9 month old STILL in 4am wake up routine

[Chlandy]

Help!

I've wrote on here before months ago with the same thing. Tried all advice apart from CIO (no judgement but not for me)! My 9 month old wakes up between 4-5am every morning!

He's never been the best sleeper, always fought sleep, never had great daytime naps and never really slept through. However, the last month or longer we've had a good routine, nap around 11:30-1pm, if we go out and about he may cat nap in the car, if not that's his only nap, tea between 4:30-5 then bath at 6:30 bottle and bed at 7pm. He will wake anywhere between 1-3am and will not settle back in his cot so we cosleep the rest of the night. He is STILL waking at 4am... 5 if we're lucky! He's not hungry at this time as will not take a bottle, he obviously needs changing but his nappy isn't overly wet/heavy that it would cause discomfort... we have tried putting him in his cot, tried ssshing an cuddling, tried feeding in bed, tried dummy, tried white noise, tried putting to bed later, that made him worse all night as was overtired, tried later daytime nap that was worse as wouldn't go to bed till 9/10pm and still up at same time!

Nothing seems to work and I'm so exhausted I'm losing my mind 😩 I am potentially starting work soon 4am-8am so I'm going to be exhausted if not only I'm getting up at 3 on my work days, but I'll be up at 4 on my days off too.

Help please 😩

[SandBlue]

My only advice is to go to bed early. It sucks. My 8 YEAR old still wakes around 5am every day. Thankfully now he can read a book, and at weekends get his own breakfast. The only way we managed it was to shift our whole day to "early to bed, early to rise" - and desperately hope it makes us healthy, wealthy and wise!!!!!!

[SandysMam]

Same as PP!! I too am up, but went to bed at 9pm so feel ok. Sorry this is not the answer you are looking for but I found once I stopped fighting it and accepted that kids wake up early, it became easier.
My older DS used to be the same, now he sleeps until 8am! It will pass.

[crazycatlady5]

I eradicated early wake ups with a later bedtime, but then is there somewhere you could squeeze another nap in there?

[TheSleeperandTheSpindle]

Is he awake from 5 until 11.30 or is there another nap in between?

It just seems a long time to be awake. Also 1pm-7pm is quite long too.

My DS is 10 months and still on 3 naps, with around 2.5hrs awake time inbetween. 9 months seems young to be only having one nap.

My DS does 8.30-9.30, 12-1, 3.30-4.30, bedtime by 7.30. That's with a wake up of 6-6.30am.

[FATEdestiny]

I think almost all of your baby's problems are down to over tiredness Chlandy. He needs a lot more daytime sleep and less awake time.

No matter what you do is going to be a struggle to get out of an over tiredness cycle. You need to work on the basis of "any sleep, anyhow". That means giving every conceivable bit of help you possibly could to get baby to sleep. Make sleep as easy as possible with tons of help.

I would suggest awake times of 2h-2h30m at most between naps. So if waking at 4am and assuming 30m naps that means a naps at 6am 9am then 11.30am, 2.30pm 5pm and bedtime 7-8pm. This being a lot more sleep than baby is currently getting.

[Chlandy]

No he won't nap anymore, we have tried but he won't, he doesn't even show any signs of tiredness and when he does go to sleep he's not fighting sleep or gone past it, he just goes to sleep. The only exceptions, which are daily most of the time are if we go out, whether it's a trip to supermarket or out on a day trip, he always falls asleep in the car so he has naps then but the length will vary dependant on length of the car journey!

Guess I'll just start going to bed earlier ha... it's just difficult as my other half doesn't get in till after 6pm so he has a play with our son then when he's in bed is when we spend some time together, I'm always in bed for 9, but guess I'll have to try 8 ha!

Thanks for the reassurance that we're not the only ones x

[Chlandy]

FATEdestiny we did think this he was overtired constantly and that was the issue! But he's honestly a very happy chappy, when he was younger (from newborn) he was massively overtired all the time as from the day he was born he's struggled with sleep, so I do recognise when he needs a nap and when he's passed it (in my words overtired ha), unless he just handles it better. I just don't know how to get him to nap more unless I spend every day in the house attempting to get him to sleep x

[FATEdestiny]

he always falls asleep in the car

That's a very easy immediate solution. Not long term, just to get baby out of the over-tiredness cycle. Any sleep, any how.

I would take baby on a boring (no music or chatting) drive for half an hour in every 3 hour (max) block. Even if you go nowhere and drive around in circles. It gets baby sleeping more - which will be the start point in solving all of this.

A week of more regular naps in the car and then start sleep training how and where he has that sleep.

[Chlandy]

I just wanted to come back and say THANK YOU for all your comments... we have tried the more regular naps in the day and it's finally working! He's now easier to settle for a nap and a night time he's in bed for 7 and sleeps till between 5:30-6am. On busy days if he doesn't have his proper naps we notice the difference with more of a battle and an early riser! I can now see that sleep really does breed sleep at this age! He's now walking too which I think has contributed to easier settled naps and a good 11 hours at night time. He still wakes in the night either for a quick cuddle, his dummy or he's lost his teddy but goes back to sleep straight away! Happy happy mummy! Thank you x

[crazycatlady5]

Hoooray good to know you've had success x