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Original poster

10 month olds 4:30 starts are killing me, please help

55 replies

sososotired · 03/07/2014 06:12

My DS has never need great at sleeping but for a few months we had only one night waking and starting the day at 5:45 since I've been back at work he is waking 6/7 times a night and gets up for the day at 4:30.
He has 1 two hour nap with his childminder from 10:30-12:30 and then in bed asleep by 7.

Anyone with advice or a similar experience? I'm shattered!

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Original poster
sososotired · 06/07/2014 16:51

NoisyBrain my DS is exactaly the same no way is he going back down!! Risking it today letting him have a nap at the moment so 4:30pm hoping he will sleep in later if I put him to bed later!!
With regards to the darker room I have been blacking out DS's room for a month or so and to be honest it has not changed a thing!!

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NoisyBrain · 07/07/2014 09:14

Did the later bedtime make any difference so?

Night no.2 with blackout blind here and DS was awake for the day at 5.40 Confused

I'm pretty sure the only reason it was a little later was because he was awake for an hour and a quarter from 1.40am.

Between us it sounds like we're doing everything you're 'supposed' to do to prevent early wakings. Oh well, when I go back to work I guess I'll be getting there early!

minipie · 07/07/2014 15:20

Hmm, I suspect overtiredness too.

Can you try for a short morning nap and then longer post lunch nap? So for example 9-9.30 and then 1.30-3? That way he'd be less tired at bedtime.

Original poster
sososotired · 07/07/2014 16:21

Later bed time had no real effect infact we were up about 6 times last night :(

He does the school run with his CM at 8:45so I suspect if he was tired then he would sleep in his buggy?

I am thinking to introduce a late after noon nap but not sure if that would work?

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Solasum · 07/07/2014 19:22

Late afternoon nap has never worked for us. It just means he is not quite tired enough to go to hed but too grumpy to be fun, iyswim. But def worth a try.

NoisyBrain · 08/07/2014 08:16

For crying out loud. DS was up for the day at 4.30 this morning.

I can't see where I'm doing anything to cause this - he had two good naps, the last one finishing at 3.05. Went down easily at bedtime, asleep in his cot from just after 7.00. No night wakings (though there was a time when I considered 4.30 to be the night!!). Blackout blind in place for the third night running.

Again I tried to treat the wake up as a night waking, but he was having none of it. At 5am I gave up and DP took him downstairs for his bottle. I'm now trying to keep him up so his first nap doesn't start before 8.30!

minipie · 08/07/2014 09:41

DD was a horribly early waker at this age. What worked was realising she just doesn't need much sleep, and (gradually) moving her bedtime later. So at about 12 months it was 7.45 (with 5.45 wake up), then gradually moved later and later and now at 19 months her bedtime is nearer 8.30 for a 6.30am wake up.

You have to have the naps right first though. A 10 month old who only has one nap at 10.30-12.30 would be frazzled with a later bedtime. So that's why I suggest a morning and a post lunch nap for soso, if possible, so he can get through to a later bedtime. I'd be wary of a late afternoon nap... has always led to an even earlier wake time for my DD. Maybe try for a nap at 9.30 soso? Appreciate the CM has limited flexibility though. If you can't manage the morning nap then maybe try an uber short late afternoon nap, like 10 minutes at 5pm, and then a later bedtime ie 8pm?

Noisy sounds like you have the naps sorted, suggest pushing bedtime backwards...

Anyway these are just ideas! Worked for us but all babies are different...

NoisyBrain · 08/07/2014 10:27

mini, I had to chuckle a little at the bedtime suggestion (thank you by the way) because we've just moved DS's bedtime forward from 7.30 as I thought maybe his 5am waking was due to being overtired Grin Tbh if he wakes from his last nap at 3ish he's more than ready for bed by 7.00. It's also quite nice having a bit of an evening with DP, as I've been going to bed at 9.30!

A quick Google brought up several articles from baby websites giving advice about early waking, along the lines of 'Baby's bedtime might be too early. Or too late. Try moving it back. Or forwards'. Also 'He might not be getting enough sleep during the day. Or too much'. You've got to laugh eh.

minipie · 08/07/2014 11:47

You are so right Grin it all depends on your particular baby and even then they can vary hugely from one month to the next.

your post made me think of this article

Original poster
sososotired · 08/07/2014 19:03

Ladies today was his record got up at 3:45 I treated this like night waking took me two hours to get him back to sleep at which point I had to get dressed and ready for work!!

Now I'm hoping someone can help, I'm thinking his sudden night waking and super early rising can be separation anxiety as it all started when I went back to work full time? Can this be?

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NoisyBrain · 08/07/2014 19:24

OK, so's DS wins the Most Ridiculous Wake Up Time award. You have my sympathy and I hope you don't mind me saying I REALLY don't want my DS to try and beat it!

I think 10 months is the right kind of age for separation anxiety. So far we've only experienced it during the day and when at other people's houses (he doesn't appear to give a toss if I leave the room at home!) so hopefully someone more knowledgeable will comment on the sleep thing.

mini I love that article! It did the rounds among my NCT friends when our babies were hitting the 4-month sleep regression. I did have it in mind when I was reading the early waking advice Smile

Original poster
sososotired · 08/07/2014 19:40

Lol noisy I absolutely agree he has the title I'm hoping that he won't keep improving the record!

