DILEMMA: 2 year old, early waking and naps

[ibblewob]

Hi everyone. For the last few weeks my 2.4 DS has been waking between 5-5.30am. Am really struggling with this as am 38 weeks pregnant and although DH very wonderfully gets up with him, I'm still pretty much awake and he climbs into bed with me anyway after a bit.

He has a 2 hour nap most days in the afternoon, and then is in bed by 8pm. If he doesn't nap we get him in bed by 7pm and he wakes up more around 6.30am, which is better, but then I don't get the nap time during the day which is so useful, first for me to sleep and then also was hoping he'd keep it up when the new baby arrives.

So do I:

A) Cope with him waking at 5.30am but keep the daytime nap, or

B) Have a later wake up time and earlier bedtime but cut out the nap?

What would you do? Thanks

I would cut the nap down a bit - what about 1hr?. my ds (2.2) was waking early an I went from 2 hrs to 1 1/2 and he went back to a 7pm to 7am sleep. Think I'll have to cut it to 1hr soon but it's still a break!.

Thanks fym - I knew the answer could be

C) something I totally hadn't thought of!

Love my pregnant brain

No advice but just thought you deserved some bloody sympathy!

there is a theory that its late bedtimes that can cause early wakings. if this is the case for you then you might have hit the jackpot! he could be sleeping til 6.30 (at the earlier bedtime ones) cos he's getting the right nighttime rest, AND might need a nap still in the day? at 2 i think most kids need daytime naps still at 2.
you could try this: bringing his bedtime earlier til about 7 or 7.30, and also getting him to nap in the day. if you try this for about 2 weeks you might see some results. however, you might not and then you have to mess it all up again!
i would recommend giving it a go to most people, BUT not in your case. because you are 38weeks pregnant. in my solo experience of pregnancy and babies i would guess you might be too knackered to actually try anything new. and a new baby is going to throw sleep patterns all over the joint anyhow. added to this, your toddler is going to need as much familiarity as possible over the next few months. and if no naps is going to make him grumpy it will be even harder for him to cope with a newborn in the house.
for now, and for over the next 3 months i would suggest accepting the horrible but just about bearable 5.30 wake ups, and keep the daytime naps. with a new baby you too might want to be seizing the daytime sleep that would be offered up.
thats just my opinion. good luck with whatever you do. my toddler wakes between 5.30 and 6.30 every morning, and i too find the before 6's painful!

Poor you!

Keep the nap!

I have a 23mo old DS and 8.5mo old DD ... so only 14mo difference or so between them. My older one loves to wake early too - it's such a pain! He is a big napper though. Even if we cut his nap down he still wakes early, actually...but that's my own problem..

Anyway, I must say, when the new baby came along, naptime was soooo worth having. Sometimes both would sleep at the same time (bliss!).

Hopefully DH can continue to ease the morning wakeup for you. Good luck!!

Thanks everyone

I've had this early waking thing with DS (2.3) on and off for ages. Saw a Health Visitor the other day who felt it could be due to him being over tired and to continue with daytime naps and to try an earlier bedtime.

(she had a very scientific rationale for this to do with cycles of sleep during the night but tis too late now for me to attempt to explain it!).