Chronic early riser, should I now just cut the nap?

[CondoleezzaRiceCrispies]

DD is 2.1, and has been an early riser (averaging 5.45am) since 9 months or so.

We've tried everything except a tip I've just seen on MN about opening their curtains when they wake and retreating back to bed myself, saying 'come and get me when the sun [GroClock] is up'. Would like to give that a try, but we live in a terraced house so there's a limit to the crying that we can inflict on our neighbours.

I'm wondering whether we should just go for broke and gradually cut the nap completely. Anybody else has such a stubborn early riser? And what did you do?

I'm not sure how I would cut out a nap. Our dc2 will be 2 in a few weeks. Yesterday he didn't have a nap (for only the second time ever). Today though there would be no way of keeping him awake when he wanted/needed a nap.

What we did introduce a while back was a one hour time limit on his naps. It dramatically improved his night sleep to 11/12 hours most nights (touchwood).

Could you limit the length of her nap?

Thanks for the reply. Was your DS an early riser, and did the nap-capping extend the morning part of it?

We had a stretch a few weeks ago of waking at approx 6.30 (bliss!) with a bedtime of 7.30 and a 45 minute nap at 1.30. That period vanished as quickly as it arrived, unfortunately. Maybe she couldn't sustain it?

He was always a pretty bad sleeper and up by 6am most mornings. Then he just started needing more sleep. Some mornings we have to get him up. This co-incided with capping the nap so we've never dared letting him nap longer.

Obvious question - does she have a blackout blind in her room? We have one doubled up with thick curtains.

coincided clearly. Have had

Yes, she has blinds.

Very occasionally DP and I manage to be philosophical about it and hope that she'll grow out of it sooner rather than later, but mostly we so desperately want there to be a solution.

She will get there and you will forget all about it. Tis but a small blip on your family's journey. Now who's getting all philosophical?

It's true though. Our first has always been a great sleeper. Once ds started sleeping properly I realised just what lack of sleep had done to me (and dh did a lot more settling than me after he was night weaned). When I look back though, I realise that I love the memories of the early mornings of just me and the kids and a cup of tea.

How long does she nap for?

At that age we limited ds2's nap to 45 minutes. It was the only way to get him to sleep past 5am.

Yama is right that this is just another phase that will pass, but I feel for you in the meantime.

It's a phase that's been going on for nearly two thirds of her life!

Thanks for the encouragement though, I don't know any other early wakers and both me and DP are permanently tired, whilst our friends' kids are doing 12 hours.

She wakes after an hour for naps, but always in floods of tears that take a long time to settle, bless her.

Ds is an early riser. A lie in is half 6. Basically we suck it up and go to bed early. Now we're used to it (he's 2.10). We don't mess with his nap - cutting it only affects his bedtime. Did nothing for the mornings. Although we found an earlier bedtime consistently was the one thing that made a marginal improvement.

It might not seem like a lot, but get her up after 45 mins. My dd is like an anti-christ if she sleeps too looong during the day. It could take 6 weeks for this to impact her morning rising time, but i know from our experience it took 6 days for dd to reset her morning wake up to a normal time. So keep heart, keep consistant.

And be wary of others' stories of 12 hours...

Have any of you tried that tip from another thread where you go back to bed and tell them to come and get you when the GroClock sun is up? Seems counterintuitive to open their curtains and let them start the day when it's still night time.

Up for the day at 6.10, which would be on the acceptable end of things had she not woken up three times in the night...

We got a gro clock for DD1 who was/is early riser. Initially used it with a reward chart ie if you don't shout before sun you get a sticker, worked on and off when she was 2.5. Now though (she is 4) it really works she doesn't come in and wake us up till it appears .

A tip to start off would be font set it for too late set it for what you think they could manage ie 15 mins later than usual.

You would also not have to open curtains as the light gets quite bright.

Ds is 4 nearly 5 and is up every morning at about 6. He has always been terrible at sleeping, was up 4 times naught till nearly 3 despite trying everything. Naughty step, clocks, reward charts, adjusting bedtimes. He sometimes sleeps in if he's totally exhausted from a days activity but by sleep in I'm still talking before 7am.

Honestly I don't think there is an answer to it. Limit nap time otherwise make the most of it. I'm told they grow out of it. I've been promised once ds starts school it will change. I'm not holding my breath anylonger.

We send him to his grandparents for a night about every 6mths but early nights for us and accepting your day starts early.

If you find a solution is love to know what it is.

• a night not naughty

Could you try putting bedtime back half an hour too to see if that helps?

Some kids just need less sleep, but I always had a thing about 6am too . Before 6am is night time anything after is bearable !

No haven't tried that. Haven't bothered with a gro clock because I know DS wouldn't sit and play nicely, he'd be roaming the house climbing and causing trouble. Funnily though, with DD when she's gotten up early, I have just got her up and she's rarely woken up early consistently - she usually sleeps in the next day.

Sorry to tell you this, but my DCs are 10 & 8, and are always up before 6am. What works for us is putting the breakfast things in a low cupboard, from about age 3, they have got their own breakfast and played until I come downstairs about 6.30.
It is nice, early in the morning, I get a lot done before the school run.
I suppose the good bit is that sometime soon, your DC will learn to manage without you when waking.

Mine alway wake at 6.30 to 7.00
Both lost naps at 2.1m if i let them nap they woke at 4.00

I miss the naps but 4.00 was killing!

I'm also super organised ( been up hours before school) i go to bed at 10 now to balance it out.

Ah yes, I too have had that moment of thinking, "right, let's phone and get that bill sorted", and then realised it's 6.30 am. Also feeling like I could polish off my lunch and it's half ten.

Holy Moses IOutrunBolt, your kids are STILL waking at that time???!!!!!

They're better than they were. DS used to wake up at 4.30-5am, so I count 6 as a lie in.
Hopefully when they hit teenage they'll start sleeping .

Yes, we've done the 4.30 - 5 horrors too. Thankfully we live somewhere reasonably picturesque, have resorted to driving her around at that hour to get her back to sleep and prevent the rest of the day being all manner of hell.

When she's a teenager I'm going to wait until she's asleep and then yell. Lots.