Baby awake for the day at 5am

[nosleepmonkey]

My 8 month old who is still being weaned (she is not taking to it well gags a lot etc) wakes every morning at 5am. She still feeds every 4 hours but at this time she tends not to want food she just is awake. It's killing me after having got her down to sleep about 2am following her last feed. I'm making her a bottle just now knowing she will not really take it. Any advice on how i can change her habits or is there no changing it? Feeling so bitter husband is still sleeping!!

It's all a phase. My DD was an earlier riser, then started going past 6am which was all I needed (not asking for much!) Now 13 months and I'm just pleased today that she woke at 5am and not 4 like the previous night 😂 I think with sleep there isn't loads you can do - other than the obvious of make sure they're not too cold, its dark enough etc. Mine still needed feeding in the night at 8 months but doesn't need it now (unless she really won't go back to sleep in the middle of the night and I'm desperate!) It will pass and get better (and then worse again for a bit and then better and repeat ad nauseam...) I leave mine in her cot now until an acceptable time unless she is actually upset though - the odd cry or noise is ok. That seems to keep her energy up for when she is up to stick to her normal nap routine which helps (and I stay in bed and doze or mess around on my phone!)

Also if you're bottle feeding definitely make sure your husband takes his turn! I breastfeed and even if I need to feed DD first thing my DH will take her downstairs if I've had a rubbish night so I can go back to sleep for a few hours!

As ds has always been an early riser dh and I take turns to get up with him. We can’t change him we can change how we respond and make sure both dh and I get lie Ins. To be fair he is now 6 so doesn’t really need as much in the morning! His day has always started between 5-6am but he goes to sleep like a dream between 6-7pm!

We go through phases of this and I notice that it's generally really bad when DD isn't sleeping well in the day and ends up going to bed overtired. Don't know if this is an issue for you?

Alternatively you could try and put bedtime back by 15 minutes a day. Influenced by Asian friends/family I tried it and it has worked... approx 9pm bedtime approx 7.30am wake.

I don’t have any advice other than it is a phase that they will hopefully grow out of.

My boy did the same. He would have us up at 0530 practically every day, but now at 14 months he is sleeping through.

I can’t pinpoint when he changed - it was a good while back I’m not suggesting you’ve got six months of it 😂 - but he just did it on his own. I remember very much being aggrieved that he would be back in bed for his first nap at the sort of time a ‘normal’ household would be getting up!

I’m sure there will be lots of suggestions and theories but my advice is to just try and knuckle down and get through it. Take the moments you get while they’re asleep to rest up (even if it’s just sitting with a drink) and hopefully, like it was for me, you’ll be clear of this phase in a few months.

All the best!

I moved my DS bedtime later, he goes between 9-10pm and sleeps until 8-9am. At one point he kept constantly waking through the night and whinging, not hungry but just not having a great sleep. Turns out he didnt like the nightlight we had on for him, we put him in the pitch black now and he sleeps through. He is nearly 7 months.

Oooh is it a phase? DS 6 and 3 still wake at 5.30am.....we just take it in turns to get up with them and roll on the teenage years!

Overtired split nights?

Sorry my advice is ride it out! And some babies / children are just early birds. I know it’s crap. But you do get used to it (DD 3.5 years now and has got slightly better but 6.30 is still a “lie in” for us)