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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

DD Getting up at 5am - HELP!

22 replies

Murphee · 22/10/2006 20:59

DD 2.9 has always been a brilliant sleeper.... until three weeks ago. Now she is up most mornings between 5 and 6 am but mostly 5am. I've tried several approaches with varying degrees of success to ensure we both get more sleep but could really do with some advice please! I've spoken to several other Mums and early rising seems to be a regular occurrence. I would resign myself to my fate and go to bed at 8.30 every night (because to be honest I cannot cope with this little sleep - feel ill, definitely not functioning well mentally and becoming very tearful) if I thought DD was happy but she often seems really tired (grumpy, tantruming, not eating properly).

OP posts:

sasa15 · 22/10/2006 21:03

it might be just a phase.-....

I think you can correct early riser.........
don't know how.....

jools35 · 22/10/2006 21:44

I am so sorry for you. My daughter (now eight) was the same from around 12 months, and it is soul-destroying. At that age, it's not as if you can tell them to stay in their room and read, or put the TV on for them downstairs. You simply HAVE to get up with them. I'm afraid nothing we tried worked, and she was an early riser until she started school. Even if she had a late night, she'd still wake at 5-something. Hideous.

We got through it by taking it in turns to get up - is your partner willing to help out? And going to bed around 9.30/10 is essential, if extremely depressing!

Good luck. It may be a short phase - I have other friends whose kids grew out of it way before age 4.

spooksRus · 22/10/2006 21:46

think its something in the air.
I know of loads just started waking around 5

Reece · 22/10/2006 21:47

DS (2.11) has been waking early for the last 4 weeks or so. He was also a great sleeper before.

I know exactly how you feel..... just don't know what to advise as I could do with some help to.

I think it must be a phase...

Maybe they feel their little legs growing at 5am and thats what wakes them!

longwaytogo · 22/10/2006 21:50

we too are having the same problem. Is this a seasonal thing I vaguely remember the same thing happening with the older two.

This has been happening to us for about the last 4-5 weeks too and its soooo hard, we have tried bringing them into our bed, telling them to go back to sleep but nothing works.

All they want is cbeebies and its not even on at that time. aghhhhhh

Reece · 22/10/2006 22:01

cbeebies.....you crack me up

Hope its seasonal because I can be an antichrist when I don't get 7 hours sleep!

These days I'm lucky if I get 5.

Twopinkoneblue · 22/10/2006 22:08

Have had this problem with dd2. I treat 5am the same as the middle of the night. Kept taking her back to bedroom. The rabbit clock worked very well. When you set it,the light is on a rabbit sleeping. Set it for a reasonable waking time, when that time comes the light changes to a rabbit awake. They then know it's getting up time. Backed up with a reward system for staying in bed gives an incentive to stay put. Just some ideas.

Reece · 22/10/2006 22:47

That sounds fab. Where do you get the Rabbit clock???

Twopinkoneblue · 22/10/2006 23:06

The one I have is called kidsleep clock. I have noticed that they sell them in the jojo maman catalogue and John Lewis. I got mine direct from the company by ordering online. Think it was a bit cheaper.(Just google search Kidsleep clock)
There is another one where you push a button and the rabbits ears go down and eyes close. It's not as good, when it wakes up it makes a big clunking noise which was woke her up when I'm sure she would have slept longer.

Original poster

Murphee · 22/10/2006 23:20

Thanks everyone. I too am the antichrist if I don't get at least 7 hours sleep - and look what time I'm posting this!!!! Reece - love the idea of little legs growing! It is comforting to know there are other people in the same position - but rubbish for all of you. Lots of mums have been telling me about the rabbit clock so will get one ASAP.

OP posts:

lizziemun · 23/10/2006 07:50

my dd (2.9) started doing this i found if we went to the loo don't put the light on we have a small table light in the hall, no talking then put straight back to bed i just said night time still.

