The early rising, when did it end?

[houseargh]

Not looking for advice, because honestly, we've tried it all. DD sleeps 9.5 hours on a good night. We aim for 8 - 5.30 as that gives us the best balance of some evening time plus survivable mornings. But not infrequently she does less and wakes up before that. This morning it was 4.45, coming on the back of a long and exhausting week at work, and my turn to get up with her. She doesn't even want to watch cartoons today but is determined to have me read the same book over and over / climb all over me / whinge about the temperature of her cup of milk, so I can't even mentally check out. We've got a big day with no chance of a nap (for me at least) later and I'm feeling super down about it.

If you had an early riser, when did it end for you? Either because they started waking up at a human hour, or what age did you stop getting up with them? Honestly thought it would be at least a bit better by now (2yrs, 4m).

About 3.5 and getting later and later now he's 5

Mine was a very early riser. It didn't stop until she started school.

Then I had the opposite problem. It seemed to wear her out and I had a couple of years of struggling to wake her up in the mornings.

Mine are still early risers at 6 and 4.5. Nowadays it's more like 6am rather than 4.30am thankfully. That changed around the time they started school.

When we got the Gro Clock and started treating any wake-up before 7am as a night time wake up.

I found that age to be the worst for early rising (I’m a few months ahead…) and DS seems to have mostly cracked the super early wakeups now. After several months of waking between 4 and 5 am we’re now at a much more reasonable 6-6.30am. It gets worse when they move from a cot to a bed, which we did at just after 2yo and that triggered earlier wakes as it was much more fun to get out!

he also comes and gets into our bed a lot more often, and usually sleeps later on. Othose nights.

8 year old here and I’m afraid he still wakes very early - he still comes and wakes me sometimes but I am trying to get him to remember to go downstairs instead!

My niece and nephew were also early risers and my SIL used the gro clock. She's managed to at least keep them in their rooms until 7.30. They are 2.5 and 4

We also treated anything before 6am as a night wake

The problem with treating anything before 6 as a night wake is that if they are awake, then they are awake. DS generally sleeps through but he does occasionally wake in the night. If that happens I go in, reassure him and go out again. It’s fine. Do that at 545 and it just doesn’t work! He’s ready to get up.

So I am looking forward to this ending too, but it isn’t forever, in the meantime, thank god for CBeebies.

It didn’t hear but they gained independence - so go downstairs rather than wake me. They watch tv and can get some food. I’m happy with them having screen time so I can sleep

Here not hear!

My DD is exactly the same age and has exactly the same sleep pattern. Wake ups this week have been anywhere between 4.30am and 5.15am.

DS 6 was an early riser (I don’t remember at what age and what time, I seem to have blocked that pain from my memory!) and is still an early bird but very very rarely before 6am.

I don’t have any answers, I don’t know how anyone has got the groclock to work for them (it took a masters degree just to set the bloody thing and DS never paid any attention to it), just solidarity… yawn

My first was the same, but also didn’t go down to sleep until around 10 pm. Luckily my DH went to work early so would get up with him, around 5.30 am, do breakfast, sit and play with him till he went to work at 7 am. When I was expecting my second, my first was in bed by 9 pm and so was I, DH not long after. We couldn’t work long days on minimal sleep, so would go to bed early hoping it wouldn’t be forever. Second son, was asleep by 8 pm every night and by then DS1 was at nursery, so we had to get up early anyway to get everything sorted. They did get better but usually awake 6/6.30 am but we seemed to get used to it and somehow survive on less sleep, but I would have a couple of nights a week where we would go to bed early straight after children, we found that helped get us through.

I thought you were going to say she was older. 9.5 hours doesn’t sound much for a 2 year 4 months old. Does she still have a nap in the day, have you tried cutting that out to see if she’ll sleep longer? For comparison my 2.5 yr dd does 7.30pm until 7am most days. She still has a nap when she’s really tired but on days when she isn’t she doesn’t have one as then she doesn’t want as much sleep at night.

The gro clock was a godsend for us! We used it while DD was still in a cot bed with the sides up so she knew that until the clock said it was daytime she would be put back to bed. When she moved into a normal bed she has kept this up. She's 4 now and has a little lamp in her room which I sometimes see go on a bit before 7. She's allowed out of bed to potter in her room but usually doesn't bother, she has some nice chats to her cuddlies first then comes in for a cuddle at 7.

Can i ask when the early rising began for your children? My 13 month old wakes between 7 and 8 at the moment but should i expect this to change?

Reading with interest as I'm in the same position. My 18 month old is consistently up between 4 and 5 and I just can't change it no matter what we try. At least when the clocks go forward it might be between 5 and 6 which will feel slightly more acceptable! I'm an early riser myself so 6 would be fine for me!

He goes down at 7 so is getting 9-10 hours and then about 1-1.5 hours as a midday nap. I know according to all the sleep resources this isn't enough, and he does get a bit grouchy so I feel he could do with more sleep, but I'm at a complete loss of how to fix it!

Mine is the same age. I opened your thread for advice but on reading, I realise his daily 6.50-7.30 waking isn't so bad after all.

Anecdotally, and in my own experience, 2yo is a shit time for sleep. Even my best sleeper went through a crappy stage of split nights and early wakings at that age and lots of my friends with 2yos say their sleep is dreadful. In our case, it certainly improved a lot by 3 and now at 5yo he's a dream (and has been for ages!). Just don't have another one as you'll be back in the thick of it with the baby just as your 2yo starts sleeping better and longer

Around 3.5 with dc1. Dc2 was earlier as he had a later bedtime. I know it doesn't always work out that way that a late bedtime means a later wake up, but it did for him

Honestly we solved this by being militant with the gro clock. If they wake at that time at this time of year it is dark! So they have to go back to sleep just as if they had woken at 2am.
when it is light earlier than 7am we allowed pottering/reading in the room.
there was no getting up, no milk, no screens and and no food before 7am.

My daughter is 4.5 and has been waking at 5.30 (or earlier) for 4 years. Nothing works. People who complain about 7am make me laugh out loud! 😂

@Camillialane we do this too! My daughter has had the gro clock since she was 2 and she really does understand she must stay in her room until the clock goes yellow at 7.25!it used to be set earlier but I moved it to later once she understood.

Iv got a 4 month old too and il do the same with her when she's older.

I’ve always treated anything before 6 as a night wake. But my 5YO has never slept later than that, she just sorts herself out now!

No necessarily. DS is 3 and currently still asleep. They're all different.