5am waking in a 1 year old... help?

[CanIHaveAPetGiraffePlease]

I have a 14month old that is waking for the day about 5. It used to be 6.30 ish which was fab, then 6, then 5.30. This morning it was 4.45. She is full on awake, standing in her cot calling out "mamamamam" or "dadadadadad" for a change. We eventually get her out and come downstairs and play with her and get her breakfast (which she eats tons of) but we are so not wired up for 5am. I naiively thought after a year sleep might get better...

I do wonder if there is anything we can do or just live with it. At the moment she goes to bed about 6.30 - 6.45pm ish.

She shares a v..small room with her older sister (who goes to bed at 7.15ish and sleeps until 6.45/7am ish which is fab!) We can't really put baby to bed any later as it would disturb big sister and big sister appreciates having some time with us before bed.

At the moment she naps about 9.30-10.30 or a bit less and about 1.30 ish usually for 45minutes.

Maybe its time for one nap? I do a pre-school run though (leaving 12.30 and back about 1)

Any ideas welcome!!

You have my complete sympathy - it's horrid when this happens!!

My advice would be to drop that early morning nap or at least move it later. Quite possibly this means moving towards one nap. I do understand how hard it can be to fit in with preschool/ school pick ups though. When my two first went to one nap, they both started with a 11-12:30 one and it gradually got later. This could work for you, though, if you really aren't keen to make that early bedtime any later.

It will hard at first to push that morning nap to later, but I think there's a lot of truth in the theory that early naps can encourage early wake ups. I think it's something to do with it actually being part of their night time sleep.

Any nap transition is hard so good luck!!

My dd went through this as well as other sleep annoyances.
I find if she eats well in the day and has a good nap or naps she sleeps later. Also if she's up early don't let her nap untill late as possible or she will use it as extra night sleep iykwim?
Dd is two now and still wakes early if she goes to bed too late or hasn't napped/eaten.
Practically though we took it in turns and sky plussed stuff to watch at 4am!

I am consequently one of those mothers who lives around my child's naps

Oh I am more than happy to live around my child's naps if it means I get some sleep ...! I wasn't with no 1 but I already live around pre-school runs, fixed bedtimes etc.

I didn't realise that a 9.30 nap could be encouraging it. (Its when we get back from pre-school - when we walk she falls asleep in the pram, if we drive she cries to be put down). Mumsnet is fab for this kind of information. I think I'll try to make the morning nap later (and do the afternoon nap later or just cut it completely? She will be SO grouchy if she's not slept from 11.30 - 6.30)

ledkr - I've just ordered season 8 of House to watch. It's not very baby friendly but she's going to have to put up with it if she's going to get me up a silly o clock!

I used to watch Shamless and American horror story very inappropriate.
It will pass but defo look at food naps and not getting too over tired.
Last week I was demented with her sleep again but advice on here has made for a settled week so it can be done.
Lots of early wake advice on Internet as well.

Advice is to push early nap forward over time if necessary. I'd wake her myself then nap her later but yes my that is the problem.

Have you tried wake to sleep? There is a thread on here I read a few weeks ago all about it and it sounded like a good idea. I can't find the thread at the moment but it was all about changing their body clock to break the cycle. Worth a read if you can find it.

Hmm.kept her up until 11am after waking at 4.45 , bar 5 min nap on way to sisters swimming. Grumpy and wanting bf. Slept for just over an hour in car between 11 and12 .15 ish. Finally conked out just now with a bf 5pm after grizzling for last 30 mins. So do I let her sleep? If she sleeps until 6 she so won't go down am hour later will she?! Help!!

Oh dear. It's so hard when you are out and about.
If dd falls asleep late we just stick with the routine but later.
But she is now 2 so older and I'm no expert at all.
You said she are lots on waking maybe its hunger.
We have reduced her precious milk and upped the food and seems to work.

Also it's not going to happen over night is it? Will take time to reset your routine. Dud you look online? They say its tough at first but push nap forward bit by bit you did well today but her late sleep is a pain!