The first few mornings we had a few minutes of tears then she would go back to sleep untill 7 to 7.30am. She has now gone back to sleeping between 6.45pm to 7 - 7.30am.

aaronsmummy · 23/10/2006 08:09

We have 4am waking atm. 5.30 would be a lie-in lol. DS2 is autistic so we have tried all the strategies we can but nothing has worked. We just take turns and hope it will all change when he starts school next year. DS1 was the same until he reached school age. I used to let him stay in bed with a lamp on and read or play quietly with a couple of toys. There was no way he would go back to sleep. At least after getting up to switch his lamp on that was it, no more disturbance. DD is only 16 months but she wakes through the night, luckily she goes back after a cuddle. I think it is just a stage that they all go through and just find what works best for you. It won't be forever. They all leave home one day lol.

twickersmum · 23/10/2006 08:57

DON'T GET THE RABBIT CLOCK!! Search on mumsnet for lots of threads about it. it is so noisy and inaccurate (the most overpriced pile of plastic cr@p i have ever bought) that you can't set the time accurately enough and it pops up too early or too late - which either wakes them up with the clunk clunk bunny ears popping up or if too late it defeats the purpose of getting them to wait til the bunny wakes up.

this one is much better: Night and Day Clock - £17 from Mamatoto.co.uk (free delivery with KF1ZZ140 code). coupled with bribes/rewards if they stay in bed until it is "day time"

GooseyLoosey · 23/10/2006 11:01

At 2.11 my ds started this. I just got him an ordinary digital clock like mummy and daddy's and drew "7.00" out for him and told him he could not come out of his room before the clock said "7.00" unless he needed to go to the toilet.

It has worked like a dream so far (he is now 3.5) and he never comes and bothers us before "7 at the right end", although he can often be heard singing quitely in his room and I often go into his room after 7.00 to find he has constructed elaborate towers out of most of his possessions which then take ages to clear away - still nothing is perfect.

Incidentally, his clock and ours do not always reach 7.00 at the same time, particularly at weekends. Bad mother, bad mother!

Original poster

Murphee · 23/10/2006 19:27

aaron - I wish you good things, you surely deserve them after that amount of sleeplessness.

twicker, goosey and lizzie - thanks for the top tips.

OP posts:

hauntymandy · 23/10/2006 19:30

i get loads done before the others wake up!!!

Original poster

Murphee · 23/10/2006 21:30

haunty - I really wish I had your energy!

Tonight I have installed twinkly flower lights (like fairy/feather/etc lights) on a string running along top of her wardrobe so that I might turn off all other lights (which seem to encourage her more) and now I'm stressing over fire risk. Anyone else used these lights? How long have you left them on for? - I'm off to turn mine off.

OP posts:

longwaytogo · 23/10/2006 21:58

we have thomas the tank lights that stay on all night, they just scream the place down if they wake up and they're off. Never used to be like this so don't know where it came from.

hauntymandy · 24/10/2006 06:53

have you seen those lava lamps that plug into the socket?

Original poster

Murphee · 24/10/2006 21:18

Haven't seen lava lamps but they sound good - I will go and investigate. I've been having lots of conversations today about charts and stickers e.g. each time DD stays in bed she gets a sticker, so many stickers and she gets a reward. Any views? Anyone tried it? I'm beginning to view this as a phase because DD is getting increasingly grumpy in the daytime and seems really tired, so can't believe this is the way it is meant to be going forward. Those of you whose children have done it for a long time - do they seem to thrive or have problems that could be related?

OP posts:

Twopinkoneblue · 24/10/2006 22:30

They have some great reward charts on ebay. Got one for dd. Things are so much better now. Used it at first for staying in bed. Now she stays in bed, it is used successfully in the daytime.

suggy · 25/10/2006 13:09

DD1 is 3yo. We have just put a timer on a lamp which goes on at 7.15 and told her its wake up time when the light goes on. Its much cheaper than any of the other options from below. It seems to work - though bladder sometimes gets in the way- in which case we put her back in bed and say its not morning yet (the dark mornings help). And being woken by an excited toddler saying the lights on come and see, and being happy and excited is a lovely way to wake up

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