Can anything be done about an early riser?

[mistermagpie]

DS is nearly two. He's a shit sleeper, always has been and it has certainly been worse than it is just now, but I'm fed up. He naps well and goes to bed like a dream but he wakes up anywhere between 4:30 and 5:30 and that's him for the day. There is no point leaving him because he just gets worked up and starts screaming and then wakes my 3 year old up. I can't have them both up at that time! If you go in to try and soothe him he just shouts until you get him up.

I've tried - putting him to bed later, putting him to be earlier, dropping a morning nap, dropping an afternoon nap, lots of fresh air and exercise, boring days at home. Nothing works. He is still pretty much on two naps a day because he's so knackered, so it's not as if he's just one of these people who don't need a lot of sleep.

Any tips? Sympathy? Anyone else in the same boat? The days just feel so long and I'm running on empty most of the time.

[whatthefoxsaid]

I am absolutely not qualified to talk about sleep (my DD is a rubbish sleeper as well but in a different way) however we had this issue of waking for the day at daft o'clock a couple of months ago and the solution for us was to drop down to one nap.
I thought it would be a nightmare while she settled into a new routine but after a couple of days she was fine. Someone said they use the first nap of the day to catch up so have no need to sleep in later iyswim?
DD would nap 9.15-10ish then 1-3. I changed it to 11-1 only and the stupidly early wakings stopped, bar teething/illness.
Like I said, I've got sleep issues of my own but might be worth a try?
Distraction with easy games/stories/singing helped push the nap on.

[NameChange30]

YES.
Gro clock.
Changed our lives. Best £20 I ever spent.
Introduced it when DS was about 19 months and he went from waking around 4.30-5.30am every day to sleeping (or waiting quietly!) until 6.45am (the time I chose for "morning" when setting the gro clock).
And he was never a good sleeper or particularly responsive to gentle sleep training methods, but he understood the gro clock straight away.

[NameChange30]

I agree about going down to one nap, as well. It's a big chicken and egg, and the transition will be slightly tricky, but it will help I'm sure.

[NameChange30]

a big bit chicken and egg

[whatthefoxsaid]

Very tempted to buy a groclock!
Just wanted to add, this was the thread that I got some good advice on:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3410530-to-wonder-if-its-reasonable-to-wake-DD

[MilkItTilITurnItIntoCheese]

Our ds was just like yours. Easy to get to sleep but an early riser for way too long when he was little. Nothing I did made any difference. If it helps he's now 12 and I have to prise him out of bed in the mornings. 🙄

[NameChange30]

whatthefoxsaid
Seriously, go for it!
The amount of baby crap I wasted money on... including a MyHummy that made f-all difference... a groclock is honestly worth a shot at £20

[EvenFlo2]

My DS, now 5, hasn’t grown out of early rising yet. I’ve just had to shift my own bedtime...

However - makes school days easier because he’s up and ready to go without any real rushing.

Gro clock didn’t work for us - he just turned it off.

[NameChange30]

It helps that DS was (and is) still in his cot
I guess if he was in a bed we'd have to somehow put the gro clock out of reach somewhere
There are a couple of minor design flaws, there should be a way of locking it for example so kids can't mess with it!

[Dirtyjellycat]

Have you tried dropping the naps completely? My DS is only just 2 and luckily has slept through from a very young age. However, he recently started waking up in the night occasional or not wanting to sleep at bedtime. As a result, I’ve dropped his (one, short) daytime nap completely. If he does ever have a nap, his nighttime sleep is affected. However, without a nap, he’ll sleep a solid 12-13 hours.

[Sparrowlegs248]

Another vote for groclock, but also, ditch a nap. I'd push the first nap back and ditch the later one. I think you'd need to stick to it for a few weeks.

[OnlyFoolsnMothers]

Is 18months too young for a gro clock?
My LO goes to bed easily, and naps well (1 nap ranging from 1hr-2hr)- but the early mornings are killing me- I’m also going to throttle the next person who says to put her to bed later, it
Makes no sodding difference, except I get no evening.

[NameChange30]

As I've already said it worked for us at 19 months

but my son is a genius

[tomhazard]

I'd say it gets better - 4.30-5.30 becomes 6ish for many kids sometimes around 3!
In the meantime a groclock is an excellent investment. You might not be able to make him sleep but you sure can train him to stay put until the sun wakes up

[WFTisgoingoninmyhead]

What time does your heating come on in the morning, I bet he is getting hot and wakes. I would turn off the radiator in their room see if that works.

[OnlyFoolsnMothers]

NameChange30 thanks

[whatthefoxsaid]

Sold on the gro clock, I'll stalk ebay!

[mistermagpie]

Hmm. Older DS (he's three) is a brilliant sleeper and always has been. We bought him a gro clock though, not sure why, and he basically uses it as a night light! The point is, I do have one but I'm not even sure how it works. DS2 would never accept being told to stay put until the light changes though, I know that. He just shouts his head off until he gets attention.

Dropping a nap might be the way forward. We have tried it a few times and the night has been a disaster, but we've never stuck with it. Maybe we should persevere? DS2 was only on one nap by this point and dropped all naps by 2.5, but he always slept well at night.

I can live with 6am, no problem. Even half five, I get loads done so I can live with that. But some days it's before 5 and that's the middle of the night!

[mistermagpie]

Hearing doesn't come on btw, it's a new build house so pretty warm and DH is a tightwad anyway!

[mistermagpie]

*heating

[NameChange30]

"He just shouts his head off until he gets attention."
Yep, so did DS, until we introduced the gro clock.
Sorry to be smug, it's just that I really didn't expect it to work so amazingly well, and I can't help feeling evangelical about it
You could always trial it using DS1's gro clock, bribe him to lend it to his little brother or something

[spacefrog35]

Gro clock has been a godsend for us too. It means I get woken at 06:15 with “Mummy, sunshine up” screeched at me but so much better than the 04:30 it used to be!

[User260486]

Nothing worked for our early riser, groclock, change to bedtime etc, but it did become better gradualy- became 6 am at around 3 years, then 6-30 by about 5. I am loving it now though- never had problem getting up for school, no need for alarm clock and even now, a teenager, always up before 8 am.

[Queenhoneybee]

Ds1 is now 7 & always been an early riser like yours, plus goes down late. He just doesn't need much sleep & never has. Nothing worked (believe me I've tried everything). As the years have progressed I have just realised it's the way he is. He also needs a lot of food late evening to help push him through the night. Worth exploring that? He now gets up at 5.45am so has got later as he's got older. Sorry can't give you a magic answer, but I honestly believe he came out not needing much sleep (never slept in the day much either when tiny)

[Chrissmasjammies]

There is a way of locking it so kids can't tamper with it. Look up the manual