To think this is the worst thing about parenting small children?

[Iheartherain]

5 bloody am.

I thought the clocks going forward had reverted us to a more civilised wake-up time of around 6, but no.

Please don’t give advice as a year or more of trying to fix this hasn’t worked 😅 but honestly it is pretty miserable. I can’t have hobbies in an evening or watch ‘adult’ TV or nights out or date nights if we got a babysitter.

I am sick of being tired and yawning, fat because I seek sugar to boost my energy and always have a headache. It’s shit.

Can I thank you for this post? Because I need to. I have a 4 year old and a 1 year old and have been doing 5am wake ups for weeks. One awful day it was 4.30am. This week has been the first time I actually started feeling ill from it. I also work full time and I can feel myself making mistakes which annoys me as I never would have done before. I've also been ridiculously emotional as I'm exhausted.

I know the phrase misery loves company is a horrible one but honestly- this thread makes me realise I'm not the only one who is really struggling with this. I needed to read this today: thank you. Here's to the light at the end of this freaking loooooooong tunnel x

I feel your pain.

We had this for years, we are out the other side now. It is miserable!

Now I'm pulling him out of bed moaning to go to secondary school.

@Youreatragedystartingtohappen it really is awful. We do sometimes have 430 wakeups too and it always makes me feel odd and shaky and sick for the rest of the day as well.

same here, going to bed later only resulted in DD being cranky and tired as she still woken up at the same time in the morning.
She's 8 now, but still 7 am start, even during half term

Gah… we all had head lice for about two months and could not get rid of them! In the end, I was cutting individual hairs that had eggs on them out of my daughters hair. It was awful! Worms was on another level of horror, and happened weeks after I conquered the nits! In fairness though, they were short lived compared to the headline but there was a lot of washing and cleaning, and I’ll never be able to un see them wriggling out of my daughters’ bum!

In all seriousness, I am actually knee deep in terrible sleep deprivation as my toddler wakes every 90 minutes all night and I work full time. I have had many nights of sheer despair and have just been utterly desperate for even a three hour block of sleep. My middle child only started sleeping through when I got pregnant with this one, so in reality, the sleep deprivation is the worst thing.

the worms were grim though. Grim!

Oh god, never have I related to a post more. Our darling toddler wakes between 5-5:30 every morning. She usually stirs at 4 and I have to settle and then she kindly gives me another hour before being fully ready for the day. It is exhausting and it just makes the morning so so long which is the hardest part for me. Mine wants to go outside and play which I just can't do to the neighbours at that ungodly hour so it's a battle of distract that toddler until a reasonable time. I am in complete solidarity with you op.

Maybe you need to look at your parenting then.......just a thought🙄

Haven’t read all your replies OP but all I can say is that I had an early riser too. 4.45am/5am without fail every day for about 3 years. Dreaded the clocks going back and everyone saying ‘Ooh an extra hour in bed’ 🤬🤬🤬
DS nearly drove me to the edge of sanity. Watched a lot of Peppa pig at 5am while I dozed under a blanket next to him.
I went back to work after 11 months of Mat leave and thought I would die of tiredness. But it does pass, he is still an early riser, awake before everyone - age 12 now and never sleeps in past 6.30am but at least he can look after himself.
💐💐💐💐💐

I do @Fluckinghell . All the time. Go on, tell me where I’m going wrong. Enlighten me. Because a tired toddler having a tantrum is definitely the sign of terrible parenting, agreed

@daydreamingnightowl mine wants to go outside too but I just can’t face it at that time although we don’t have any neighbours.

@Mylittlepea hope to god October doesn’t see 4am wakeups

I love your parenting style 😂

I have pleasant teens and the early childhood early wakings, refusing to go to bed and random up in the middle of the night for hours permanent sleep deprivation was absolutely the WORST.

Although teens randomly going missing and getting blink drunk in tiny clothing that I see my fellow teen parents going through (weekly) also seems very stressful in a different way.

The worst is when they're ill. The easiest times are between ages 4 and 12.

I am generally fairly laid back and have a sense of humour about it, but I am extremely tired today and so is DS, he’s fallen asleep on the way to the activity I’ve already paid for so … Arghh.
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Look I know you don't want advice, but allowing a 2yo to sleep in the morning will perpetuate the cycle. Once I understood that I managed to get Ds to go beynd 6 regularly, explained well here
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www.littleones.co/blog/up-with-the-larks-tackling-early-waking
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My 3.5 year old is up once the light starts creeping in. I use a travel blackout blind, which I have flattened against the window as much as possible AND blackout curtains, so have managed to make it dark enough to push wake up time to about 6.15 at the minute. It will probably get a little earlier as the mornings get lighter but it is still better than 5am right now.

5am starts are why I didnt' have a third child. Honestly the worst bit of parenting.

although now mine are older there are other exhausting things and it is often stressful - but I wake up at 6 and drink coffee alone for an hour before they wake up.

Yes. I’ve not tried it, but I think my son would still wake up at 5am in Australia.

@Neurodiversitydoctor this is why advice is meaningless. Normally he doesn’t sleep in the morning and he wakes at 5. Today he did (fell asleep in the car) and he’ll wake at 5.

Tried bringing the nap earlier, later, longer, shorter, no nap at all. Makes. Not. A . Not. Of. Difference!

Jot not not.

😂😂😂

My kids (2 toddlers) don't sleep usually until midnight if they nap, wake up at 8 ready to go again. If they don't nap its 10. There is a child awake every waking moment of my day. We've tried everything. I'm also pregnant with my 3rd 🤦‍♀️

The point being body clocks get stuck at certain times - so say 5am. If that child gets up, gets the family up then that will never change.

Treat a 5am waking like a 1am waking. You wouldn’t let your child get up at 1am.

So yes what would happen if you moved to Australia? it’s a valid point. It’s all about body clocks. Not bad sleepers. It’s how you react to that waking. Kids shouldn’t be coming in to beds and waking parents up. They wouldn’t get away with that at 1am.

My friend used to moan her kid woke her up at 4.30 am every day for years. What did she do at 4.30am? She got up and put the tv on. Rewarding and reinforcing that behaviour. Ditto coming and ‘sleeping’ in the parents bed.

Theres a reason why the sunrise clocks work.

So shoot me. But I’ve read the thread. I’m not suggesting later bedtimes (these kids have little enough sleep as it is). It’s about retraining body clocks and choosing a time that’s acceptable to get up as a family. For everyone’s sake.

Ive had 5am wakings but they shifted later with these methods. I’ve not seen one person say they’ve tried this. They’ve just got up and accepted a 5am wake up.

Treat it like a night waking never works here. All that happens is he cries until it’s time to get up.

Sometimes babies and toddlers do make you feel ill with fear though. Mine's 4. He's "only" asthmatic and the moment I had to hold him down in A&E, at 2am, as they put an emergency magnesium drip into his inner elbow while he gasped for air will stay with me forever.

And then you get out of hospital after 2 nights in a chair and still have to get up at 5am the next day.

So he cries. Better than getting up and reinforcing that wake time.