3 year old waking at 5am because he's hungry?!

[BollocksToThis]

DS is a rubbish sleeper. Self-settles at bedtime no bother but wakes loads and comes in with us. He went off his food for a couple of weeks recently but got over that and is eating well again - but now he's either hungry in the night or waking really early asking for breakfast. Mostly he does want to eat so I'm not entirely convinced he's just playing up. How do we sort it though? He has dinner between 5 and 6 and goes to bed around half 6. He's permanently tired. He does a lot of physical exercise, several miles some days, but isn't skinny at all.

Maybe you could do wat my sister did in a similar situation....she began giving her twins dnner at about 4.30 then at 6 she would do supper of beans on toast or something...

might be better though to offer supper at 6.30 and make bedtime 7.30? 6.30 is quite early?

banana before bed worked for me

my ds is 2 in a couple of weeks and he to self settles but then comein my bed at about 1am. He then is up at 5am everyday wanting his milk. we have tried feeding later in the evening and i have even tried giving him a yoghurt at 1am when he wakes to help but nothing works i just think his body clock says wake and he wakes

It does seem early for bed but he's so tired all the time, and it's the only way to get extra sleep in. Bitter experience tells me that later bed does not result in later waking, oh no :(

Might try earlier dinner plus supper then. I like the idea of a bedtime snack but then there's the issue of toothbrushing which currently fits seamlessly between washing and stories!

BTT, I could've written much of your op.

My 3 yo DD1 is also a pretty terrible sleeper and while she no longer really wakes in the night she does at times struggle to self settle and likes early mornings. This morning she was up at 6. She is always up early, it doesn't matter how late she goes to bed so like your son she is in bed early, by 7.15.

We bought an alarm clock which shows with picture when its time to grt up. This really worked out for a while but not so mych in the last month ir so. Am wondering whether we should pit it away for a bit and then take it out to make it wffective afain. We have tried sticker charts, earning stickers for goiing to bed like a god girl, ie not shouting from her bed and getting up when the rabbit says.

Apologies for typos, am on phone whilst feeding

Oh we've been there with the bunny clock and the reward charts. He just looks at me and gets up when he likes! Poor DP just about flipped when the porridge he'd produced at 5am this morning was decorated with glitter while his back was turned. Everything's tough at that time of day!

We just kid reassure ourselves, that it'll get better soon!

i'm living in hope that ds will start to sleep longer til 6 would be nice

My ds is nearly 3 - has never slept well - have had the odd week when its been better ie 6am but at the moment we are on 4.30am ish and that is the start of the day - have tried everything - I think some are just like this - I have tried later bedtime too and makes no difference so have stuck with 7pm. Clocks make no difference - could not care less. I have given up trying to do anything about it. Dreading another few months of long dark mornings!

Agh! Gave him dinner (which he hardly ate) at half 4 today to give time to get supper into him. He's now refusing all food except some yellow pepper. Expecting a hungry night, the little blighter!

Perhaps you have to break the habit of having a night time snack so his appetite during the day picks up?

I can imagine a horrible time whilst enduring it but a light supper with milk at 6.30pm bed by 7pm and nothing else to eat until 6.30am??????

I think it's whether you are prepared to put up with the objection for the first week for his body to adjust it's feeding schedule?

How old is he btw?

My DD often spins me the 'hungry' line and I've always given her exactly the same snack - a dry oatcake and either milk/water, a fairly dull offering - on purpose, so if she is really hungry she will eat it, but its not so enticing as to be worth waking up for. However, knowing DD, this is all just a ruse to squeeze a little more time/attention out of me

He doesn't get fed unless we've tried everything else or it's a reasonable time, I can assure you! I do suspect a ruse, yes. Thankfully DP got some shreddies into him so hopefully we'll enjoy a long and undisturbed kip tonight yeah right

is he waking thirsty, can sometimes be mistaken in the brain for hunger, have a drink of water handy and encourage him to go back to sleep in your bed for a while then he will get used to going back to sleep and either will stop waking or realsie there is a routine of water and not food.

if you dont want him in your bed leave a drink of water in his room and encourage him back to his bed. dd did this after being very unwell and I was giving her milk and she began to wake just for it, when she was well again i swapped to water and she stopped waking after a couple of nights.

could it be clock changes aswell messing him up.

Thanks :) but I'm afraid he's had water by his bed for years! Rarely thirsty these days. And he's been doing this since before the clocks changed would you believe!

It seems he's just one of these hardcore crap sleepers. What joy!

i wake up at dd is there smiling up at me half the time i missed her getting in, i think i just automaticly move over for her. i cant stand being disturbed so have never faught the midnight battles. , she has learned if she is quite she gets away with it.

I usually hear DD creeping thundering into the room, but have occasionally woken up to find her fast asleep next to me with my arm around her.