. I spoke with a paediatrician friend who said don't drop the nap until he wants to, early rising is just hard to 'fix'. We found sanity by going with it and just accepting earlier bedtimes (for us).

Lo and behold out of nowhere two weeks ago ds started waking at 6.30/6.45. Has done since. Nothing we've changed.

I'm not saying adjustments won't work for you - just that they didn't for us. Good luck with it!

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Bigbagofchips · 18/12/2015 06:09

Thanks cinnamon. My DD woke early and in the end we just accepted it as part of her and like you suggest, going with it and going to bed at 9pm! But she never woke before 5 and this to me is the bearable get up time! It's interesting what you say about naps though so think I am going to just let him sleep for 2 hours. Glad your DS is now waking later!

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Blueredballoon · 18/12/2015 06:14

My son went through this from about May- August when he was approx 21 months. We didn't drop his nap as he still needed that 2 hours and we couldn't change his bedtime from about 7pm as he just couldn't cope with any later.

He was getting up at 4.30/ 5am for weeks for seemingly no reason. Then out of the blue on day he woke up at 6.45am and has continued to wake up about 6.30/7am ever since. I don't think you can fix it, you just have to see it as a phase.

I recommend coffee!

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Bigbagofchips · 18/12/2015 06:25

Coffee definitely and in the longer term I can get some surgery to sort out the bags under my eyes!

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WooLulu · 18/12/2015 07:03

I'm with you Bigbagofchips. My 2.5yo is almost always up by 6, occasionally earlier. He will also sleep for up to 2 hours from 1-3pm(ish) (although only 1hr on nursery days). I've considered curtailing the naps but the days he's at nursery (and sleeps less) he's still awake early. So I think he needs the sleep on the days he's home with me.

For a while we had some success with a gro-clock, have you tried that? We still refer to it every morning and set it in the eve even though he's usually up before it. We also started the move to a big boy bed (cotbed sides off, duvet etc) which he sort of responded to.

There may be a reason for the early starts (our son is unsettled by our new baby) but some kids are just early risers. If you can stretch the mornings until they're slightly human then just make the most of his naptimes! I love that 90-120 minutes in the day where I can eat/chill/nap/feed the baby in peace...

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LastAnni · 18/12/2015 07:04

I worked out that my DS just needed a lot less sleep than other children. We did away with the naps when he had just turned two and things got a bit better at bedtime and in the early morning. He's four now, and sleeps roughly 9pm to 7am - far less than his peers but works for him and us. I'd try cutting out the nap completely and see what that does for you al.

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WooLulu · 18/12/2015 07:12

Ps when I say occasionally earlier I mean in this current period. Six months ago he was up at 5 most days but now it's generally 6, or between 5.50 and 6.15. My neighbour's 2yo regularly goes until 8 but often won't nap and is then a terror at about 5pm (and awake until 8.30pm) so I think it's swings and roundabouts really. Hope you see some improvement soon xx

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mrsmugoo · 18/12/2015 13:39

I would go for nap 1-2pm and then later bedtime of 8pm so get a later morning.

You will have to move to this gradually but it's no different to the clocks changing so perfectly doable.

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Bigbagofchips · 18/12/2015 16:09

Well I let him have a 2 hour nap (still had to wake him up though!) so will see if that makes any difference tomorrow morning. It's really hard to push bedtime later as at the moment it's the only quiet time we get with his older sister and she's normally in bed for 7.30/7.45pm. Plus he just doesn't seem ready for dropping the nap completely as he would be so overtired at bedtime having been up since before 5am.
We do have a gro clock and may give this a go after Christmas as I think he may understand.
Thanks again for everyone's comments - it's really useful to hear other people's experiences. X

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Bigbagofchips · 19/12/2015 05:27

5am wake up which whilst still early, is better than 4.10am! He also slept through when normally he shouts me at least once during the night. So an improvement !