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Sleep

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Original poster

solving 5.30am waking - any success stories please

42 replies

firststeps · 21/02/2007 19:56

is it too much to expect a 14 month old to sleep 7pm - 7am, my ds has been waking at 5.30am for what feels like forever, he sleeps soundly without a peep until then, but is ready to start the day. A few months ago he would grumble for about 15 mins then go back to sleep, but now he is up and about. Has anyone successfully solved this and if so how!

OP posts:

Eeek · 21/02/2007 20:01

survive until they're 2.5 then it gets better

costababe · 21/02/2007 20:09

would be interested in any answers u get ds2 is 4.5 and is still getting up between 5.30 and 6.0 most mornings, hope i didnt depress u!!

sunnysideup · 21/02/2007 20:59

yup, me too, our ds seems absolutely hard wired to wake at 5.30. He varies between 5.30 and 5.50am and 6 am is a REAL lie in for us.

He's 4 btw.

Have to say, until we moved house last year he was in a lovely routine of just playing quietly in his room until our alarm clock went off, so this was no trouble at all. When we moved house though (once to rented, then to our new bought house within 12 months) the change and insecurity seemed to knock this on the head, and he's straight in to us at 5.30am.

I should probably try to re-establish the old order but have tried a couple of times to let him know the drill but he just can't do it at the moment.

I just tell myself that the teenager has not yet been invented who could rise before mid-day. So it can't go on forever. Though holding on for another ten years is not really a plan, is it.

Original poster

firststeps · 22/02/2007 18:59

are there any success stories????

OP posts:

therealcontrolfreakydave · 22/02/2007 19:01

go to bed earlier. you not ds . really.

chocolateshoes · 22/02/2007 19:03

is he in a gro-bag?
Do you have good blackout curtains?
Are there noisy birds around his window?

therealcontrolfreakydave · 22/02/2007 19:06

and if there are noisy birds? what then? shoot them? feed them?

funnypeculiar · 22/02/2007 19:07

Wait for a year. Or two. Or ten

REIDnotREEDorREAD · 22/02/2007 19:08

my ds is 6 months and wakes at 5.30am everyday, i was hoping it was a short phase, not a 4 and a half year one though!

manuka · 22/02/2007 19:13

Don't know if this helps but it worked for dd. Regular day naps at the same time (ish) and when she wakes from nap I leave her to chatter for at least 5 mins. I found that this changed the early mornings back to 7 (so far!!) Also black out blinds/curtains.
obviously older than 2 they don't do naps so don't know.

funnypeculiar · 22/02/2007 19:21

I have to admit following my facetious post ... (and I know I'm about to commit a mn sackable offence ....) but when ds was about 2 and doing this and NOT coping with his lack of sleep (he was a very, very tired & unhappy boy for a few months) we decided to leave him rather than get him up. First day he shouted (rather than cried) from 5.30 to 6.45 (when we got him up) next day he woke at 6.15, next day he woke at 7. I am usually to be found in the anti cc camp (tried it after much peer pressure for nighttime sleeping. It was horrid AND it didn't work) and would NOT have done this is he had been crying ... but have to admit it worked for us. He may just have been ready for it/lucky timing. Since then he's been a 6.30/7am boy. Although still only sleeps through the night about 50% of the time. I'm still not sure emotionally how I feel about this as something we've done, but have to admit, in this instance it worked very quickly....(he was a lot older than your ds & we did a lot of verbal preparation prior, I should also tell you)

amidaiwish · 22/02/2007 19:52

DD1 did this for a year until she was 2.5 - it wore us out.

it depends how "awake" he really is.
if he is full of beans and ready to start the day then it is more tricky and you could try adjusting his daytime naps, put him to bed a bit later etc..
if he is even a little bit tired then act like it was 3am. shhhh, shhhh, pat his back, rub his head, etc... or if that doesn't work give him his milk in his cot? we do that with dd2 if she wakes early and won't settle. couldn't bear another year or so of 5am's

amidaiwish · 22/02/2007 19:53

older children - i would reward/bribe.

keep sending them back to bed until the desired (or acceptable!) time
when it is the right time go into their room, open their curtains super-cheerfully and say "good morning everyone"

if they do stay in bed/their room without getting up and disturbing you then make a huge fuss and give them a treat.

kylah · 22/02/2007 20:02

My 3 month old used to do this for a couple of weeks until I gave in and bought him a dummy, that I only use at times to settle him. I found that by giving the dummy and a cuddle, not talking and if possible keep the room as dark as possible usually worked, even it was only for 30-45 mins just hung him out that bit longer and gives you that all essential extra half hour in bed!

annmarieandlily · 22/02/2007 20:24

Not really tackling the problem I know but don't forget the clocks go forward in a few weeks so your 5.30am wake up will become 6.30am.

