Hi everyone. Our 2.5 year old is going through a phase of waking early again (seems to happen every few months, he will wake at 5-5.30 very upset and yell for us) and we have tried everything to stop that - earlier bedtime, later bedtime, afternoon trips out to tire him out, earlier nap, shorter nap, longer nap, no nap but nothing works until the phase ends.
accompanying this early start phase is that when he wakes up hysterically crying he calls for daddy. We have decided to take these early starts in turns but when it’s my morning as soon as I come in he says no I don’t want you and pushes me and hits me and cries even more. He won’t let me get him dressed and eventually my husband has to come in and do it.
I know it’s just a phase but it’s really starting to get to me now, plus there are some days where my husband starts work early and I really need to get him up as I don’t go to work later.
I’ve tried sitting by his cot and talking to him, saying I love him, explaining daddy is still asleep and I’m going to get him up today, giving him a cuddle, etc etc nothing works he’s just so angry that I’m there and doesn’t calm down until I give up and go downstairs and leave my husband to sort it out.
it’s got to a point where I actually just feel so annoyed and hurt, he’s my child and he doesn’t want me. During the day he’s lovely and often wants me over daddy, it’s just in the mornings when he wakes up early and upset.
Has anyone else had this happen to them, any suggestions for dealing with it? Just hoping the early waking/hysterical crying ends as it seems to be linked to that but have no idea when it will end and we don’t know if we’re making it worse by ‘giving in’ to his demands every day.