7mo DD has generally been a very good sleeper at night (daytime naps are another matter...) but since we've started weaning a few weeks ago she's started waking up crying at about 5am. She doesn't actually want anything: she takes a few sips, maybe half an oz, from a bottle before going back off to sleep for another 2 or 3 hours. She's not starving at breakfast either, she can go half an hour or so before wanting a bottle and only then will take 4 or 5oz.
Now I know this is really good, but before we introduced weaning she was going through until 6.30-7am. This was with a dreamfeed at 10.30, which she started to not want a few weeks back so we dropped it, also as she had a massive growth spurt and the HV thought that the df was quite probably 'extra milk' that she didn't need, the df was taking her up to a good 35oz a day. This coincided with weaning. DD's barely eating any solid food at all (separate issue but she is starting to get the hang of it) but has spontaneously dropped at least a bottle's full of milk a day. We've put the dreamfeed back, dropping the size of the bedtime and df bottles so we're not giving her too much extra milk. The first night she slept till 7, but last night she woke at 4.45. I gave her a tiny bit of milk and she went straight back to sleep, but for some reason woke at 5.30 at the end of the next sleep cycle. She cried for a few minutes - I ignored her, and she went back to sleep.
The big problem is that I am back to work f/t in a few weeks and will be up at 6.30 every day, and I really can't do a 5am wake every day, I won't get home until 6.30 in the evening so I can't really go to bed at 9pm. DP does shift work so its not like we can really share this wake. If it was 2am I think I'd be fine, but just an hour or so before I have to get up anyway is a real killer. I'm only hoping she will sleep until 6, 6.30am.
We've been lucky and not had to do any sleep training yet, so I'm a bit unsure on doing it! I suspect I've made a bit of a rod for my own back (yes, I know, I hate that phrase too 
) by giving her a little bit of milk when she's unsettled at 5am. Obviously we'll keep going with the df and hope it starts to work consistently, but I wondered whether a few grim nights of letting her cry it out / controlled crying at 5am might fix it. I am pretty certain that DD doesn't actually want anything when she wakes, she's not starving, she's never had a dummy so its not like she wants that. She's just in the habit of being resettled at that time.
Does anyone have any tips or similar experience?