4.15 wakes up - help please

[Sleephead1]

Hi i am a total loss as what to do. My little boy is 4 was always a good sleeper then when he started nursery had some issues with sleep they improved but never totally went back to how he was before also started to drop nap about then. For the past few months he has woke at 4.15am. I have tried , later bed time, earlier bed time, big supper before bed , bath with lavender, camomile tea, yoga before bed. Nothing helps. Sometimes if hes so tired he has sleep during day but mostly not. If he has one he goes to bed later but wakes at same time! My husband gets up at 5.30 for work and i was letting him go down then but have stopped as thought perhaps he was just waiting to go down with daddy. He just wakes and messes on i just tell him its night sleep ect but he just doesnt go to sleep. Yawns loads. He has black bags under eyes and will cry / get in bad moods with tiredness so is not getting enough sleep. Im going to bed at 8.30 to try and get more sleep. I feel im not managing it as well as i could he just kept messing wuth his soft toy today its his favourite one and i told him id have to take it away if he didnt stop it. He was still messing so i took it away then felt really mean. He lay for a bit then cried for it so felt awful. Im just not sure what to do as he is not getting anywhere near enough sleep and is starting school in september.

Do you have blackouts?

Is he in pull ups at night or dry?

What happens if he comes into bed with you guys does that make it worse? If you cuddle and just pretend to be asleep once he's in with you?

Yes still in pull up has been dry in day since just before 3 but still very wet at night. No blackouts as we rent and have fitted blinds at all windows but it is very dark as have put cardboard over window and towels aswell. He just messes on has very occasionally gone back over but i havnt pretended to be asleep so maybe could try that rather than saying it night time go to sleep ect

We had this and had to be very tough and persistent in the end, after trying everything you describe. We bought a clock (groclocks are great) and explained very firmly that there is no getting up before the sun appears on the groclock (or until the alarm goes off on a standard clock). We started setting the alarm for quite early, maybe 5.30 when his dad's getting up, and we got up with her and got brekkie. Then we gradually moved it by 10 minutes a day. She now stays in bed until a relatively civilised 7am. The key is to be absolutely militant about this rule, if he gets out of bed you just plop him back in with no discussion.. and repeat again and again. It took hard work and tears (mostly mine) but it worked way quicker than we thought it would. Good luck - it's hell being up for the day at 4.30!!

Thank you so much! We do have a gro clock but i think Have not been getting best out of it as been setting for six but obv he hears dad and wants to get up. So am setting for 5.30 for morning then i will explain again about morning time and sun coming up. Yes god it is so rough at that time in morning. Fingers crossed!!

What time is he going to sleep at night?

7 occasionally earlier if he is very very tired and asking for bed. This might happen after a few days if tiredness really catches up with him. Well 5.15 today so better !! I could hear him sitting up watching for sun to come on glo clock talking about it.