11 month old - dirty nappy and hungry at 5am?!?! How can I break the cycle??!! PLEASE!!

[sambo2]

I am hoping someone can offer me a magic solution to an issue that I have been fine about for a while, but now have HAD ENOUGH!!

My 11 mo boy is huge, and he has 3 formula bottles a day (7-9oz) and 3 meals a day (breakfast is not very big as he doesn't seem to 'like' it, but lunch is excessively large and tea is 'normal').

He sleeps from 9.30-10am, and the 12.30pm-2/2.30pm. He is in bed at 6.45pm (it has taken the last 3 months to get it at late as this because he was so exhausted - I am trying to get his bed time towards 7pm).

Anyway, the problem is that he wakes every morning at 5-6am, usually with a dirty nappy, takes a full bottle and then goes back to sleep again. However, last night was 4am and after 11 months I am fed up with the broken sleep. Please can someone either reassure me that he will grow out of it, give me the confidence to replace milk with water , give any suggestions to stop the dirty nappy (I have stopped veg and fruit at tea time) or to accept that this is his routine and that it is 'normal'.

Thank you

Personally, sorry but normal, I wouldn't be changing what he eats to try and stop him from filling his nappy

That's fairly normal - he may be a natural early riser and early pooper. But it will change in a few months - DS used to do this but now (he's twelve months, waits till 10 to do a wonderpoop.)

The hungry at 5am thing - I suggest you wake him at 4am then resettle him to break the pattern. (Yes I know this is counterintuitive but it does work if he's trained himself to wake at a certain (antisocial) time.

tbh I think it's part of his normal routein, and while I hate it when people say it to be if he's going round from 6.45pm till 5/6am then he's doing bloody well tbh. (as I say thou I hate it when people say that to me thou)

DS outgrew this stage, could be he's having a grow again.

re the dirty nappy - i'm afraid that's nothing you can change really - at least he's regular also if it's not making any diff on the fruit/veg then perhaps bring it back in again?

would his afternoon nap get back to say 1-3pm would that help tou - I assume you're thinking if he's in bed later he'll wake later? (ime this isn't always the case)

No matter what time my 2 go to bed in the evening (they are 2 and 6m) they will always be up between 5 and 6am.

Personally, I wouldn't cut out fruit and veg from dinner.

Re breakfast, could you give him his solid breakfast straight away, then get him dressed so he is being moved about a bit and won't fall asleep, then give milk a few hours later? It might help move the naps and therefore bedtime a bit later, but IME they don't always wake later ecause they slept later.

Thanks so much for your speedy responses!

I think getting the afternoon nap from 1-3 will really help (he did that yesterday as had had a late morning nap) and was much perkier all afternoon.

Am feeling bad now that he has now pm veg/fruit - will reintroduce!!

Thanks again (also, when they start walking - so they sleep better/more?)...you can see I'm desperate

yes and no, ds is 3.5 and I still have broken sleep now from him coming into my bed - yes I prob could have broken the habit by now but well if it's keepin g him settled to know he can do.

luck you that he goes back to sleep after the milk: my ds2 (now 21mo) wakes at 5 and shouts until he's brought downstairs to start the day.