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Sleep

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Original poster

Advice re 5 am wake-ups please!

10 replies

Natale28 · 16/09/2014 12:26

DS is 7 months and has been waking at around 5 am for a couple of months. He has black-out blinds, I don't think he's too hot/cold, don't think he's hungry (if I feed him he'll take it but he won't go back to sleep, if I get him up he'll happily play for an hour or so before he seems like he wants milk).

He goes to bed at 7 pm. He used to have a long morning nap of 1 hr 30 mins but from reading online I got the impression that this was contributing to the early wake ups as he was using it to catch up on night sleep. He now has 45 min morning nap and about 1 hr 30 min after lunch.

His 5 am wake-ups remain and I really don't know what to do. I've tried leaving him in the hope he'll go back to sleep but he doesn't.

Any advice from anyone who had a similar problem and managed to fix it please?!

Thank you!

OP posts:

workingtitle · 16/09/2014 18:51

I had this for a while with DS but it did pass. Definitely helped having one short one long nap, and later bed times did not make a difference so I would avoid pushing that back.
With DS we just tried to be really consistent in our response, which was to treat anything before 6:30am as night time, so 5am might as well be 2am... Then if he was awake before and getting worked up one of us would just go in and try and settle him. If it really really didn't work you'd sit silently in his room for as long as poss, then leave the room and to straight back in with a chirpy good morning, lights on etc. I think the idea of going out and in is that they don't then just associate you being in their room with being up. Hope that makes sense and it's a short lived phase for you!

makeminea6x · 16/09/2014 18:55

Sorry to hijack but I have the same problem with my 8 month old. Would do CC but he just dirties his nappy whenever we cry so keen to try something else
So you would just sit in his room next to his cot until he goes back to sleep? How long does that normally take to work? Don't you get bored?
Sorry if those are silly questions working.

workingtitle · 16/09/2014 19:03

Not silly questions! I'll try and dig out the article we based it on. I try to leave him alone and stay out of his room wherever possible but yes first try and settle him as I would do in the middle of the night but if he's really awake and wanting to play then that's hard, and that's when I would sit in his room for as close to the time we want him to wake up as poss, then go out and back in.

workingtitle · 16/09/2014 19:05

Here's the article - this is what we did.
sleep lady

Original poster

Natale28 · 16/09/2014 20:32

Thank you workingtitle I will have a read and give it a try for definite. It has been going on for 2 months which feels like forever and I'm all out of ideas! I'm terrified that I'll start everyday at 5 am for years!

Keep your fingers crossed for me -good luck to you too makeminea6x!

OP posts:

workingtitle · 16/09/2014 21:09

I can see why you'd feel that! All the best, Natale

makeminea6x · 17/09/2014 01:04

Thanks both of you I will spend some time exploring all of the sleep lady stuff and then try to start. Our issue is almost certainly nap related but that's another thread!

Meggymoodle · 19/09/2014 11:09

I don't want to depress you at all in any way, but I had this for a year with DD from 6 months to 18 months. Although mine was 5.15am to the minute - so we had an extra 15 mins! It nearly tipped me over the edge of sanity. The only thing that stopped it was finally managing to push her morning nap back and back until it was one afternoon nap. You can only do that at a certain age though as otherwise they're totally knackered which has a knock on effect.

I had a respite of a week when I took her for sacro-cranial osteopathy - she slept until 6.30 then :) The osteopath also suggested leaving radio 4 on v quietly in her room so that when she woke she didn't get freaked out because she was alone. No idea if that had any effect or not but it was a week of bliss but then she went back to 5.15 again.

It won't be forever, it really won't - it just feels like it at the time. You might just have to start going to bed earlier for a bit. When I was going through it there was an early-waking support thread on here which was lovely :)

For what it's worth, she is a BRILLIANT sleeper now, utterly superb - sleeps from 7-7 every night with just a wake for a wee. She's 3 now.

Good luck - you have my heartfelt sympathy. I've just come on to post about my 5 year old who was an amazing sleeper as a baby and who is struggling now - bloody typical!

Original poster

Natale28 · 21/09/2014 07:36

Oh gosh 18 months?! We've now been hit with a cold and teething so he's up multiple times in the night and yet he still wanted to get up just after 5 am today!

We go to bed at 9.30 pm just to cope now but my DP does moan about that!

Glad to hear your little one is now a great sleeper - gives me hope!

I might try the radio thing just to see if it helps at all.

Thank you and good luck with your 5 year old!

OP posts:

Meggymoodle · 22/09/2014 13:24

Thanks! - We've moved him into our room for the time being which means everyone gets a good sleep apart from me, as both he and DH snore intermittently - yaawwwwnnn.

Try the radio thing, anything is worth a go.

Good luck with it - I would try setting up a support thread on her for early wakers - misery loves company. It's so nice to know you're not on your own.

Yes, take heart - she's fabulous now!

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