He has always been fine with me leaving and he is absolutely fine at his CM but when I pick him up in the afternoon he is superglued to me till bed time when he refuses to go down awake he just screams until I rock him or stroke his back which was not the case before which is why I'm thinking separation anxiety!

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NoisyBrain · 09/07/2014 10:40

Ugh. Not a great night in the Noisy house. Started well, then DS woke at 1.40 and took around 2 hours to go back to sleep. In the end the big guns had to step in (DP).

Yet again the nocturnal activity had minimal effect on DS's wake time. There he was babbling away merrily in his cot at 5.30.

I feel more tired now than when he was tiny and I was BFing him several times a night!

How was your night so?

Original poster
sososotired · 09/07/2014 17:54

I sympathise greatly being awake for 2 hours sucks!!!

To be honest it started badly woke 4 times between 7-10 so he slept in bed with DH and I which worked a treat got up at 5:30 which beats the hell out of 3:45!!
I know co sleeping is not a solution but I needed rest!

I spoke to my mum today and apparently my sister and I both woke at 5/5:30 for about 2 years, may just be something that will pass as they get older??

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NoisyBrain · 09/07/2014 18:08

Well I'd say go with anything that works! A friend was telling me today that her 10 month old DD (eventually) goes back to sleep if they bring her into bed when she wakes really early. Might have to try it.

2 years?!!!

Original poster
sososotired · 09/07/2014 18:56

2years well I guess if he wants to sleep through the night then getting up at 5 won't be too bad?

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Original poster
sososotired · 10/07/2014 06:26

Miracle in our house!!! DS slept till 5:45 only woke up once in the night!!

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NoisyBrain · 10/07/2014 09:36

Yay!! Hopefully he's turning a corner eh.

Better night here too. Up for the day at 5.30 and no wake-ups in the night Smile
DP did have to go in at 2.30 to move DS because he'd wriggled to the end of the cot in his sleep and the monitor alarm went off. I must have been in a really deep sleep not to hear that, as even with earplugs in I'm easily woken. Somehow it didn't wake DS either, thankfully.

Original poster
sososotired · 10/07/2014 19:48

Well I'm hoping for the best I've put him to be din his own room, music on blackout curtains the works so I'm hoping he can sleep as well as he did yesterday!!

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NoisyBrain · 12/07/2014 19:28

How's it going so?
DS was awake for the day at 4.50 today. We put him to bed early yesterday at about 6.45, because he only had two fairly short naps in the day and the second one finished at 12.45 (he fell asleep in the car so not much I could do about it).

I managed to stretch him out til 8.30 for his nap this morning, bearing in mind he'd been awake since 4.50. Poor thing was exhausted by then and slept for 2 hours 35 minutes! He then refused to nap again for the rest of the day Shock

So he was asleep by 6.45 again this evening. Watching this space...

Original poster
sososotired · 12/07/2014 20:05

We've had a couple of really good mornings waking at 5:30/5;45 and sleeping well at night but my poor little baby caught a sick bug so not expecting too much from him tonight!

I read something very interesting about how to let a baby nap longer and was wondering if it could work for mornings basically 5 minutes before they usually wake up go in pick him up and rock him into a deeper sleep, just scared it backfires and we are up at 4:30!!

Hope baby noisy doesn't get up too early tomorrow!

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NoisyBrain · 13/07/2014 08:12

Aw, poor baby so - hope he's OK.

4.50am start again here. And a midnight wake-up, though he only took about 20 minutes to resettle.

So, things I have learned in the last few weeks relating to the early wake up time include:

It's not down to the light mornings as a blackout blind has made sod all difference
Delaying DS's first nap made sod all difference
If we put him to bed earlier, he wakes earlier
If we put him to bed later, he doesn't wake any later

In conclusion - my DS is determined to wake up at around 5am no matter what we do!

I think you're talking about 'wake to sleep'. I'm not sure I could bring myself to voluntarily get up at 4.45!

Original poster
sososotired · 13/07/2014 14:26

I guess we may just have to accept it and get up early! We had a really poorly baby who was awake all night (that's what it felt like) and he still got up at 5:10

I totally agree that blacking out the room doesn't work and a early bedtime does also result in an earlier morning!! Later bed time doesn't really affect us!

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MyNameIsSuz · 13/07/2014 14:55

We had this last year when mine was about that age, he's still an early riser at almost 2 but these days it's 6/6.30 in winter and 5.30/6 in summer. You've had some great advice here, worth a try of anything!

One thing I used to do with mine when he woke at 4.30 was have a couple of interesting toys or books and a drink to hand in his room, then I could just give him a swig of his drink in his cot, bung the toys in with him and leave him to play while I went back to bed. He often went back to sleep, but when he didn't it at least kept him quiet for a little while.

MyNameIsSuz · 13/07/2014 14:57

Also, mornings will be getting darker soon enough and that should help, it won't last forever!

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