I really don't know what to do about keeping her up later. The kids share a tiny room and the big sister will need to go to bed. She really values the one on one time after baby in bed. She might just have to have a few late nights . . .

Thanks for the encouragement. Do I just go for 2 later naps and a later bed time them?

No I don't think so I find late nights no help at all and an earlier one means better night.
You probably need to right today off lol.
Get your box set ready and an early night.
I think at her age she still needs either a massive midday nap or morn and afternoon.
Google early waking and there's loads if advice.
I'm worried I'm giving you advice when last week dd was waking in the night and I was having a meltdown. I may not be an expert.
Dd has had late naps before and a slightly later bedtime and slept ok.
Watch for the signs she is tired then go for it. Dd normally yawns alot and cries at everything.

No I don't think so I find late nights no help at all and an earlier one means better night.
You probably need to right today off lol.
Get your box set ready and an early night.
I think at her age she still needs either a massive midday nap or morn and afternoon.
Google early waking and there's loads if advice.
I'm worried I'm giving you advice when last week dd was waking in the night and I was having a meltdown. I may not be an expert.
Dd has had late naps before and a slightly later bedtime and slept ok.
Watch for the signs she is tired then go for it. Dd normally yawns alot and cries at everything.

Oh twice sorry

See my 14 month old needs more sleep than what yours gets otherwise she wakes early.

So first nap at 9am for 45 mins (I wake her at 7am!) and next nap at 1pm til 3pm. Asleep by 7/7.15pm for bed. On the rare occasions she wakes at 5am, I treat it as a night waking, feed her and she'll sleep til 7.

I will add - my ds was an early riser and a poor napper in the day.

However as your dd sleeps through i say it could be worse and go to bed early!

Iggly. You are lucky. When dd went through this she never once went back to sleep despite me treating it as a night feed.
It does get you down too. Dh and I did a morning each and the day is soooo long. Going to bed early makes you feel as if you get no time to yourself and an evening out is out if the question as you pay for it the next morning. I hated it I have every sympathy.
How was last night?

Wow iggly I'd love to have a baby that sleeps lots at night AND in the day! That must make life easier.

Went to bed 7. Up at 4 . Husband got her out of bed in the end as her screaming would have woken sister and took her downstairs. She dozed on him until 6.

6 would bf a fine time to wake. Her 4 am wake obviously wasn't morning but she's inconsolable in bed and wants us as he it is.

We're exhausted and can't work it out.

If I make morning nap later do you keep afternoon nap the same then? I thought I was doing it right making them both when she was tired. Sigh.

Mid feed now then will put her down for a nap. Can't do one big middle of day one as pre school run so either has to bf later morning or 2 naps.

So tired!

Poor you it's horrible. I felt demented when it was us and often had a thirty minute drive to work too.
Have you googled yet? It will pass.
I'd just go for two naps but not more than an hour each and make the first one not too early. Is she teething cosI think your bodies natural pain killers are weak in the early hours so could be why.
Go google now. That's an order

Yes I know how it is because DS was like this. So I had to go to bed early despite resenting it because it was a losing battle... He did grow out of it.

Dd has only just started sleeping through so not all plain sailing I tried cutting her day sleep to get better night sleep but she got worse. I've realised she needed more sleep than she was getting and once she started getting it she slept better at night. She wakes at night with reflux or wind and doesn't want to wake as she's very miserable for it and tries to sleep.

Didn't settle for nap at all despite bf. I want to cut down on that too but that's another problem! So just managed to get her down now as husband working at home so doesn'tmatter about pre school run. She obviously won't bf having a 1 pm nap if she wakes up at 12.30 . Hmm. How do they get to 'one big nap' and giving up other nap stage? Do they just start napping for longer?

Maybe I'll let her nap later this pm but not for too long or something. As for now I'm going to try get 30 min doze!

Ds started to resist his morning nap so we went through a phase of no AM nap some days then he's need an early pm nap. Some days we'd take him out at his usual morning nap time for a mini snooze on the way to somewhere. Took a couple of months to drop to one nap which he finally did at 20 months.