toddler waking at 5:15 and I'm 35 weeks pregnant - help!!

[popocatepetl]

My toddler goes to bed really well at night and generally sleeps through but is waking up and wanting to get up every morning at around 5:15 every morning even though he is clearly tired. On the rare occasions he goes through to 6:30ish he's much cheerier (as am I!!) DH and I have been managing this by going to bed early and taking it turns to get up with him in the morning but I'm due to give birth in the next few weeks and am really worried about how we'll cope.

We've tried moving his bedtime back by about half an hour to 7:30 and that worked for a week or so but he soon reverted to pre-dawn starts. Currently trying the 'wake to sleep' thing but with little success. Should I cut down his nap? He's 25 months and generally has between 1.5-2 hrs at lunchtime. Or will this make him over-tired? He's very into routines so thinking of a gro-clock but is he too young? Any ideas would be very gratefully received as HV just told us to go to bed even earlier!

Thank you

I would try cutting down his nap

You can always increase it again if need be

Thank you. May give that a go.

Also how about DH getting up EVERY morning from now on?

I'd definitely work on cutting down the nap my 24mo doesn't have 1 at all unless we in the car and he sleeps 7.30-7.30.

Our son same age, ands was doing Similar. Cut nap to one hour and it has taken the edge off. Waking 6 to 6.30rather than 5.30/45. Try it for two weeks consistently to see the difference. He won't be too tired in the day. Keep bed time same or touch earlier.

So... yesterday we took him swimming in the morning, cut his nap down to just over an hour, then took him to a country park where he ran around like a whirlwind (including up and down an enormous hill) to wear him out. This morning he woke up at bang on 5:15 again!!
twattergy did you see any immediate improvement or did it take 2 weeks?
sanam may put that to DH! But to be fair, he does more than his fair share with DS at the moment as I'm struggling a bit so really can't complain.

Don't cut the nap - it has no effect on night-time sleep and will just make him grouchier. Unfortunately natural toddler wakeup time is between 5 and 5.30 and - anecdotally and IME - there's nothing you can do about it.

I would suggest trying the gro-clock as well. My DS is now 2.3yo and DC2 is due next week so I feel your pain. We've had a lot of disrupted nights and early starts and decided to get the gro clock.

It comes with a little book that DS loves and while he doesn't strictly stay in bed until the sunshine appears it has helped with night time wakings as I can say to him, look its still a star that means its sleeping time. We haven't enforced the stay in bed until sun comes up but he now is waking about 6am and calls out for 10 mins or so and one of us will go into him.

We also restrict his nap now, given a chance he'll nap for 2.5 hours so we now only allow him 1 hour max throughout the day. It has made a big difference in getting him to go to sleep at night but he doesn't sleep for much longer.

Can you get a friend or relative to help you out during the day at all who can watch your DS while you catch up on sleep or just rest. I've found it to be a lifesaver having Grandad take DS out for a couple of hours. Also, we've discovered DS is quite taken by animated films and will happily watch one almost all the way through so I'm using these to have quiet time and snuggles on the sofa (i.e. resting time for me) with DS over the last few weeks.

Both my DS who are 2.5 and 1 year wake between 5am and 6am and always have. I have tried every trick in the book and there is never any difference. I go to bed at 9pm every night sigh...

Yup - here too. In fact as the baby usually starts his day at 4.30, sometimes I go to bed at 8.

I was up at 5am this morning again so feel your pain.

I give mine a bottle and lie him back down and sometimes he will go back to sleep for another hour if I'm lucky.

You must be knackered being pregnant too, guess its good practice for when the baby comes!

I go to bed at half 8