...to keep my baby awake as long as possible so she doesn't wake up at 4am?

[Boomerwang]

Pretty short OP, this. She used to be in bed by 7pm but she wakes up at 4ish in the morning and won't go back to sleep after being fed. I can't just try to make her sleep again as she's usually full of wee and poo and needs to be changed.

Is it ok to put her to bed around 9pm instead, in the hope that she'll sleep til 6?

My DD does exactly the same! Ready to play at 4, grinning away. She's 7 months too and wakes my ds up so often we are all wide awake at 430am. Grim. But this past week I have put her to bed just 20 minutes later and she's waking at 530 now which is still bloody early but a blessed relief after weeks of 4am!

Well it didn't work.

She was up at 3.55am. She was wet, so I had to change her instead of trying to soothe her back to sleep. I knew she wouldn't sleep if she was hungry so I got the bottle of milk sorted and she drank the lot.

However, she's normally awake a good two hours before nodding off on the sofa. This time I put the telly on as she likes the pretty colours of recorded episodes of Embarrassing Bodies and when I realised she'd gone quiet I looked at her and found her sitting up with her eyes shut after being awake only 45 minutes.

I thought great, I'll get back to sleep too and I lay down next to her on the sofa. My own stupid head wouldn't let me sleep (I hadn't managed to sleep until 3am either) and it wasn't long before she was awake again.

I've buggered her up because she's eaten at odd times and fallen asleep a lot. I put her down for bed at 7.45pm and she's still awake when she's normally out for the count within 15 minutes.

Incidentally, this has started since weaning began. She has milk in the morning, cereal a few hours later, something savoury at lunchtime, a bottle of something we have here called 'valling' which is like a cereal drink and then milk before bed.

Possibly her bowels are causing her to wake up early? She poos directly after her bottle of milk, and often again after her next meal.

Oh yes, we do have blackout blinds, although it's so dark outside now that they make no difference.

I found with my dd that once she was on three meals things quickly improved. With the 4am wake up; I used to change her in the dark, give her milk and a cuddle and then put her back down. She would then sleep until 6. I think the 4am wakings are a stage though. It does get better.

Well this morning was different. She woke at 4.30am but I shoved the dummy in her mouth and went back to bed. She must have slept as it was 6.30am before I heard her again. Bliss!! I'll try that one again in future, as long as she hasn't had a poo.

The clocks are going back next weekend so it might not be a good time to change bedtimes, if you can hold out.

I think you just have to give it time, it took dd a couple of nights of going to bed a bit later and me resolutely just resettling her and not getting up with her to get the message!

If she's sleeping 7 - 4am that is a very long stretch so I'm not surprised she's hungry tbh.

Is your LO having enough milk, OP?

My DD is 7 months too and I am still breastfeeding on demand, as well as her having 3 meals a day. She feeds roughly every 2 and a half to 3 hours and I dreamfeed her at 10pmish to bump her through to morning.

My reckoning is that milk is fatty, so will hopefully keep her fuller for longer and she'll let me sleep . She gets up at around 6.45 after going to bed at 7. Sometimes she'll have one night waking but that's getting rarer.

Oh I'm so envious! I'm trying to stop my 10moth old waking for the day at 4 or 5 ish but she also wakes at least once, usually twice and sometimes 3 times in between!!! I'm bf and just exhausted. She has never slept through. Watching for ideas!

It never worked for.me, mine always got up at the same time butvwere grumpier all day. Try increasing her milk intake through the day especially before bed.

Could you try a dream feed when you go to bed? Worked a charm for me.

YANBU but as many before me have said it may not work for you. Some of us are blessed with early wakers! This may not be popular advice but it worked with my DS when I was at the end of my tether with early waking. If DD tends to wake up about the same time each day, set your alarm for about fifteen minutes earlier and beat her to it. Go in, and wake her up with a bottle and hopefully, because she is still half asleep she will go back to sleep till morning. I did it for about a week until he dropped it altogether. Sleeps till half six now. Not ideal but better than 4am!

I don't think it works like that. In fact I've had much better results putting the baby to bed EARLIER.

I say that but DD2, 18 months, had a little bit of a late night last night. Then she was up from 12.30 - 1.30am, and was then raving from about 5am this morning. So I am exhausted and not thinking straight. No doubt she is having a lovely nap with the CM right about now.

def try it - whatever works for you.

I tried to hold out tonight but she was so grumpy and tired and hungry that I gave in at 6.30pm and fed her. She fell asleep right away.

Well, at least I'm not the one who has to get up in the morning this time :P

What are her naps like and what does she have for dinner?

My 11 month old has been waking at about 4am for a while, having gone to sleep at 7pm. I just pick him up bleary eyed, get him in bed with us, pop him on the boob and nod off for another hour or so

Nat - I did that with my first child, it was lovely! This child I can bring into bed and feed all I like but she simply Will Not Sleep. She will toss and turn. If it is before 4 or 5 am she will go back to her cot. If it is after say 5 she will play. And want to play peepo. And prod me. No nice nodding off!

Enjoy it - I do have very fond memories of doing that with my first :)