8mo started waking up at 5am

[FTM1993]

He used to wake up at 6am pretty much regardless of the time that he went to bed (which depends on how long his final nap was) but usually between 6:30pm and 7:30pm. Now he wakes between 4:30-5am everyday. Have tried a later bedtime but it hasn't made a difference for a few weeks. He also has one feed during the night still which is fine. I have tried rocking him back to sleep, co-sleeping, feeding but he is wide awake at that time! So one of us ends up going downstairs with him, and then he is ready for a nap at about 7:30am! Any ideas on how to push the wake-up time a bit later? I don't mind 6am but any earlier seems a bit too early and it's a long day then until bedtime!

Is it getting light in his room now it's lighter in the mornings? I'd recommend blackout blinds if you don't have them already.

My little one has only just stopped getting up at 5am every morning, which he did from the get go. He's 2& a half 🫣

My 7.5 month old wakes up between 4:45 and 6am 🤷‍♀️😂

We have them but they're the stick on ones so not great. Going to try and sort them out to work better though :) thank you

Oh no, I feel for you :( I never know what to do with him at that time, I'm like if I play with him will it encourage him to keep getting up that early 😂

I refuse to get up and do anything major until after 6am. Either we will sit with him in the nursery and he might doze off for another 30-60 minutes or he’ll come into bed with us. Playtime/get up doesn’t start until after 6 (much to his dismay)

I might start shutting the hall curtains though…make it a bit darker see if that helps

Cutting down his nap time during the day should help. By 8 months it’s usual, but not universal, to stop the 3rd nap as well. Try cutting the final nap to 15 mins or pushing through til bed time.

Thanks for commenting :) the issue we have is that he only naps for max 40 mins at a time so if he doesn't have the 3 naps he gets very cranky. I've been trying to help him extend his sleep cycles during the day but haven't been able to do far. He's definitely overtired but I don't know what the solution is.

Have you tried pram naps? I used to push my daughter for 2hrs at lunch as she wouldn’t sleep without motion between 4-10 months.