Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Sleep

Join our Sleep forum for tips on creating a sleep routine for your baby or toddler. Need more advice on your childs development? Sign up to our Ages and Stages newsletter here.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

Dd awake for day at 6am

49 replies

DarcyParty · 08/05/2018 07:37

Firstly, I'm so grateful she's a good sleeper now, she was terrible before 6 weeks and the sleep deprivison really amplified my pnd.

So, Dd (almost 6 months) goes down to sleep between 6-7pm, sometimes wakes up once for her dody during the night, wakes up for a bottle at 4am, but has been dropping the odd one lately.

For the past few weeks or so she's been waking up for the day at 6-6.30 am fully awake and ready for the day and yelling through the wall to let me know. She used to sleep to 7.30 or 8.

This would be fine except DP works 3 shifts and some weeks gets home at daft o clock, and inevitably wakes me up when he comes to bed and leaves me shattered when she wants to be up early.

How can I get her to sleep later? We have blackout curtains and I've tried pushing her bedtime back but she's dead on her feet and I feel terrible for her. By the time she wakes me up in the morning she's wiiiide awake. Any ideas?

OP posts:

VileyRose · 08/05/2018 08:25

I think 6am is normal in the summer?

TeachesOfPeaches · 08/05/2018 08:29

2 yo up at 6am here too including Saturday and Sunday. Normal time to be up.

Popadoodledoo · 08/05/2018 08:34

Can you try putting her to bed a bit later? My ds2 is 8 month. If I put him to bed at 7pm he would probably be up about 5am. For him to sleep until about 8am I have to get him to sleep for about 9pm.

putputput · 08/05/2018 09:36

Agree that you need to go to bed earlier yourself if you feel you need more sleep.

It's unrealistic to try and get a 6 month old to sleep 14 hours at a time.

However I am bitter and twisted as my own 6 month old still wakes every 2 hours and believed 5am is a perfectly acceptable time to get up...

RainbowFairiesHaveNoPlot · 08/05/2018 09:42

Hate to tell you - but mine have always done this (they're 5 and 6 now). I push bedtime back later... they're still up at 6.30 (we've got to 6.30 now - it was 6am to a point you didn't need an alarm clock) but instead of being nice and chirpy they're tired and foul to live with! So I just have the trade off that they have an early in terms of their peer group (mind you half the kids they're at school with are still up when their parents go to bed at 11pm) bedtime.

They're now at the point where a digital clock with a huge post it note pointing at the hour number with a big "7" on it means they understand they can read each other stories or play quietly until then before coming in to wake us up - gro clocks didn't work but the post-it low-tech solution has (I'm normally awake anyway dozing - they've set my bloody body clock to 6am as well) but sometimes it's just one of the things you've got to roll with a bit... well until they're the age you can bring them into your bed and bung Cbeebies on for a doze and a cuddle while you make yourself a bit more coherent to face the world.

ApplesinmyPocket · 08/05/2018 10:31

I hated early starts when mine were little. Hence, they had 9-10 pm bedtimes (I know I know, prevailing MN wisdom is that this makes No Difference but it certainly did for mine.) I didn't mind them around in the evenings, esp in summer when evenings go on and on, but I was never ready for action by 6am.

A 12 -hour night for your DD is pretty normal and even good. It's unlikely you can extend this to 14 hours. You can extend YOUR sleep though, as others have said - you and DH are on different shifts at present - he shouldn't be waking you when he comes in from his.

DragonsAndCakes · 08/05/2018 13:13

Sleep training-wise we did gradual retreat which seemed like a gentle approach. Basically sit with them while they cry and move a few inches away every few nights.

Toasttea · 08/05/2018 23:24

6.30 for us here. Well in the last week or so it has been he goes back to sleep after his milk for an hour. He sleeps all night from 7.30/8pm. Can’t complain!

Lemondrop99 · 09/05/2018 15:38

My 6 month old is usually up before 6.30 now. Later bedtime doesn’t change that.

TittyGolightly · 09/05/2018 15:42

At 6 months DD would wake at noon and not before.

She went to bed at midnight though.

Her best friend has never slept past 6am. Ever. (They’re 7.)

I’m not sure what you expect when she’s going to sleep so early.

TittyGolightly · 09/05/2018 15:44

So, Dd (almost 6 months) .......

fully awake and ready for the day and yelling through the wall to let me know.

