Early Morning Waking - Baby has NOT had enough sleep!

[Elsie123]

Hello all

I'm hoping for some support and advice. I have a wonderful 18month old DS, who goes to sleep for naps and bedtime like a dream, and sleeps using a grobag. During the night he stirs, but can put himself back to sleep. He does sometimes sound unhappy though..
My problem is this. He wakes, most mornings at around 5 - 5.30am. Now if I had a pound for everyone who tells me - 'he has had enough sleep' I would be a rich woman. Also, if he woke up and was not so unhappy, quite often moaning and sounding as though he is trying to get back to sleep, then I would be prepared to live with it (I wouldn't be over the moon, but some babies are early risers). As it is, I am finding this all very distressing, and am not sure what to try next. He is OK once he is up and has had his bottle, but is absolutely exhausted, with all the signs. I love him so much, and want to help him to get that little extra sleep he needs, probably just a matter of an extra half hour. When he wakes at 6am he is much happier. What do others think? Should I get him out of the grobag - is he getting tangled up in it? Should I leave a drink of water in the bed, is he waking up because he is thirsty - would he know what to do..?

HELP! I am so sleep deprived I think it is starting to affect my mood and health. And I truly believe that my DS is not simply waking because he has had enough sleep. We have tried later bedtimes with no effect, except an ever tireder baby..I look forward to your advice..

How's he done since?

Hi puffling, and any one else still watching!
Well, after 2 amazing nights - the second being an 8am wake up (!) we are back to square one. I'm really lost now - just don't know what to do. I KNOW it's just a phase, but it has been happening every morning for the last year really, and along with the screams at night, I just feel so low and if I'm honest, anxious. I am starting to doubt my ability as a parent. I find the days long and hard work, and I feel like I have no patience for anything. I make sure I spend time playing with my DS, and I still love him so much, but I just feel I have let him down, and that my attitude sucks toward motherhood. This is him, I should just be able to put his needs first. I can't relax though, I feel resentful and wound up whenever I think about this, and therefore start every morning in a bad mood, which I think is affecting us all..
Sorry, bet you wish you hadn't asked now sorry to moan

Elsie, i have been there, as many of us have/are and know how hard it is. You are exhausted that's all.

Keep going with pushing the nap til later
Keep going with the evening snack/weetabix
Do try and treat an early wake up as if it was the middle of the night
The fact that he has done it for a couple of times means he can.

My DDs still wake up early morning but now, sometimes with a bottle of milk and nappy change, do go back to sleep.

If it helps, in a while you'll be able to bribe him to stay in his room and not wake you up .

Elsie, my 15 month old has one nap from 1-2.30, bedtime at 7.30-7.45 and sleeps till 8 am, so I definitely think what you said with the slightly later nap is a good idea..

I would also suggest the following:

make sure room is dark in the mornings
make sure he's had a good tea and drink of milk before bed so it's not hunger, I give DS his tea at 6 pm..
make sure he has a good play in the bath and lots of splashing/physical activity to get properly tired
cold room and warm blankets, make sure room is cold enough and he's warmly wrapped..

these tips are just based on my experience with ds, he used to wake up more when it was warmer in the room

best of luck!

My 2nd is doing this, she's 18m, having been an excellent sleeper. She was awake at 4am this morning argh!!

We usually leave her on the off-chance she'll go back to sleep but once the crying escalates and threatens to wake ds, I have 'given in' and taken her to bed with us, which isn't ideal as she's restless and wants to sleep on my face!

We've also tried changing her nappy and giving her milk but I think that might actually exacerbate the problem as she's meant to be moving away from having a bottle, not upping the amount!

She has about a 90min sleep at 1pm.

I'm telling myself this is a phase, as most things with toddlers usually are.

what you say about the cold room and warm blankets is really interesting gemzooks.

we were away for a few days and turned off the heating whilst we were away. when we arrived home at midnight on wednesday night, the house was freezing (registering 10 degs on the monitor in DD2s room)

that night they both slept til 7.30 and 8.20am respectively. that is a record. i did wonder whether it was the cold house... but just put it down to not having had a great night sleep driving back in the car (though both were fast asleep in their reclined car seats from 7.30pm).

hmmmmm, now how do i get dh to turn down the heating?!

can you just turn off the radiator (or radio as dd calls it LOL) off in the bedroom?

my dd's early waking can sometimes definately be due to being a bit chilly around 5ish.

she's in a 2.5 grobag and a blanket over when i go to bed around 10ish but it's generally fallen off by 5am. i'm moving her up to a duvet and converting the cot to bed soon.

lined curtains and a dim-out blind have helped too.

doh! yes, i will try that tonight.

yes, we turn off the radiator in his room (seems a bit mean while we're sitting in the warm), but he's really warmly wrapped in bed, 2.5 tog grobag, fleece snuggle and duvet, and his room goes to 12-14 degrees, and he sleeps really well..

Hi All - the heating thing is interesting. We have a little heater in the room, which we leave on to keep the room at an alright temp. My ds is a very restless sleeper and I would think he would kick off blankets (he sleeps in a grobag), and he has usually been more restless when he is cold, but I could try this.. I'll try anything to be honest! What do you suggest Gemzooks? I can cover him with a duvet as well as the grobag? Do you do that when he goes to bed, or later?

hi Elsie, I go in to check on DS at about 11 pm and cover him up more warmly. So he goes to bed in grobag, lying in a fleece wrap thing that does up with Velcro (he can escape from it if he really wants), and with one blanket. By 11 pm the room is about 14 degrees and I go in and add the duvet.. but the last few nights have been warmer so have just had the duvet but no blankets... by the morning he's usually wriggled around a bit but sleeps well. I'm not advocating a freezing room but 12-14 is ok imo as long as they're warmly wrapped... best of luck!