Should i just get used to waking up at 5.30 am?

[dotcotton]

I feel a bit spoilt (spoiled?!) posting this as i know it's not the end of the world. But dd is 10 months, has always slept well, but has developed a habit over the past few months of waking at 5 -5.30.

When she does I feed her, and she does have a proper feed, then take her into bed with me, she then jumps about the bed a bit and usually goes back to sleep from 6.30 for an hour or so, but sometimes not. We are about to move her into her own room so i think it might be a good time to try and break the habit if possible. I think I might be too wussy for controlled crying, is there another way to try to prolong her sleep a bit in the mornings?

She is bf and eating 3 good meals a day, last one at 6 ish followed by bf before bedtime and settles herself.

Or is this going to be the time she's chosen to wake up for ever? (hoping not emoticon). Like I say I know it could be worse but I am knackered from the early start and going back to work soon.

just to say we're having some success with a combination of a serious feed when she wakes (she had 8oz this am at 5.00), and (know not everyone likes this), lovelt cuddles in bed. She's been sleeping til 6.45/7ish for the last few days (although clearly, will wake at 5.00 tomorrow now I've posted this
Sure lots of people would feel we're setting her up for bad habits, but hey, don't care, I'm asleep

Hi - got same problem with my DD (13 months) who has started waking at 5.30 now she can haul herself to her feet in her sleeping bag. She yells, 'mumma mumma mumma' til I come in and by then is properly awake so no chance of any CC or whatever. She was going to 7 til lately but I've just gone back to work and she's in nursery 3 days a week so that's done it. I've had a word with them about limiting her morning nap and making the main nap the lunchtime one but having read this am going to ask them to push the morning nap out to 10 (from 9.30) and see what happens. Am shattered, that extra 1.5 hours is worth it's weight in gold and I'm GOING TO GET IT BACK!!

Have same situation with DD only she is 18mo. Screams mamamamamam, dadadadada until we arrive. We've gone from her settling OK in bed with us for an hour or so more to her pulling my hair and generally tormenting us till I get up with her. We now have a duvet permanently on the sofa and she watches TV while I try to sleep a bit more. This morning she was actually trying to lift my eyelids. I have also started giving her some milk (not BF) at 5 when she wakes in the hope she will be soothed back to sleep.

So all in all I feel like a terrible example of how not to do it. They take a mile with every inch and I have found myself in a situation with the TV etc that I don't approve of. But am at wits end of what else to do. If I leave her to cry in cot she just gets more and more awake. I know if I had been firmer to start we wouldn't be where we are, but I can't undo what I've done.

Couldn't stand putting her to bed any later than her usual 7.30pm as I'm off to bed at 9.30pm myself and need just a little bit of time to spend with DH on our own.

Haven't got time to read whole thread sorry...just a few tips on trying to deal with the early alarm calls.....

No more than 3 hours daytime sleep a day - if you can try to get them to sleep for a half hour, say around 9/9.15 and then a long sleep at lunchtime you might find that helps. The mornings keeping awake after an early alarm call can be hard, but if you can get your lo off to sleep again after waking until 7ish then you should find that the naps then get into place.

Going to bed overtired, can often mean they wake up early - they go into a deep sleep straightaway which takes away some of their 12 hour quota if you see what I mean.

Try putting your lo to bed a bit earlier and see if that helps - might sound strange but if you put them to bed when they aren't so tired, they might have a better sleep.

All of these things take time, but the key is to be consistent with an approach.....

Bye for now

Herbgarden if you're still around - you sound a bit of an authority! What time would you do the lunchtime nap? And what time to bed?

atm she sleeps at 11 ish for an hour and has an afternoon nap around 3.30, i wonder if this is too late and is eating into her night sleep quota?!

Am glad that someone else hets up at the same time as DS - he is 2.3 years so you have a way to go in my opinion before you even have the right to feel slightly peeved.

Saying that every monday and friday he sleeps in past 7am - which is a complete shitter considering we have to leave the house at 7.25 as I go to work on those days!!

I've been having same problem with my 7 month old. I give him a botttle at about 5.30 in the dark and put him straight back in his cot. sometimes he goes back to sleep and sometimes he plays for half an hour in his cot before demanding we get up. He does seem hungry but he eats really well in daytime so i'm sure he should be able to keep going for another hour.
I don't htink his naps are problem because i don't put him down till 9am for first nap and he has another 1 1/2 hours at lunchtime. could it be anything else?