20 month old waking too early - can we do anything?

[KathyMCMLXXII]

Hmm, both getting a bit knackered atm as our 20 month old dd has taken to waking up at 6 or 7 and yelling until dh gets up.
We have a 2 month ds who is not a great sleeper so it's getting us down a bit.

We would really like her to stay in bed till 8 - is there anything we can do at that age or do we just have to put up with it?

Thanks....

[KathyMCMLXXII]

bump

[DizzyDoris]

Christ be grateful she stays in bed until 6 or 7. Mine used to wake at 5 every day.
Take it in turns to get up with her while the other has a lie in.
In my house 8 is a lie in!

[totaleclipse]

Sorry I dont think 6 or 7 is early, many adults get up at that time by choice, go to bed earler and take advantage of the early mornings to get stuff done around the house.

[kiskidee]

agree with last 2 posters

[lulumama]

yep! 6 or 7 is reasonable for a toddler! esp if they are sleeping 12 hours or so.....

good practice for getting up for the school run

[mandymac]

Afraid to say that anything after 5.45am is classed as 'normal' in our house . If dd (20 months) wakes before this I keep lights out, and pop into her room, tell her it is still night time/sleepy time and that 'mummy is going back to sleep' and leave the room. Sometimes I have to do this twice (she does yell a bit, but normally she will settle again for 30 mins or so.

[KathyMCMLXXII]

Sorry TotalEclipse and Doris, you're missing the point.
What's early depends on your schedule. Most people get up earlier than us because they have to get to work earlier. DH's job and the traffic conditions around us mean there is no point in him leaving the house before 9.30 or 10, most days, but also that he can't leave work till later than most people, so we don't have the option of simply going to bed earlier, unless we do without dinner!

[KathyMCMLXXII]

She's sleeping 10 and a half hours btw. I will have normally been up 4 or 5 times in the night with ds.

Mandymac, thanks, that's helpful.

[mandymac]

What time does she go to sleep? Can you move her bedtime an hour later and see how that works? On the odd occasion where DD has been up later in the evening, she does seem to sleep a bit later in the mornings.
Also, good blackout in her room, so she doesn't start waking earlier as the mornings get lighter.
We live with the 5.45/6am starts as DH starts work at 7am and me at 8.30, so that time is sort of OK for us. DD goes to sleep at 7.30pm, us at 10pm. If your routine means everything runs later, a later bedtime for your DD would seem to make sense.

[totaleclipse]

But Kathy, your individual schedule is of no relivance to your dd, no disrespect but you have to cater for her needs, not the other way round.

[KathyMCMLXXII]

Sorry Totaleclipse, but I strongly disagree with that.
Everyone in a family has needs, including food and sleep. Adults also have responsibilities, ie looking after everyone in the family and earning a living. Where there are conflicting needs (eg 2 dcs who want to be awake at different times) the aim is to find the best compromise between everyone's needs. Everyone has to be able to function. If dh doesn't sleep he can't do his job, can't drive safely to get to work. When I was very overtired when ds was even worse at sleeping I would regularly fall asleep on top of him during a feed, which is dangerous.

Mandymac - yes, may try the later bedtime, thanks, though she is usually pretty keen to go to bed by her bedtime atm. Her sleep needs seem to have declined dramatically in the last few weeks - until recently she was sleeping 12 hours plus a 1-2 hour daytime nap which she has now dropped!

[KathyMCMLXXII]

Sorry if I'm responding irritably btw, but anyone would be irritable if they were getting as little sleep as me

[Tutter]

6 or 7



this morning ds (21mo) woke at 5:55. this is par for the course. only 3 times ever has he made it past 7:00. he goes to bed between 7 and 7:30

on sunday night he managed the grand total of 9 hours

good luck to you, but can't help but feel

[dejags]

Although I agree with those who say 7 is a reasonable hour to wake up, for me 6 is too early and we don't get out of bed before 7am (well I get up at 5.45am on workdays, but the kids don't get up).

Is there anything in her environment which is waking her? Is her room dark? Are there noisy birds/milkmen/refuse disposal workers waking her?

My 28 month old DS almost always wakes early if he misses his lunchtime nap. Strange but true - perhaps she is missing her sleep in the day.

[mumto3girls]

Our dd3 used to wake up at 5 every morning..and her bedtime was about 7.30ish. Since her dad wanted to see more of her afetr finishing work in the evening, we moved it to 8.30pm. Now she definitely sleeps through til 7.30am most morning..the other day it was 8.50am and this morning it was 9.05am...

[KathyMCMLXXII]

Would be fine were it not that I'd been up all night with ds - I'm actually an early morning person normally (used to get up at 6 to express when dd was tiny!)

So the consensus is that there isn't an awful lot one can do, then?

At least I now know not to worry if she only sleeps 10 hours

[mumto3girls]

Should add that she she still sleeps for 1 1/2 hrs at least during the day...if she misses this nap then she is bad at night time!

[mumto3girls]

Kathy - what time is her bedtime..for a while dd3 looked to be dropping the day time nap ( which horrified me) and her naps got later and later..she now sleeps from 2pm til 3.30pm but still goes to bed at 8.30 with no problems.

[Tutter]

i have come to the conclusion that some children are just early wakers

am very much hoping that this next one will turn out to be different! am sure i'll be able to sympathise more in 6 months' time

[KathyMCMLXXII]

Dejags, thanks for sympathising! V interesting about your ds.

Her blackout is very good, but noisy birds - yes, as it happens! They perch on the creeper around her window. Maybe if we cut it back - worth a try!

Mumto3 - thanks - another vote for later bedtime, then.

[hippmummy]

Hi Kathy we have sleep issues here too, though like most others our early waker is 5am - would kill for 6 or 7

I would say, of everything I've read and tried putting them to bed later makes no difference.

You say she gets 10hrs so I assume she's going to bed about 8?
Have you tried putting her to bed earlier? It sounds a bit bizarre but it's supposed to help them sleep longer - she could be overtired by 8 and it affects when they have the deepest part of their sleep apparently.

However, if she is simply getting all the sleep she needs there is not much you can do and will just have to get your head around the fact that 6am, and certainly 7am is not that early for a toddler to wake up.

[hippmummy]

x posts - deffo try later bedtime if it works for others...

[KathyMCMLXXII]

Usual bedtime 7.30.
Really no time to make it earlier, as she is in nursery at dh's work, and by the time she's had her dinner (unless we rush her, which I don't want to do) it's 7.15. It's always a compromise, isn't it?

The not enough sleep theory is interesting, though - she certainly likes going to bed (though part of that may be just that she likes the one-to-one time with a parent having a story read) and is a fantastic sleeper once she goes down.

[KathyMCMLXXII]

LOL @ you all being ! Bet you were rofl @ 'We would really like her to stay in bed till 8'

[Tutter]

just a mild chortle of choked mirth, yes