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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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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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Original poster

Krainy · 06/06/2011 19:59

Loubie, you are right, it is really useful to get chores done, kitchen is always ready for the day by 6.45am
We all had a siesta today it was lovely :-)

OP posts:

MissHonkover · 06/06/2011 20:01

Sadly no time for siestas, sleeping at work is rather frowned upon.

ledkr · 06/06/2011 20:08

I bet you look stunning at work tho,all that time to put your make up on

MissHonkover · 06/06/2011 20:15

You'd think so, but anything less than 9 hours kip and I look like a bag of turds tied in the middle. Needless to say I haven't been attractive since DD was born.

Original poster

Krainy · 08/06/2011 06:37

The pre bed daylight has worked, thank you loopylou!!

We did 45 minutes outside 6 -6.45pm before bed at 7.30, and he slept until 6.30 yesterday and 6.20 today (but got woken up by dp shower today), and he wakes up very cheerful now, not crying.

I am loving the sleep.

OP posts:

MissHonkover · 08/06/2011 06:56

Pah, didn't work for us. Outside for half an hour from 6.15 to 6.45 before bed at 7. Up at 5.15.

Well done Krainy, we'll try again tomorrow.

ledkr · 08/06/2011 07:21

Oh im glad for this thread this morning. Just had 3rd morning of 4.50 wake up and i lost the plot.Am feeling shamefaced and dh was late for work cos i dont think he wantd to leave me I was trying to be positive but she also didnt nap once all day so no rest whatsoever.I think that lulled me into a false sense of security cos i thought that she would sleep bit longer. She went down at 7 as i just couldnt keep her awake.
My meltdown was not helped by the fact that dh never comes to bed early,he fafs about down here until gone midnight then disturbs me when he comes up,i think this shows a real lack of solidarity altho he is happy to get up with her so probably being irrational, My lovely 9 yr old dd has come down and made me tea and is seeing to baby now. Im off to read the link. Im tempted to try for alater bedtime but instinct tells me it wont make any diference.
Cheers for the rant,im lucky im still on mat leave,i pity those of you who have to work.

ledkr · 08/06/2011 07:32

Oh by the way,im not after alie in im always awake by 7 even on weekends but 4.50????? And i feed her but she isnt that hungry and wont go back down afterwards. Slept 8-7 untill this week,she is 4.5 months.

MissHonkover · 08/06/2011 07:35

Oh dear ledkr, you have my sympathy. I've had mornings where I've cried before my feet have even hit the carpet.
For us a later bedtime makes no difference, however a lack of naps in the day has a marked effect, for us sleep really does beget sleep.

If your DH is happy to get up with the baby could you take a couple of mornings off just to get your spirits back up? Me and DP take it in turns so we get to sleep to a humane time one morning in every two.

ledkr · 08/06/2011 08:05

Ah thanks,i feel a bit of an unfit parent. You are right we need to take it in turns for sure and hes happy to do it even if working. I think i feel stubbornly that if we take her down she's not getting the right message which is probably ridiculous and of course its more important to stay sane. Will speak to dh tonight,will defo take turns,i think it builds up doesnt it? The fact she didnt sleep ALL DAY,do you think that makes it worse?
Good thing is im off to paris with dd1 on Monday for 4 days of blissfull baby free sleep i am already worried i wont come back

MissHonkover · 08/06/2011 08:36

Not an unfit parent at all. I think some people are really hit by the lack of sleep, and I find the early mornings harder than the night wakings, because you know there's not a hope of them going back to sleep and you know you're going to be knackered all day.

In terms of the right message, I'm not sure there are options. We can't leave DD in her cot if she wakes any later than 5, even with soft toys she'll only last a few minutes before she starts to kick off and gets louder and louder until she's upset.

If DD didn't sleep all day she'd go to sleep fine at 7, but she'd be really wired and it wouldn't be a good night's sleep. I know not all babies work this way, and some sleep better when they're knackered, but not DD.

Enjoy your trip away, I went away for a few days recently, and being able to lie in in the mornings made such a difference to my morale. I don't know how lone parents do it, hats off to them.

Keep going, and let your nice DH take the strain for a bit. I'm now back to work, but when I was on maternity I felt it was my 'job' to look after the baby, and sometimes pushed myself too much.

