Early waking, sleepless 11 month old - help!

[biscuitbrown]

My 11 mo wakes every morning between 5 and 5.40, and is impossible to settle back to sleep. She is also waking 2-3 times a night. This has been going on since May.

I have black out blinds (3, actually!) and we've had a good nap routine since she was 6 weeks old. She already has 8 teeth and I can't feel any emerging molars so I'm pretty sure it isn't teething.

She is also fighting being put down for naps during the day (she has, up until now, still had a short morning nap and a slightly longer late lunchtime nap). And she is increasingly difficult to settle at night. She crawls around the cot, stands at the end and throws her toys, screams etc.

Yesterday DH and I determined to keep her awake all morning and let her sleep after lunch, she good naturedly played along with this, but then actually fell asleep eating her early lunch (at 11) because she was so exhausted. I'm not convinced she is ready to drop her morning nap because of this, but if she sleeps after 9.30 she won't settle for a lunchtime nap until far too late, and then won't settle at bedtime until after 8/9pm.

She was an OK sleeper until I had to take her to Australia at 8 mo because of a family situation out there. She suffered terribly from jet lag and was waking 8-10 times a night while we were there and for about 6 wks afterwards - her sleep has never really recovered from that. (Neither have I!)

I'm exhausted, so much so I'm starting to wonder if I'm depressed. I can't summon the energy to entertain her during the day, or even look after myself. I'm too tired to eat.

I can cope with the night wakings (she is fairly easy to settle before 5) but I cannot cope with being up at 5 every morning. I also know letting her get up at that time is the road to hell, and that she'll do it for the rest of her childhood if I don't get it sorted. Please help!

My DD is nearly 11 months and used to wake at the crack of dawn, this is what I did.

She would've had a nap at about 8 am then another at 11, then another at about 3pm. I now have taken the early morning one away and let her go down about 10 now, this nap will usually be about 2 hours. I then let her nap from 3-4 and wake her after an hour. She gets her dinner about 5 and is bathed and in bed for 7. I found letting her nap less in the afternoon but giving her an earlier night helped! She slept til 7.45 this morning but usually wakes at 7 now which is much better.

Just out if interest, when she wakes in the morning is she crying? When DD did this I still made her wait til 6.45, just plonked lots of toys in her cot. Does your DD self settle?

If she fell a sleep at 11am why don't you just put her for a nap at this time? My ds used to have a earlier morning nap but when he showed signs of not going down for it we just moved it up by half an hour each time. He now has only 1 nap from 11 till half 12 and I give him his lunch when he wakes up. And normally a snack before he goes down just so he doesn't wake up too early. You could move her afternoon nap up half an hour as well but she probably does not need 2 morning naps anyway.

If my ds wakes up early he just plays with his activity centre until I decide to get him up or he gets grizzly don't get her up straight away or even let her see you as long as she is happy to play in her cot. Hope you get some more sleep soon. Good luck.

Thank you both.

Tangointhenight - I have tried to let her have a longer morning nap and then a shorter late afternoon nap, but if she sleeps after 2.30 then she won't settle at 7! I'll leave her in the morning this week to sleep longer though and see how I get on.

In answer to your question - yes, she does cry in the morning, stands up at the end of her cot and gets hysterical when I go in and try to lie her down again with her bunnies. She has never been brilliant at self settling, but has been so much worse since our trip to Australia. I think I'm cracking the night waking, as she seems to be able to get back to sleep mostly by herself. I am not very good at just letting her cry, so I suppose she expects me to appear whenever she is awake. I don't feel I can really do any controlled crying when she is standing up in her cot and moving around so much, she gets so agitated and sweaty and upset, it just breaks my heart.

Susiegrapevine - an activity centre is a great idea - we have gone in and given her books and toys and she does amuse herself for a short time. I was a bit worried that might give her the wrong message though about her cot being a play space rather than a sleep space, but seems to have worked for you, so will give it a go. And yes, I did let her nap at 11, but she only slept until 12, and then we were stuck because if she sleeps any later than 2 she won't go to bed, so it screws the whole day and next night up!

Oh dear OP I really feel for you I love my sleep too much so I know how you feel.

Yeah definatley get one in fact I think it helps them settle cos when we put ds down at night he just plays with his until he falls a sleep as well this means he's not in his cot crying and working himself up.

Hope things improve for you. Sending hugs.

I would second the snack before long 11am nap and lunch after.

Then dinner can be a bit later and hopefully will last her through until a reasonable morning wake up

DS is 19 months and still sometimes goes for his nap at 11.30.

He was a terrible sleeper until 15 months so I feel your pain.