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Sleep

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Original poster

has anyone tried controlled crying for early morning waking?

112 replies

Tutter · 05/06/2006 21:14

sorry if there's a similar thread - dh has given me access to the laptop for 10 mins so i don't have time to search archives.

ds turned 1 a fortnight ago and wakes around 5 or 5:30am. we suspect he's woken by the planes - they start around that time. in the past he often went back to sleep but now he usually is up for the day.

we used cc when he was 6mo to get him to settle himself at bedtime and it worked well. we're now planning on starting again tomorrow morning to get him back to sleep.

i'm sure he needs more sleep as he is grouchy and grotty til he goes back for a sleep at 8:30-9ish - and this is usually a long one - an hour and 20 mins or so.

also has a lunchtime nap - around an hour.

anyone tried anything similar? tips would be oh-so-gratefully received - i am so sick of waking so early

OP posts:

Original poster

Tutter · 05/06/2006 21:18

ps oh yes, and caan someone pls remind me what we should be doing - i.e. how long do you stick with the out-for-5-mins-in-for-2 thing before switching to 10 minutes? tia.

OP posts:

Original poster

Tutter · 05/06/2006 21:52

anyone?

OP posts:

liath · 05/06/2006 21:57

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BonyM · 05/06/2006 21:58

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kolakube · 05/06/2006 22:05

We did it with dd (14 mnths) and it worked for a while. She does still give us an early morning alarm call now and then. We just kept going in every 5 mins until she settled - sometimes she was settled before the first visit. I wonder how babies can tune out noise when they're fast asleep in the pram in the daytime in a busy shopping centre but when we need them to early morning they seem super sensitive!

alexh · 06/06/2006 10:27

We have tried this with DD nearly 1 and we have now managed to get him to wake up AFTER 6 (any time between 6 and 7 usually 6.20ish) and to chat to hi slef in his cot until we get him at 7 (he goes to bed at 7pm). THis is as good as we have been able to get it. Apparently this is the hardest thing to do. HE definitely gets tired - currently having half an hour at 9ish and two hours 1-3 during the day and he is still exhausted by 7 and we often have to put him down early. He is now crawling or walking yet and I am hoping he will sleewp later when he starts....

alexh · 06/06/2006 10:27

BonyM · 06/06/2006 12:32

Hmm - we put up blackout linings last night (already have blackout blind) and she woke even earlier than usual (5.30am). How on earth do you explain that?

Original poster

Tutter · 06/06/2006 13:05

thanks all.

well, first morning went like a dream. he woke ridiculously early - 4:25 - but went back after only 15 minutes. mind you, can that boy holler now. when we used cc before (when he was 6mo) his little body meant it wasn't quite so alarming - i think today the neighbours will have been suffering along with us .

anyway, he woke again at 7:07

the planes weren't coming over this morning - must be using a different flight path - so it might be harder tomorrow. mind, this also suggests that something other than the planes are waking him early (or maybe it's a habit now)...

OP posts:

gegs73 · 06/06/2006 13:34

well done glad he woke up later. My ds just 2 is the same and we have ignored him for the last 12 months when he wakes before 6.30. He normally just shouts for us now to see if he can break either me or dh at some ridiculous hour, or talks to his teddies, which is actually quite funny (or not depending on how early it is)but it does work and means you are not as knackered all day!

imaginaryfriend · 06/06/2006 13:41

I remember reading in Christopher Green's toddler book that there isn't much you can do with a naturally early waker. But blackout blinds can help and also dropping or changing the time of that very early morning nap. CG thinks that most early wakers need an early morning nap because they're 'finishing their night sleep' at an inappropriate time. He recommends moving the nap time 30 mins later and later each morning until it's gone. Worth a try maybe?

busywizzy · 06/06/2006 22:32

Hello everyone, BonyM found me

I did CC with DS when he was 10 months old. He'd been waking at 5am ish for quite a while but had started playing up and not going back to sleep after his milk. So over a week, I cut down the feed he was having at that time until I knew he wasn't hungry and started wrapping him in a blanket and cuddlng him back to sleep (it was December so might not be quite such a good idea now).

