AIBU to ask what time your three and one year olds wake?

[Lovingit81]

Neither of my children are great sleepers but I think I am losing perspective. DD has just turned one and DS is three. Both consistently wake up at 5.30 and won't go back to sleep but are exhausted at various points during the day. Am I alone?

Ds is 4, DD is 2. Their gro clocks go yellow at 6 but regularly awake at 5.30. This is progress for DS who was wide awake at 4am as a one year old. They both go to bed very early. Dd just dropped her nap but doesn't seem to affect night time sleep except she will go to bed at 6.30 not 7/7.30.

You have my sympathies!

My 2.5yo wakes up at this time most days and then wakes up older sibling (6yo) and then their ‘playing’ (screaming heads off) wakes myself and DP day in / day out. We’re perm exhausted.

We can’t seem to find a solution either.

9mo and 3yo both go to bed at 7 and wake up about 6.30-7. 3yo is still asleep now which is very unusual, going to have to wake her up because me and the baby want our breakfast

My just turned 4 yo wakes at 6 more or less. He has a gro clock which he is good about. At 1 it was 5 or earlier and I found it very hard.

DD is almost 3. She’s still asleep, she goes to bed at 8, asleep by 9, and I wake her at 8am. She naps for 2-3 hours a day at the moment. So I don’t get an evening to myself, but I do get plenty of rest.

Mine were always early risers - 5am onwards - but both napped during the day until 3yo and went to bed early. I don't recommend dropping naps or putting them to bed later to try and fix the early starts, in my experience it just led to overtired, hard to settle kids.. I was rigid with their nap/sleep schedules and these were just their natural rhythms. DS3 goes to bed at 6.30-7.00 and wakes anywhere between 5.30-6.30 (often early to bed equals later to rise ). DD7 now goes to bed 8-8.30 and wakes 6.30-7.30. I hate the early starts but love the peaceful bedtimes and evenings to myself.

Today half 7 was a massive lay in. Usually awake by 6 but their gro clock is set for half 6 and they have to stay in their rooms until then. We have a vicious circle with the 3 and 4 year old that they are then so over tired in the evenings they have to be in bed by 7

My 2-year-old usually wakes at around 7am when allowed to sleep in. During the week, we need to leave the house at 7am to make it to nursery/work, so he gets woken at about 6.30am/6.45am.
He goes to sleep at 8pm most days, but has a rather long nap (2-3 hours) during the day both at home and at nursery.

I have 3 dc, eldest always woke between 6-7... usually nearer 7. middle has always woken at something starting with a 5. we tried everything. she's nearing 3 now and just in the last few months have managed to get her to stay in bed until her sun is up just after 6am (grow clock) due to some heavy duty bribery followed by a reward system. youngest is 9 months and 6.30 is his average wake up time thank God. I think they're all programmed differently. worth trying various usual things but if it doesn't work try bribery when old enough and then look forward to teenage years!

Thank you for all the replies it's heartening to know we are not alone.

We do have a gro clock and it used to work but they both seem to wake each other now. I agree that bed later doesn't work (we have tried) and I do put them to bed 6.30/7pm each night.

We have all had sickness bugs over Xmas so I don't doubt that has had an effect but my DH and I just looked at each other this morning and said 'are we going mad...do all children wake this early'! Definitely putting me off a third!

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated.

DS is 1 and sleeps 7:30 - 6:30. DD is 3 and sleeps 8:30 - 7:30. DD has always been a night owl and we can't get to bed earlier no matter what we try so we've stopped trying.

dd aged 3 will often wake several times in the night. Sometimes she can be awake for 2 hours or so. Wake up time varies between 5:30am and 7;00am. You have my sympathies op, it's exhausting and we have tried everything. Really thought she would be sleeping through by now, as my eldest did at around 18months.

DS is 18 months and sleeps 7.30pm - 7/7.30am, he naps 1-3pm each day, but I have to wake him up from his nap

When my son was that age hed be up at 5. Now its 5.30. Grow clock is set for 6 but they wake before that.

I have 3.5 and 2 year olds. Wake up any time after half 5 for the two year old and occasionally will go back to sleep. 3.5 year old is just starting to sleep past 6 consistently. Neither will nap without creating huge drama at bedtime now so bed is between 6 and 6.30 depending how tired they are

2.5yo sleeps approximately 7pm-7am then naps 12-2pm. Just now he's been going to bed about 8pm because of the festivities and waking nearer 8am.
I realise I'm very lucky. I keep quite a set routine so he always has his nap in his cot and strict bedtime routine too but I've no idea if that's helped or it's just coincidence 🤷🏼‍♀️

He went through phases of not great sleep when younger which seemed to improve at 6 months then 12 months and he's been quite consistent since 18months.

I sympathise, you must be tired.

When he finally started sleeping through at 19 months old , DS woke between 4 am and 5.30 am until around 5 years old.
We had a bunny clock and he learned to stay in bed/ his room until 6 am but he did a lot of chatting and talking to himself in the morning so we were woken up anyway.

He 14 now and despite not getting to sleep until around 10.30/11pm most nights he NEVER sleeps beyond 9am. Generally he is up by 8am or 8.30 am on non school days

I think some people just need less sleep than others . Sympathies though as those starts were killers for.me as a night owl.

6-7AM and he's nearly 15 months.

Mine all started to wake up at 5am from 1yr onwards every day.

Makes the day feel so long in winter ! Plus I eat more as have breakfast at 615!

Mine had the same bedtime/wake time as yours at that age OP.

My cousin’s and my sister’s always sleep in, but they go to bed at 10. You can either put them to bed early and have them get up early, or have bedtime late and have them sleep in.

Today it was 7.30. which is the longest lie-in we've had for a very very long time! He's been getting better and it's now generally 6-6.45. he goes down at 7.30.

He was a frequent 5am waker until around 6 months ago.

My 7 year olds still get up between 530 and 6, doesnt matter what time they go to bed. At least now they can come downstairs and play on their own for a bit before we come down. They are just naturally early risers, I'm the same (although not that bloody early!).

DS (1) wakes around 6.30 usually.

1 year old wakes anytime between 6am and 8am. He has one nap a day around 11am and it lasts for around 2 hours.

I feel for you- sleep is so important!! Wishing you more rest soon

My 2.5 year old goes to sleep between 7:30-8:30pm and wakes between 7:30-9am. On a good day.

On a bad day, he goes to sleep between 7:30-8:30pm and wakes at 1am, then goes back to sleep at 5am (every. single. time.) then wakes between 7-8am.

He refuses to nap during the day. I need a day nap, especially when he has had an “awake” night the night before....