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Original poster

Early riser 11 month old - tips please

100 replies

Krainy · 01/06/2011 20:20

My 11 mo son goes to bed at 7 and wakes at 5.50. I would love to get more sleep in the morning, any ideas?

He has 30 minute nap 9.15 - 9.45 ( I wake him) and then a lunchtime nap usually 1 - 2 ( he wakes himself). However he does have an older sister so this varies to fit in with school run etc when it is not holidays.

Do you think he needs a later bed time? He has a blacked out room and eats for England in the day. We recently went on holiday to Wales and he slept really well but I cannot work out why, as our home is just as quiet. Thank you for any advice.

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RitaMorgan · 01/06/2011 20:25

Is he overtired by bedtime maybe? 1.5 hours in the day and 11 hours at night might not be enough for him.

ScarlettIsWalking · 01/06/2011 20:28

just a thought but were you outdoors a lot on your holiday? Fresh air and more activities always settled DD for a long night.

Original poster
Krainy · 01/06/2011 20:33

I wondered about the overtired idea as well but he is not at all grouchy when he goes to bed - still has excess energy if anything. I tried giving him unlimited naps but then he woke at 5.15, ouch.
This week I have trying to be really active with him, all outdoors and swimming etc but no improvement in the early wake. He does always seem keen to eat in the morning but he has a massive lunch and tea...he has always been b/f and have recently stopped that but he is not keen on an evening formula feed.
Thanks for the help. I Am going back to work next month (after 3 years out!) so would love to have it sorted by then

OP posts:
goshreally · 02/06/2011 14:59

Had this for a while with DS (also 11mo). He used to wake up at 5.50 and cry loudly. Amazingly, when we started to ignore him (for up to 10 mins), he would gradually get back to sleep, then wake up after 10 mins, then sleep again, sometimes until 8.30 or 9. We never let him cry it out, so we felt really guilty the first few times, but now it's just part of our morning and we've begun to tune it out. The result is a much more rested and happy baby and a 'lie-in' for us. He goes to bed between 7.30 and 8.
The formula feed in the evening helps, I think. If your DC is not that keen on it, have you tried giving him dinner later, or perhaps a bedtime snack before cleaning teeth? Apparently pear is good, as it's slow-release energy.

Flyonthewindscreen · 02/06/2011 21:34

Is it always 5.50? Is there anything external that could wake him at that time, hot water coming on etc? Otherwise I would just experiment to see if anything else works, i.e. later bedtime, supper at bedtime, different timing of naps (one long nap later morning?). Nothing worked for my DD (now 7) and she was an pre 6am riser until she was 3 or so...

Chrysanthemum5 · 02/06/2011 21:50

My dcs were both early risers. DH is a very light sleeper and as soon as they made a noise he was up and through looking after them and obviously I would then wake as well and take my share of the early mornings. I feel that if DH had been able to ignore the murmerings (not crying) then they would have learnt to go back to sleep. As it was they just knew that he (or me) would be right there when they woke.

I'd second checking if it is the heating coming on that wakes him, or the bird song etc.

In our case the dcs grew out of early mornings thankfully but it wasn't until about 3 - sorry!

LargeGlassofRed · 02/06/2011 22:02

I feel your pain Dts are 23 months and usually up by 5.30 my other Dc's used to sleep till 8 and have no idea how to make the twins sleep longer

Sparklyboots · 02/06/2011 22:20

Have you tried the [effing] baby whisperer's wake-to-sleep? You set the alarm to wake the baby - say 5 am, which disturbs the sleep cycle, and makes them sleep through their habitual wake up. Apparently.

MissHonkover · 03/06/2011 08:13

Aaargh. DD 11.5 mo is doing this again. 5am is now morning in this house. She has blackout blinds taped to the window. I know we should just sit it out but it's intolerable!

WorrisomeHeart · 03/06/2011 09:59

Blergh, DS decided 4.30am was morning today and is now down for his second nap of the day. So irritating - if only I could reason with him, and say 'you're still tired, go back to sleep!' But no, it's playtime!

Sorry no help, just wanted to vent!

burtie2u · 03/06/2011 15:51

This is not going to help you, but our DS has always been an early riser. It was 4.30 every morning for over a year. We have very slowly pushed him to 5am!!!
He's 2.6 and does not always have an afternoon nap, he's VERY active and in bed for 7.30ish, sleeps through, but always up and awake just after 5am wanting to play. We even tried the gro training clock and it did help push the time a little, but the clever so en so can now switch it on and comes into our room saying "suns up"
But on the plus side "he sleeps through" and is the best little boy ever :-)
We have tried everything everyone has suggested and it hasn?t changed a thing, I will just get my own back when he's older and wants to sleep in. I can then hoover his room at 5 am lol

crip · 03/06/2011 16:26

He sleeps for 11 hours at night. How much more do you want? Just put him to bed later if you want a lie-in in the morning. A 7pm bedtime is one of those British peculiarities. If you happen to have a baby that sleeps for ages it's fine. Otherwise, you get an early waker.