RitaMorgan · 08/06/2011 11:38

Lack of naps definitely causes early waking, as they are overtired when they go to bed and sleep less deeply. At 4 months they need at least 3 hours of daytime sleep.

4 months is also prime sleep regression time. 18 weeks was when it hit us.

MissHonkover · 08/06/2011 12:13

Hello Rita, I think our babies are similar ages, we seem to pop up on the same threads.

ledkr · 09/06/2011 08:56

ok then explain please. DD woke as she has done the last 5days at 5am,after a hissy row dh took her downstairs and fed her,she went straight back to sleep!!!But in the pram. Now i dont mind at this age her needing a feed but she has been refusing to go back to sleep untill today,im a bit cos if she is going to go back down we could do a quick feed at 5 then get some more kip. I am taking dd1 to ballet today so am going to walk around in the daylight for an hr whilst she dances.Fingers crossed. Also going to try swimming tomorrow as when we took her last Sat she slept really well that night.

MissHonkover · 09/06/2011 11:32

Oh, they keep us on our toes, don't they? DD now seems to have stopped waking at 4 for water, but is waking at 5 for the day. She is happy to go back to bed for an hour at 7.30. As I would be if I didn't have to go to work.

For all our trawling through books, and asking people, (and spending hours on MN!), sometimes I think there's no rhyme or reason to it.

Sorry not to be more positive or helpful, tired today. [sulk emoticon]

ledkr · 10/06/2011 07:34

im not sure if anyone will come back to this thread but just wanted to say baby D went untill 5.45-massive improvement-after her half hr out in the garden last night,she also napped alot in the day too and took a big bedtime feed so it could be any one of those but i dont care.

LargeGlassofRed · 10/06/2011 16:44

Just wanted to had, tried this last night 40 mins playing in the garden before bath and bed and my twins slept till 5.55 and 6.10 massive improvement, going to keep it going for a few weeks.

ledkr · 10/06/2011 21:42

Ive done it again tonight so fingers crossed.I never thought id be gratefull to be able to "lie in" until 5.50

SharkSkinThing · 11/06/2011 14:21

Great news for everyone - but we're still in the dead zone - DS woke at 4.35am this morning, did a quick SAS style nappy change and left him but come 5.30am he's still wide awake and not having any of it. So up we got, and then he slept from 8.15 - 9.15am. Currently having lunchtime nap.

Don't really know what to do - black out blinds are taped shut, he's stuffed full of food and milk, and we are not getting him up straight away when he does wake. He does have a cold and is clearly teething, so perhaps it's all connected.

We'll do some playing in the garden from 4 - 5pm, see if that helps, but I just think maybe it's a phase...yawn...

MissHonkover · 11/06/2011 20:25

I'm dead here, DD will not budge from 5am. Wondering about whether a dream feed would help, it's been months since she had one, and it feels like a real backwards step.

ledkr · 11/06/2011 20:55

Oh dear, yes do try the light, didn't do it tonight as it was raining and I didn't think sitting in the rain would aid Restful sleep! so id like to see if she's back to 5 am but not a very good test as went to bed late.
Not sure about dream feed tho, is it hunger he wakes for? t

MissHonkover · 11/06/2011 21:39

No, I don't think she wakes hungry. When she wakes at 5 she isn't narky for food til about 6.15. We tried two evenings of going out in the pram before bed, but it didn't seem to make much difference.

ledkr · 12/06/2011 11:14

I didnt do the light thing last night and she woke at 5 despite not going to bed till 9pm so i m sticking with that. I sit her in the garden in her chair or one day just by the patio doors maybe the pram doesnt allow enough light.
Off to paris with dd1 tonight for 4 nights of sleeping past 5 wooop!

MissHonkover · 12/06/2011 12:36

Enjoy! DD woke at 5 as usual, and in desperation we gave her a FF, and she then slept til half 6. Feeding a very nearly one year old in the night doesn't seem right, not sure what to do.

SharkSkinThing · 12/06/2011 17:26

We're still in hell - 4.30am this morning, and then a 40 minute nap at 8.30am, then a MAJOR meltdown at 1pm with the lunchtime nap (usual a doddle), then fell asleep at 3pm in the car, and I had to wake him at 4pm so we'd still stay on track for the tea/bath/bed routine.

Christ knows what he'll do tonight.

I could cry. DP are bickering with each other, and I feel, yet again, that I'm failing.

The pissy weather doesn't help, either!

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