After about a week of doing that, I started putting him in his cot awake and leaving him. First morning he screamed (really loudly) for 15 minutes, with me going in every 5 minutes and patting his back, saying 'Shhh time for night nights' then leaving the room. Just about to go in again at 15 minutes when he went quiet and next thing, he was chatting to himself for a bit then went to sleep. Next night he cried (quieter) for 5 minutes, I went in once and then he went back to sleep. Third night, he never woke up and we (mostly) haven't looked back since and he's 14 months now.

I know it doesn't work for everyone but I was at my wits ends starting the day at 5am so it worked for us and it only took two nights.

He still has a habit of waking at that time if he's teething (last week ) but he soon settles down again.

Hope that helps and I haven't yawned on and on like I usually do

busywizzy · 06/06/2006 22:33

Oh yes and at the time, DS was still having two naps a day (still does sometimes). About an hour and a half in the morning at about 9am and another in the afternoon, usually about an hour.

FloatingOnTheMed · 06/06/2006 22:40

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imaginaryfriend · 06/06/2006 22:58

That's what I said floatingonthemed!

FloatingOnTheMed · 06/06/2006 23:11

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Original poster

Tutter · 07/06/2006 08:05

thanks all. this morning he woke at 5:55 but just chatted to himself for a few minutes. we have decided that 6am is the acceptable time for us to start the day (DH has to get up early anyway) so we got him up when he cried (just after 6:00).

i think you may be right about shifting back his morning nap - to encourage him to have his nighttime sleep at night - rather than letting him 'catch up'. if i do this gradually i guess i can just keep that one sleep and miss the afternoon one.

OP posts:

imaginaryfriend · 07/06/2006 10:49

If I were you I'd aim to ditch the morning sleep and aim for one afternoon sleep. That's the pattern most kids seem to follow.

Moomin · 29/06/2006 20:50

resurrecting this as it applies to me at th mo. dd2 is waking at anything from 5-6am and crying more and more until it's unbearable. she'll go off again if we feed her and put her back down.

she has a nap again a bit later for about an hour then at least another hour in the afternoon. unreasonable to try to use cc to get her to wait til 7 ish for a feed? or just par for the course? am so tired at the moment, much worse than when she and dd1 were newborns!

welshmum · 30/06/2006 10:53

Hello moomin, thought I'd join in as well. Ds has decided that 5.30 is when he wants to start his day - despite blackout blinds. He doesn't seem to be thirsty or particularly hungry and won't contemplate going back to sleep. Dh tells me that dd was like this but I can't remember it - also can't remember how long it goes on for. You're right it's bloody knackering. Now we take it in turns to get up with him while the other sleeps until 7am. It's currently saving my sanity.

Moomin · 30/06/2006 17:06

dd1 just slept from 7 til 7 with no probs. we too have put blackout blinds up and i'm getting obsessed with sealing them with velcro so that even the tiniest chink of light can't get through. still no good though. part of me thinks that if she's hungry and gets fed and goes off again then what's our problem but i could really do with an unbroken night. dh is brilliant at getting up but i can't expect him to do that and get up for work at 7 again. trouble with me is i can't get back to sleep again afterwards so my night ends whenever she wakes up

franch · 05/07/2006 10:40

Hi all, we're going through this too - interesting thread. DD2 (nearly 10 months) currently waking any time between 4 and 5.30, and now DD1 (2.5y) is following suit!!! They've never woken each other before, so it's very odd.

DD2 tends to go down for a nap a couple of hours after she wakes (so sometimes as early as 7.30) - I'll def try making it later and then maybe cutting it out altogether if poss, and will also try some gentle cc I think. Will let you know what happens.

duvet · 19/07/2006 20:29

Hey guys did you try moving the am nap later and has it worked - I'd be very interested to know as I have same problem with dd2 - 9 months.

helenainsworth · 21/07/2006 17:26

This is very odd as so many babies seem to be doing this for the last few weeks. I must admit I have reduced the amount of daytime sleep for DD1 by 1hr or so (she was still having 3 sleeps at 1 yr old which is not what most of her friends have) and that has worked. Also tried moving the first morning nap til a bit later. So not sure which one was the solution but she is now going til 7 rather than 5.30. Did try controlled crying too a few months ago which worked for a while but then the awake time got earlier again. All the best with it- I know just how tiring it is...

franch · 21/07/2006 21:22

Well, a bit of v gentle cc and moving nap to later DID work with DD2 for a while (she went from waking between 4 and 5.30 to waking consistently at 6.10 on the dot), but the last few mornings she's been back to her old ways. Hot weather??

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