MissHonkover · 03/06/2011 18:03

Doesn't seem to make any difference what time we put DD to bed, 5.30 is the absolute latest she wakes.

abigailj · 03/06/2011 20:33

5.30 is considered good here, oh well.

bluesmile10 · 04/06/2011 14:29

5.50 is a lie in in this house too!!! We usually awake at 5, virtually on the dot, although this morning it was 4.20!!! Tried changing lots of things, but to no avail, so just hoping he grows out of it. Probably the only thing I've not done is the leaving him to cry, because I cant!!! I just struggle too much with that. Will read the rest of posts with interest for any other tips!

SharkSkinThing · 04/06/2011 20:52

Posted about this recently too hello, bluesmile! - my 10.5 DS has been waking at 4/4.30am, after going down at 7pm.

He's generally always awake by 5am (4.45am today) - but he does 10 hours straight through now (he has never, ever, slept through totally tbh, he still squeaks at around 3am) - perhaps your LO is just an early riser? Not much help, I know, but in a way easier to accept...if someone had offered me 10 hours a few weeks ago I would have bitten their arm off, so I'm not complaining..well...maybe later..

We also have black out blinds and he eats like a Trojan.

BUT - he does have a really good afternoon nap (1 - 3pm most days), perhaps your LO needs a bit more day time sleep?

A friend of mine said that until they are over 1 it's tough to start 'manipulating' their naps etc, but she may have just been trying to make me feel better. If it's bothering you that much try making bed time a little later - if we push DS to go down 15 mins later it does seem to result in a 5.30am wake up!

xx

HappySeven · 04/06/2011 21:56

No advice but lots of sympathy. Our DD thinks 5.30 is the time to start the day and later bedtimes don't make any difference. We leave her to "chat" to herself for a while and sometimes get to 6 but it would be nice if we knew it wouldn't last forever.

brettgirl2 · 05/06/2011 07:01

Wait till he's a teenager then you wont be able to get him out of bed. It's probably not helped by time of year because black out blinds dont keep out all of the light or the din the birds make. He sounds like a good sleeper to me.

GoingLoopyLou · 05/06/2011 07:18

At that age I would lightly lengthen his morning nap to an hour max and drop his aft nap back so he wakes around 3pm.

Also see the thread under 'sleep' I have been contributing too re circadian rhythms. It's worked for me.

Will try to link to it but doing this in my phone so not as easy!

Original poster
Krainy · 06/06/2011 06:54

Thanks so much for all the replies. The wake time has been getting worse and worse this week, 4.50 one day.

However on Friday afternoon we were out at the Lido all afternoon and stayed playing there until 7pm outdoors, 45 min nap in the car home, and then up until 8.30pm whilst we put up more blackout at his window, and he slept until 6.45am the next day. So, I think the answer must be either

  1. Later bedtime
or 2. Outdoor time in evening I tried a slightly later bedtime on Saturday and Sunday though and had early 5 wakes up with the baby and an overtired toddler who definitely needs a 7pm bedtime (she sleeps 12 hours no probs).

So the plan today is - nap 9.15 - 10, late afternoon nap, outdoor time (rain permitting!) until bed, toddler bed at 7, baby bed at 8. Will report back. Thanks for all the help everyone

OP posts:
ledkr · 06/06/2011 07:06

Lido? Are you in Chelt? My dd is 4 months and wakes anytime from 5-7 she doesnt even go back after a feed. This morning it was 5 ans she is now asleep in the blinking pram whilst i cant go back to bed cos have to be up for the school run grrrrrrrrrrrrr My only tip is to take it in turns to get up with them so one gets a lie in,it works for us.

MissHonkover · 06/06/2011 10:08

We're taking turns with a lie in, but it still drives me mad!

I'm going to try outdoor time in the evening today, plus a later morning nap. DD is shortening her afternoon nap, but her morning nap is getting longer. She needs to sleep 3 hour after waking, so she's back in bed at 8.30am. Bonkers.

We have the Gro blackout blind, and we've taped it to the window frame so it's REALLY dark in her room!

loubie1967 · 06/06/2011 10:57

Look on bright side - early rising tends to be a life time habit so he'll be much easier to get out of bed once he's at school/ teenager.

Don't stress too much,he's healthy and happy, make the most of the hours you have do your chores early and catch up on sleep later, enjoy your siesta...

ledkr · 06/06/2011 12:36

I must admit dd1 has never as well turned out and early for school Grin
I watch sky movies,feels naughty watching a horror at 5.30am with some tea and toast.
Seriously tho,i have 5 and when they are older you can put drink and snack in the room and toys and use one of those rabbit clocks to tell him when ok to wake you,its not for ever.