17 month old waking early!!!!

[mads1]

Hello everyone,

I've just done a search for this topic and there are alot of threads however, most of the advice doesn't really relate to us. Any refreshing ideas?

DD is 17 months old and until this week has always slept til 8am (yes i know we are very lucky!!!) But this week she has started to get up at 5.30/6am. Why????

She has blackout blinds and in fact it's darker in the mornings now!

Actually even her afternoon naps are getting cut back too. She use to sleep 2 hours but now it's between 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

Is she needing less sleep? If so, should I cut back day nap to increase night sleep?

I find DS (2.6) goes through these phases every so often. He usually sleeps until 7.30ish (8 at weekends) and has done since he was around 14 months, but every 3-4 months he has a phase when he wakes early for a week or so. He also stopped going to sleep at nap time a couple of months ago, so I tried dropping his daytime sleep altogether and it nearly killed both of us - now he is back to 2 hours a day most days.

I would just see how it goes for the next few days, don;t do anything different. It might be teeth or slight illness or something which will pass in a day or two.

No constructive advice but solidarity - dd has been doing the same for no good reason and I don't have clue what to do. Am hoping it's a phase...

DS did this also for no apparent reason at a similar age - I searched and searched for an answer, but couldn't find one. In the end, I'm afraid we put a tv in our bedroom and he'd watch teletubbies, while we dosed-ish. He grew out of it at about 2 1/2 and now at 3 1/2 wakes about 7 - ish.

Thank you. I think I agree and I guess just needed confirmation.

Will carry on as usual and see how it goes!

Just posted a similar message yesterday, saying my 7mth old has just started doing the same thing!? Don't know why as nothing obvious has chnaged, hoping it is just a phase.... sigh...

My dd 15months started doing just that about a month ago. I started to put a beaker of water in her cot with her just before I went to bed (not as I put her to bed as she just drank it then and woke up with a really wet nappy even earlier - trial and error on that one!!) Since doing that I get an extra hours sleep out of her. May be worth a try.
NB make sure you use a leak free one!! I made another error on that initially!!

my 18 mo DS has done this ever since we go tihm slepeing (more or les) through the night. In the end I decided that all my messing baout trying ot change it wasn't helping anyone, so now I go in and give him a drink of water (he can't manage a cup yet) and change/check nappy in the dark with no talking. Providing he isn't giggling and wide awake I pop him back in his cot for at LEAST 10 mins! I reason that I have to at least try and see if he will sleep- 50% of the time he dozes for another 20 mins.

However most days we are up by 5.30/6am. In the end what worked was just going with it! After 6 months of awful sleeping patterns I am grateful he sleeps 7.30pm - 5.30am! We all adjusted to a new shift pattern, we go to bed at 10pm and get up at 6am, DH goes into work early so he can leave at 5 to be home for bathtime.

I do early morning yoga and DS chills out with a DVD til about 8am. He has early lunch at 11am and naps 12-2pm

I am actually alot more relaxed once I decided that I needed to adjust to DS. Afterall in college I used to get up at 6am so why can't I do it again.

I'm looking forward to him being that bit older when its a beaker and a book/DVD in his OWN room! plus a bunny clock which says its 6.30am you can NOW wake mom up!