DS waking at half four

[Toooearly]

AIBU to wonder what you do if they wake stupidly early and won’t go back down …?

I’m not complaining as such as it’s only now and then (normally wakes at 6.) I tried settling him but wasn’t happening so took him in bed with me at 5. Watched In The Night Garden on the iPad but he kept hitting it and turning it off.

It’s now 840, he’s had over 3 hours screentime and breakfast and I feel like I’ve been up since the dawn of time. What am I meant to do with him!

Age?

any naps?

How old is he? I would not have got up at 4:30! That's the middle of the night! Re do the 'go to sleep' routine and leave him to go to sleep? I suppose it depends if he's in a cot or not.

Depending on age it's most likely a stage, I've been there, it's awful, it will eventually get better. No advice just solidarity.

18 months but naps are going to go absolutely haywire as we are going to church at 10, he’ll fall asleep on the way and then refuse to nap!

He’s in a cot @OwlinaTree but to be fair to him he doesn’t do it as a rule. He normally wakes at 6, but every so often we’ll get a crazy early morning!

Crazy early mornings if not constant then suck them up but I would put on the tv and try get some shut eye- an iPad for such a young child for a couple of hours isn’t great.

How dark is the room they sleep in? If your curtains/blinds are crap then at this time of the year it will be basically daylight around this time and they won’t know it’s time to sleep. Light going into the eyes starts the process of waking up - this is why those sunrise clock things to wake you up without shocking you with an alarm are a thing.

I have struggled with this my entire life. I proactively make my room as dark as possible for sleeping.

He’s got black out blinds and they are great - I think this is one reason he doesn’t wake early a lot. But every so often it does happen. I’m more wondering what the bell I should be doing with him at this time in the morning!

Oh I feel for you. Mine were early wakers - all 3DCs until they started school aged 4-5
Always some time between 5-5.30am. When they were 3 (because we had a stair gate & shut bathroom door I used to stay still for an extra 20 mins listening intently for their position... whilst they circled my bed like kidsharks staring at me waiting for me to move even a little 🤣

I got toys out for playing with in early morning for the 3-4 year old so sometimes I would hear a little bit of quiet playing going on until the 1-2 year old got up. And had a video monitor to keep an eye on them..

But really I mostly just got up with them & put on CBeebies whilst I drank my coffee and gave them breakfast and got them ready for the day.

I ended up becoming an early riser myself and going to bed before 9pm each night.

Now they are all teenagers (& post lockdowns!) they don't get out of bed until I take a brass band through their bedrooms - so I could get lie ins now until midday on weekend, except I'm now a morning person!!!

*toys in their bedrooms - so I'd leave something out or a book with noises - it was an extra 15 mins worth of playing til I had to get up for the widest and earliest riser!!

And of course you bizarrely find yourself missing those days!

Yes!!!! @Toooearly

I'm all on my own this Sunday at 9am having been up since 6am!

They don't like me looking in on them when I get up now (which I used to do til they were 12-13 mwah hah hah Revenge is mine!!) though I did pop in at 8am to stand by the middle child's bed, quietly looking at her, to see if her eyes were open as her sleepover friend downstairs was stirring... (probably because I was cleaning kitchen ..)

Middle DD -of course - knows the drill and stays very still with her eyes shut as she doesn't want to get up 

But @Toooearly
I do remember the sheer pain and exhaustion of those toddler days with early risers!

If you have a partner definitely take it in equal turns. And have a quick nap on sofa in afternoon if you can when toddler does if they do.

The odd day of TV won't hurt when you're shattered, nor will a few hours in the morning whilst you wake up sleepily sitting on sofa with them... my rule was if you want your mid morning biscuit to be your choice not mummy's, you don't jump on mummy on the sofa shouting "WAKE UP MUMMY THIS BIT IS GOOD !" whilst watching CBeebies if mummy has sleepy eyes 👀 😴🥱

Errmmm in earlier post, I meant eldest not 'widest' riser!

They often do that the summer when they’re around 1. Hideous.
Have you made his room darker than a black hole? We had a stick on blackout blind which helped.

You need to treat early wakings as night, same as you would if he'd woken at midnight or 2/3am. So absolutely no screens, playing or food (a drink is fine if he needs it of course!).
Keep the lighting low, use a soft comforting voice etc. He's still young and may not understand all your words but cuddle him to reassure him and help settle him back down. Repeat as necessary. If you're at the end of your tether then bring him in with you but to sleep / lie in the dark, not to play.
Once you make waking attractive by offering a screen, they will get into the habit of looking for it when they wake during the night rather than just settling themselves back to sleep.
Get a Gro Clock (mine used theirs successfully from 20 months when they moved from cot to bed, but you need to be sure that they understand the 'rules' as it's important to stick to them - some children aren't ready for this until they're a little older).