You know that’s against SIDS guidance, right?

Buglife · 09/05/2018 15:49

My almost 4 year old wakes at 6-7am, usually closer to 6. He also woke up at 1am because he was hot and wanted a drink last night then found it hard to sleep again. He didn’t slept through much his whole life and was feeding through the night until 20 months. You can control your situation somewhat by going to bed earlier. At least you get to actually sleep during the night which a lot of parents do 6 month olds will not be!

fleshmarketclose · 09/05/2018 15:52

When she is a teenager you get to get your own back by hoovering outside their door before 10 am on a weekend but until then early mornings are par for the course.

Flicketyflack · 09/05/2018 15:53

I think if your DD is sleeping 11-12 hours each night then she us doing well. Personally getting her to sleep later is unlikely if she is in bed before 7pm.

My daughter was an early riser and we tried everything. She is just an early riser

catinapoolofsunshine · 09/05/2018 15:54

Some kids are early birds, you may just have to work around it. My nearly 11 year old still gets up at 6am every day, including weekends and holidays. Obviously he doesn't disturb anyone else nowadays, he has to stay in his room til 7am at weekends, and on school days being up at 6am is a good thing, he's dressed and washed and eating his breakfast at 6.15am. Better than some of his friends whose parents have to put in serious effort and stress to waking their kids.

My nearly 13 year old is still an early riser too - she was up at 5am bright as a button all through my pregnancy with dc2 and I just used to put prerecorded Mr Tumble on for her and doze on the sofa til I could function at 6am. She learnt to stay in bed til 6am once she could read a clock and now will sometimes sleep til 8am if she's really tired, but she's an age where some of her peers sleep til midday at weekends...

My youngest was a terrible nighttime sleeper for years, but is the only one who seems to be a natural night owl with an inclination to go to bed later and sleep in... I'd have fathered be woken up at 5am after a solid 7 hours sleep than have him sleep til 9am but be woken every 45 minutes to 2 hours all night for nearly 3 years though!

Can you adapt around her, as she's a good sleeper at night you really don't want to break that! Sleep in a different room to your DH when he's on lates maybe? Does the baby have a room that will be hers? She won't adapt to his shifts anyway, so it may be your best bet.

Pebblespony · 09/05/2018 15:57

Our lady (9 mths) sleeps till 9 but she gets the same amount of sleep as yours. Doesn't go down till nine at the earliest. It works for us as I'm still off on maternity and the late start gives me time to look after animals etc. I'm not sure yours will sleep later given her bedtime.

JiltedJohnsJulie · 09/05/2018 16:07

@DarcyParty do you find it difficult to get back to sleep if your DP wakes you? Could he sleep in another room when he’s on that shift? Does he take turns with the early mornings on his days off?

PotteringAlong · 09/05/2018 17:26

You cannot really moan that you’re getting 12 hours straight sleep from your 6 month old and would be much happier with 14 hours...

LalaLeona · 10/05/2018 20:14

She's 6 months old! I would have killed for that much sleep when mine were that young. I think maybe you should count your blessings. By the way my son is now 2.5 and still gets up at 6.

MyBreadIsEggy · 10/05/2018 20:20

Sounds like a dream to me
My youngest is 18mo and I can’t remember the last time I only got up once in the night with him
I’ve been blessed with two crappy sleepers, but sounds to me like your little one is doing wonderfully on the sleep front!!

JeanMichelBisquiat · 10/05/2018 20:20

You've got it completely sorted; that's great sleep. 6 is normal, I'm afraid (and you're sensibly getting her down early enough that you get an evening and she's not overtired). Sorry - not what you want to hear, probably

JeanMichelBisquiat · 10/05/2018 20:22

Ps I've had TEN YEARS of multiple wakings every night due to chronic illness of DC and then other health probs of other DC. I used to think like you about trying to tweak it, so I do understand, but really, be grateful for it! (Luckily now just starting to get uninterrupted nights 😊)

crazycatlady5 · 10/05/2018 22:24

Why are you considering sleep training, I’m a bit confused? Cry it out is the most evil of them all

catinapoolofsunshine · 10/05/2018 22:44

I think the sleep training comment was a joke about sleep training her partner wasn't it crazy? Though the baby sleeping on her stomach in another room is totally against cot death prevention advice...

Flip

1 2