FrannyandZooey · 22/02/2007 20:26

"is it too much to expect a 14 month old to sleep 7pm - 7am"

IME, yes

therealcontrolfreakydave · 22/02/2007 20:50

fandz is right you know.

Original poster

firststeps · 23/02/2007 16:21

FrannyandZooey - is it, iyo what is a reasonable amount of sleep for a 14 month old at night? I was wondering if I was expecting too much

OP posts:

hermykne · 23/02/2007 16:26

my ds and dd did and were both breastfed until 13mths. now go to bed at 8pm til 7.30/8am aged 4 & 2.
what time does he go to bed at? and when was his last nap prior to that in the day time ? and when does he nap after getting up at 5.30?
its is possible.

Original poster

firststeps · 23/02/2007 18:36

hermykne, he will sometimes doze on and off til seven, sometimes not and will have a nap about 10ish til ish, or an hour 10 - 11 then a catnap later in the afternoon if I'm out and about in the car. If he has gone back off til 7 then I'll give him an early lunch about 11.15 and he'll normally be in bed asleep by 12 until about 2.30ish. He is always in bed asleep by 7, sometimes 6.30 if shattered

OP posts:

chocolateshoes · 23/02/2007 18:52

I didn't say I knew what to do if there were noisy birds?! I found that DS woke up when the birds started singing earlier in the morning ie at this time of the year but eventually dozed off again and usually sleeps til 8am. Does he have some type of comforter or fav toy that he could cuddle to help him get back off again? If he doesn't go back to sleep does he really cry or more of a grumble? Could you leave him longer than the 15 mins you mention?

hermykne · 23/02/2007 19:07

1ststeps when he has that good nap at noon time could yu not drag out his bed time til 7.30 with bath or something - maybe you do that already?

FrannyandZooey · 23/02/2007 20:56

firststeps, if you asked 20 different mothers what is a reasonable amount of sleep to expect, you would get 20 different answers, I think?

My ds has never slept 12 hours a night, not even close

I think ultimately you can "expect" what you like, but it is not going to make any difference if your ds's natural sleep pattern is to sleep for 10.5 hours (this was what my ds did btw). The only thing you can do is to push his bed time back and hope he wakes up later (this can backfire!) or go to bed earlier yourself...

twinmumma · 25/02/2007 19:49

I do have a success story -and I hope that it helps.

Aged 1 year - 18 months : My twins were sleeping in morning and lunchtime (about 10 mins in morning at 9.45) and then 2 hours at lunchtime. They had ALWAYS been good sleepers at night - 7 - 7
BUT - I made the mistake of missing the signs for giving up the morning nap.
One was giving the signs - the other wasn't - and the one that wasn't suddenly started EMW at 5.10am on the dot - and began waking her sister. That was it for the day. This went on for 2 months in total - but I started working on them after a month of it.

Eventually the solution was (I really really hope it works for you):
Lunchtime sleep at 1pm (try to last this long but earlier e.g. 12 if need to and work towards 1pm) NO morning sleep before this. It seems impossible cos they were up at 5am and had to last til 1pm - but they did it. Then a strict 1 hour sleep and wake them. They then go down at 7pm (sometimes 20 past) and sleep until 6am or 7am. It has NEVER been past 7.15am but now is VERY RARELY before 6am. I think that 7 - 6 is a good expectation. Anything before 6 is just not acceptable to us.
We tried the lunchtime sleep at 1.5 hours and fiddled with it until we found that 1 hour was the best for getting them to sleep all night.
if they have a cold or illness I sometimes give 1.5 hours, but u have to play it by ear.
Also we found that putting them down 15 mins early doesn't always meant that they get up 15 mins early. It sometimes means they don't get overtired and therefore settle better and drift into sleep rather than going into a deep sleep immediately, which can lead to early morning waking.

They have just turned 2 by the way - and our routine is roughly
up 7am (between 6 and 7 usually)
sleep 1 - 2pm
bed 7pm
I really hope that this helps.

Original poster

firststeps · 26/02/2007 14:18

twinmumma - thanks for that - I was beginning to give up hope!! It's funny what you say about the early morning sleep affecting wake up time - after looking on another couple of threads this seems to be the key - therefore I have put my ds down for a sleep 12-2 today (didn't read your post about length of nap til after he got up!) and will let you know if this helps with his early morning wake up!!

OP posts:

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