Please help, 13 month old up between 4-5am

[leebitton]

Oh crap,
We have a solid routine, he self settles. He is struggling to have 2 naps a day. If am nap is longer than 20-30 mins, he wont settle at 1-2pm, and then might only sleep 45 mins. If he gets to 12pm he will sleep for 90 mins.
But morning may be anytime from 4am. A good morning is 6. When he wakes i give calpol and dont get him out of his room till 6. Some mornings we lay on the single bed and he bfs and falls asleep again, but will only sleep with my nipple in his mouth 🙄😣
Its super early when he is teething but just now i think its related to his vaccinations last wk.
Not sure what to do.
Room pitch black, hes not hungry, his room is warm.
Any advice?
Sorry for the ramble.

How long has he been doing this for? (Waking up early)
And do you give calpol as a matter if course if he wakes up early?

Suspect it's just developmental. You hear a lot of kids having night waking for no reason between 10-18 months. Very little that works except getting comfy and riding it out.

Why are you giving him Calpol?

I give him Calpol as this hideous 4ams always happen when he is teething. This week he had his 1yr boosters and is cuttting his back upper molar. The boosters have left a massive eggsized lump on his thigh.
I just dont know what to do. If anything.
I try to give him loads of sleep in the day and get him to bed by 7.
I try to keep him in bed for as long as i can. I let him lay on the floorbed with me this morning and bf till he fell asleep again after an hour.
Im so scared that this is the new wake up, but equally if he isnt well (ans he is really grissly today with a fever) i feel i need to help him sleep even if that means letting him bf???
Urgh.

I'd focus on getting him to take one good nap during the daytime and that might help

Oh Pikapoo he has always been up 5-6 since stopping the night feeds at 11 months, so 6wks But 4am is too early!!

How long are you planning in continuing bf as he seems to be using you as a dummy? Switching to cows milk is better than relying on calpol.

I only feed him morning and night.
If he wakes after 5am, i dont feed till after 6am. But at 4am i am desperate!

I agree that it might be developmental.. my 1 yr old DS has been waking up grumpy before 6am for weeks and weeks now, regardless of what time we actually put him to bed, and despite having good 'typical' naps during the day.

Pikapoo i did wonder that.
There doesnt seem to be any nap related reason for the pre5am wakes, other than either teething or being unwell.
If he has loads of daytime sleep/hardly any, early/late bedtimes. He has done the super early mornings 8 times in 8 weeks. Mostly it is between 5-6.

When mine were this age they'd wake about 5 and come into bed with me to doze/feed til we got up at 7. Nicest bit about breastfeeding IMO!

You aren't going to like this response... Go to bed early, and make the most of the early mornings. Try to get him past 5. Maybe even moving everything half an hour later - food, naps and bedtime.
My 96 month (8 years!) old still gets up at 5 something every day, and 4 something isn't unheard of. It is very, very rare I'm up past 10, and he doesn't need anyone getting up with him.

Wow, there is absolutely no way I would start my day at 5am, that's night time . My rule was always I don't get up before 7am, and we still have that rule at 3 and 6.

I'd cut his naps to one a day, lunch at 11.30 and then a nap of up to 2 hours after lunch. Then keep awake until bedtime at 6.30/7pm. This worked for me, wake ups went from 4.30/5am to 6.30/7am which was better.

@AgentOprah, is that because your DC do not get up that early, or because they have always been left until 7am even if they wake up earlier and cry/yell for you? As I have an early waking DS, would love to know how other mums manage to get to the mystical 7am mark!

If they woke up in the night then they were resettled in the dark in their room. If they woke from 5ish they came into bed with us to feed/cuddle. From the age of 2 they had a gro clock set to come on at 7am - if they wake before that they play in their room til morning. We always reinforced that before 7 was night time and no one gets up til morning.