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Original poster

early waking, do I just have to resign myself to it?!

9 replies

kjaysmum · 01/04/2007 09:15

My Ds has always had bouts of early waking, now he's nearly three and I find myself locked in yet another cycle of.....wakes very early between 4.45-5.30, gets tired in the day so needs a nap, goes to bed fine, what to do, if I keep him awake in the day he's gets really miserable and irritable very but this early waking takes it's toll on us as a family.

OP posts:
youngmum21 · 01/04/2007 10:49

sorry to hear that my lo who is only 20weeks started doing this a couple of weeks ago and the only thing we cud do was stop her after noon nap and make sure she went fr naps at the correct time and not earlier just becuz she got up to early she was grumpy but she now slleps till 7-8 hth x

lovelybird · 01/04/2007 10:57

kjays mum, there have been previous threads about this you may be able to find in the archives. My DS is 2 but has always been an early waker, We had a period of 4.30-5.30 wakings, (it's usually 6ish). It is really hard to break the cycle, the best thing we found was not letting DS have an early morning nap. I have read that early wakers often have an early nap in the morning, 10-11ish and that's when they're still catching up on their night time sleep. If this is the case for you try moving his nap to slightly later. Good luck, it's very hard isn't it? Or have you tried one of those bunny clocks (rabbit goes to sleep when DC goes to sleep and can't get up until rabbit is awake - jojo maman bebe I think)

Josie3 · 01/04/2007 11:01

I appreciate your son is tired during the day - but i would just take the plunge and deal with the grotty behaviour for a week - and stop naps. That may help with the nighttime sleep. I have also heard of people waking their kids when they go to bed - so the kids start their sleep cycle over - with the effect of prolonging sleep in the morning. Not sure hpw effective it is though.

good luck!

Original poster
kjaysmum · 02/04/2007 05:39

Hi and thanks for the tips, I've had a few threads on this here myself but each time it happens I get a tad frustated so come on again, in hope of a new suggestion. Bunny clocks do sound good, lovelybird, I haven't found a retailer yet over here in New Zealand but shall have to get on the internet for a look.
Josie3, I so know you're right, ever feel like you're in denial!! I have kept him awake today, mostly it doesn't seem to make him sleep any later but I only ever manage a few days of keeping him from napping and then give up, do you think it takes a while to change the pattern maybe? I've not heard of waking them up later to start the cycle again, that could be worth a try for sure (cringe)

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firststeps · 02/04/2007 14:04

kjaysmum, I have recently posted on this - on the advice of other mumsnetters I moved my lo's sleep to one long sleep after lunch (12ish - 2ish but awake by 2.30 at the latest) even if he'd been awake from 5am. It was a nightmare to begin with as he was so tired by lunchtime, I would say it took about 5-7 days to see results and he started sleeping consistently later, now it is usually anywhere between 6am-7.30am. Sometimes he will wake at 5ish but will go off again 99% of the time hth

beansprout · 02/04/2007 14:11

I've recently extended ds's naps to 2 hours, waking by 3 at the latest. He still goes down at 7.30pm and is now sleeping until 5.45am. Not ideal but a lot better than 4.30! Also he is a lot better in himself, much happier. He is 2.5.

manuka · 02/04/2007 19:44

Black out blinds and a massage with chamomile essential oil after bath (1 to 2 drops maximum diluted in 15ml light oil e.g. grapeseed)

canella · 03/04/2007 19:23

my ds1 (2.5) had been getting up at 5.30 for a while - too early in my books so we bought a timer for his bedside light. The first morning we set it for 5.45 and told him if he stayed in his bed till the light came on he got a gold star on his sticker chart - it took a few days of telling him this and much over exaggerated excitment when he did do it. That was only 3 weeks ago and we've gradually moved it forward by 15 mins every few days and we're now at 6.45. Dont know how much he understands buit he loves the gold star thing and 6.30/6.45 seems like a lie in to us! hope that helps!

Original poster
kjaysmum · 05/04/2007 10:04

hi and thanks for all the advise, we are moving house at the moment so all routine about to go out the window am difinately going to try some of these tips when we get into new house. The computer is getting packed up soon so no more MN for a few days for me until we're back online, thanks again

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