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Original poster

If you had early waking toddlers...

46 replies

LaTristesse · 13/05/2012 07:31

... did you do anything about it, if so what?!

Or if not did it eventually fix itself?

DS is 2 and has been waking at 5 or thereabouts for the past few months. I can't deal with it any longer and need to either find a solution or get my head round being patient and waiting for it to pass...

Any thoughts / experiences anyone?

OP posts:
JellyMould · 13/05/2012 07:49

What are you currently doing? We kept putting him back to bed until a set time (eg 6 am). Luckily he didn't cry too much once he got it. Is he in a cot or a bed? We also used a gro clock, which helped a bit. At this time of year, blackout blinds are also useful (5 am is about sunrise).

southfacingpuddles · 13/05/2012 07:51

Yes, we did... It often went in phases and sometimes improved but the one thing which did help was one of those clocks which turns yellow when it's time to get up (we have a Gro Clock). It comes with a book which explains how it works and how you have to stay asleep until the sun comes up. First few mornings we set it just later than we knew he would wake and sat in there with him in his cot saying its not time yet etc etc. after about 4 mornings of sitting in the dark with him, he got it. We initially had it set at 5.45 then 6.15 but now it's 8! Worth a try!

devilsadvocaat · 13/05/2012 08:01

I second a gro clock and sticker chart to go w/th.

At first set it for 5, then increase in 5 mins every couple of days.

My son is 4 now and he still wakes up early but can go and put tv on when the sun comes up at 6.30

It has been real value for money.

My children both stopped having naps at this age too. If they nap, they get up earlier.

Adoptionrulesok · 13/05/2012 08:14

I third a gro clock. We used it the same way as Devilsadvocat and it does work. Sometimes he still wakes early but he will stay in his room untill the "sun comes up".

We also changed his bedtime to 6:15-6:30ish and cut his day time nap. This was the thing that probably worked the best. I still mourn his day time nap and my hour of peace, but it is worth it for the lie-ins!

Good Luck, I feel your pain :)

BikeRunSki · 13/05/2012 08:16

GroClock big waste of money. He just used to come in and tell us that the sun was not up yet. He has blackout blinds and blackout linings on his curtains. After 3 years (and another baby) I have given up hoping and consider the occasional 6.15 wake up to be a lie in.

Original poster
LaTristesse · 13/05/2012 08:20

Ok, he has a gro-clock but keeps unplugging it so it's not that useful!

Currently when he wakes I pull him into my bed as if I'm lucky he'll nod off again and I can get an extra half hour or so. I know that's not ideal, so I think I will try and get him to lie back down and at least hang out in his own room til a more acceptable time. Is that just a morning version of CC? (Not averse to that, just wanting to check I'm doing it right!)

He does still nap, in fact sometimes he's so shattered from waking early that he has an hour around 9 and then more in the afternoon. If he just has one nap it'll be around 1. He'll stay in his bed for one sleep cycle only, but if he comes down and sits on the sofa he'll nod off again for another hour. IMO he spends a lot of time being tired so I'm loathe for him to drop his nap altogether, but I know there's a school of thought that he'll sleep longer with no nap. On the odd day when he has had no nap (when we've been out at the wrong time etc), he's been an absolute horror by mid afternoon.

On the upside he will always go down fine at 7 and I'll sleep uninterrupted til his 5am wake-up.

OP posts:
ffnorm · 13/05/2012 08:24

very interesting thread as I have a 2 year old DS who wakes at approx 05 30 (has started not napping some days but this doesn't seem to have any impact on the time he wakes...)

Those who had Gro clock success - how old was your child? I'm not sure if DS would get it Hmm or am I underestimating him.

Will watch with interest Smile

Adoptionrulesok · 13/05/2012 08:42

I started gro clock at about 2.6ish. It took 3-4days of being taken back to bed and told "look, the sun isn't up yet" but he got it quite quickly I think.

Once he got the basic principles I started to increase the time by 10min intervals once a week, usually on a saturday morning.

Hope that helps?

Miladygardenia · 13/05/2012 08:48

I didn't find the Gro Clock much use, especially as ds2 quickly learned how to reset the damn thing!

I drew a picture of a clock on a big piece of paper with the hands pointing to the time I wanted him to get up and put it up next to his wall clock. Then he got a sticker on a chart for every time he waited the hands 'matched'. We still have to use it (although he's 4.6 now!) as he's a sociable, morning soul but on the whole it got much better very quickly.

Miladygardenia · 13/05/2012 08:49

... waited until the hands 'matched'.

Iggly · 13/05/2012 08:49

Is his room blacked out? Completely? Does the room get cooler in the morning?

Ds has early waking phases but we don't cut his nap or put him to bed later because it does not work. We keep him napping once a day (he's 2) and put him to bed early.

I'd suggest a much earlier bedtime - asleep by half 6. Keep it up for a week. Also a nap at 12, no morning nap if you can help it. hopefully after a week of this, he'll catch up on sleep and early wakings will resolve in a few weeks. This means an earlier lunch and tea but he's little so won't be for long!

