2 year old waking at 5am. Help!

[MrsSamRowley]

Hi ladies,

Looking for a bit of advice please!

My 2-year old daughter has always been a good sleeper but we've recently moved her into a toddler bed in preparation for the arrival of her little sister in October.

There have been some night wakings but these seem to be on the wane, the main issue is that she has been consistently waking at 5am (4.30am the other morning!) I thought the issue might have been the light mornings so bought a blackout blind (the kind that attach to the window with suction cups) but it has made no difference, she still wanders into our room at 5am every morning!

She still has one nap a day after lunch - around 12.30/1 - 3pm. I was wondering whether I should cut her nap or push bedtime later (currently this is 7pm) but I've read that cutting naps and making bedtime later can actually negatively impact nighttime sleep so I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do really!

I know I'm lucky in that she is a good sleeper and has slept through consistently since she was very little but now I'm pregnant and not sleeping well generally the early mornings are killing me!

Any advice gratefully received!

Just commented on a similar post so I’m going to literally copy and paste…

You may just have to suck it up for a while unfortunately! Which I know is horrendous advice, but IMO sometimes the best thing you can do is accept a situation instead of driving yourself mad trying to change it. I know mine went through a phase of waking early because of hunger, and plenty of friends have moaned about it too.

The only thing that helped here (sometimes) was some porridge before bed.

By October everything will have changed again.

Absolutely do not cut the nap… You’re going to want that break as your pregnancy progresses I reckon.

I don't see the problem, other than you not liking it. Children that age often get up that early, both of mine did. It doesn't last forever and I seriously doubt you can do anything to change it.

Same. Go with the flow!

Grow clock! Our 2 yo responded really well, it didn't take long at all. If she wakes at 5 she can see there's still a couple of stars left to go before morning so will go back to sleep. Every day bang on 7 though her bedroom door flies open and she loudly declares 'the suns awake!'

If she’s not too tired in the evenings, I’d try edging bedtime later. I’ve read that it can be counterproductive but it worked with my toddler. For us it happened naturally. He still needs a long nap but wasn’t ready for bed at 7pm anymore, often it’s nearly 8pm by the time he goes to sleep but he sleeps for an extra hour in the morning.

5 would be considered a lie in here

It's a pretty normal toddler start time. DS thought the day started at 4.30am for many years! DH and I just took it in turns to do the early shift. I remember it feeling like so long until CBeebies kicked in at 6am.

Even now at nearly 12, DS rarely sleeps in past 6.30am.

Sadly this is normal toddler wake up time. It lasts around 18 months.
We agreed that DH would do any night wakings and I would get up early. I used to put the tv on and dose under a blanket on the sofa

7pm -5am is a good stint. I would keep nap, and move bedtime to 8-8.30pm

I'd need my evenings for sanity. Later nights don't always mean later morning get ups.
I wish they did though 😉

To be honest it's 8pm before she actually falls asleep and I have to lie on the floor with her until she drifts off. I know I'm very lucky in that I have such a good sleeper (7-7 used to be the norm!) but Mt husband has a very demanding job so the night waking and early mornings fall to me and I'm a terrible sleeper anyway but with pregnancy I feel as though I barely sleep! At least it's nothing I'm doing wrong and normal for a little one this age. Thanks for all the responses ladies.

Babies/toddlers love 5am!! It's regular here with my 2yo, although 6am this morning for a treat. 2yo wakes up regularly at night as well. I just stick cartoons on and doze while we cuddle.

@pompomseverywhere - yes I would like evenings also. But even with Ds going to bed at 8.30pm, often not asleep until 9.30pm, he’s still up at 6am. So neither evenings or mornings gained. When I tried bedtime at 7.30pm he just wasn’t tired and messed around until 9pm anyway.

I know many people say it doesn't work but I'd cut her nap down to an hour. It worked for my DDs.
They started waking around 5:30 instead of 7 so I gradually cut their nap from 2 hours to 1 hour and they began sleeping through again.

I hate to disagree with everyone, but taking a while to fall asleep and an early wakeup does say to me that she's ready to shorten her nap.

When my DD started wakung a little earlier, we did gro clock and toys in her room.we also had a stair gate on gher door so she couldn't go wandering. Once she was 2.5 ish i would then giveher the kindle to play with/watch, basically anything to keep her entertained so i could go back to sleep until it was a reasonable time to get up

@Sbena - what about those 2 year olds going to sleep at 9-9.30pm and waking 6am, and still having no nap? Should they have an even later bedtime?

Ds recently went to bed 1am due to travelling, didn’t fall asleep in car back from airport late, no nap, and was still up happy as Larry at 6.30am