Shakey1500 · 13/05/2012 08:56

My DS (4) has always been an early waker. 6.30p sleeper till 5am ish. To be honest, I just reconciled the fact that this was his sleep pattern. He also dropped his nap early. Even now he's 4 and at school, he'll wake between 5 and 6 but I've asked him to play with some toys until Mummy's phone alarm goes off at 7am. Sometimes it works, sometimes there a crisis that he ABSOLUTELY has to come and tell me about like "Eeyore isn't playing nicely" Grin or he'll be shouting form the bathroom "I need help wiping my BUUUMMMMM!" That always makes me smile no matter how groggy I'm feeling.

I figure that's how much sleep he needs, he's great during the day so I feel lucky despite being shattered some days and I can always head back to bed after the school run

AubergineKenobi · 13/05/2012 08:59

DD1 did 5am for about a year, it nearly killed me. dD2 started and I thought no way. I immediately blacked our her room, every crack of light was blocked. I also made sure she had lots of blankets as apparently your body gets cold at 5am ish. If she woke before 6.45 I went in in the pitch black and whispered "it's still night time". Sometimes she cried & I left her or whispered again. Soon her body learnt.

Fedupnagging · 13/05/2012 09:18

Ds1 and ds3 were both early risers-anything from 4.30am! Both gave up their daytime naps by 12 months, had blackout blinds etc. IME, if you have an early riser, there is not much you can do to keep them asleep, it's more a case of damage limitation.

That's the bad news! The good news is, this is just a phase and will pass.Grin

We tended to take it in turns to take ds downstairs to watch videos (showing age here) and would try to get more sleep on the sofa. A bowl of dry cereal and mug of milk also helped to keep them quiet. As they got older, we could leave them downstairs and go back to bed! Bit older still, and they would take themselves downstairs. However, if they did that, we couldn't guarantee they wouldn't raid the biscuit tin rather than cereal and spill the milk! IMO small price to pay for more sleep though. (probably get flamed now for bad parenting techniques).

Original poster
LaTristesse · 13/05/2012 13:38

At what age did it pass FedUp?

OP posts:
Fedupnagging · 13/05/2012 16:12

Am struggling to remember-ds1 is now 18 and ds3 13!

I do remember just how exhausting it all is though getting up in the middle of the night early so you have my sympathies OP.

IIRC the sleeping longer just happened in small increments. Encouraging the boys to amuse themselves without disturbing others , was definitely the key.

Now, of course, it is not unusual for all 3 ds's to be still in bed at midday - it's just getting them into bed at night is the problem now!Grin

CharlotteBronteSaurus · 13/05/2012 16:14

proper super dooper dark blackout helped (we have easyblinds, and a blackour blind over the top). and every now and again we had to really cut back on daytime sleep.
she grew out of it by about 3.5 though.

Original poster
LaTristesse · 13/05/2012 16:38

3.5! Lordy! Another 18 months of this will kill me I swear!
So tonight I'm going to kick off bedtime at 6.45. He's been to a party today and is beat, despite 2 naps. Will also try again with the GroClock, to be honest the unplugging needs to stop anyway. I'm also going to be more hardline in the morning. I'll let you know how it goes!

To add, we do have blackout blinds but some light seeps around the edges. And he is definitely cold come 5am as he kicks his duvet off, despite it being a zip on one!

OP posts:
Original poster
LaTristesse · 14/05/2012 06:57

So last night he was asleep by 6.45, i explained again about the GeoClock and set it for 6. He woke at 4am! I went in and told him it was still night time and to lie back down. Bit of complaining but he did and stayed there til 6 - unrelated to the clock I think, but still better than 4!
Will keep going, with only one nap today and see how things go. Thanks to everyone who replied!

OP posts:
Adoptionrulesok · 14/05/2012 08:33

Good luck :)

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 14/05/2012 08:37

If you put himt to bed a couple of hours later would he sleep for longer.

I have the opposite problem, toddler asleep by half ten, won't wake up until half eight/nine (and still has nap)

orangeandlemons · 14/05/2012 08:41

I tried everything with myds when he was little. Everything. Some years later, I saw a sleep specialist on tv saying that this was the hardest sleep problem to crack. He did say thatt he best way was to stop any early morning(e.g 9.00am) naps, as these were really a continuation of night sleep. I also wished I'd stuck it out with trying to put him to bed later, but I alwyas gave up on about the 4th day.

It will pass though. My ds now 18 goes to bed at about the time yours is getting up

AceOfBase · 14/05/2012 08:44

My ds gets up about 5am bit goes to bed at around 9pm (though often not to sleep) and generally gets himself up and watches tv til I come down. I leave out a drink and a sandwich or something for him before I go to bed and he just sorts himself out. But he's 4.6. When he was younger (hw has been doing this since he was a baby) I just got up with him, had some food/drink prepared and a DVD ready and dozed on the couch with him til he got bored. I know it sounds lazy of me but you have to catch sleep when you can and I'm already an insomniacs due to meds and fibro pain.

Original poster
LaTristesse · 14/05/2012 09:05

There seems to be folk who say a later bedtime would help, and others who swear by an earlier bedtime; very confusing! Orange, there's no way I'm waiting til he's 18! Grin

OP posts:
orangeandlemons · 14/05/2012 09:16

No, a long wait!

I know he got up at about 7.00am when he started school, but I can't remember when he switched to this time.