Any early risers sleeping longer success stories?

[SnowWhite26]

Hi.
Just that really. My 11 and half month old wakes betwen 5 and 5.30 most days. We have had a couple of random 6ams but dunno how. Room double blackouted not cold or hot. Anyway me and my oh take it in turns to get up. We can't really leave him to long as shares a room with 4 year old. She used to do the same and eventually stopped. Anyone got any success stories of making baby sleep longer? He wont have milk and go back hes awake lol He does well 7-5 or 5.30 Anyway let me no ur thoughts.

What time does he go to sleep at night? Could you push bedtime back a bit?

Maybe something filling like porridge just before bed?

Watching with interest. Early rising 17 month old 5:00-5:15am; anything past 5:30am would now be classed as a wonderful lie-in in our household ). Already feeling really worried about what’s going to happen when the clocks going back in October...

So I realised this morning when he woke up that its getting quite dark still outside atm. Its double black out blinded so its pitch black in there. How is he suppose to no about morning if its so dark? He doesn't wake hungry he has milk about half an hour after he gets up. Today he will go to bed later coz of something we are doing but dunno whats thats guna be like :( x

I have the opposite! Late riser...8.30am/9am BUT late going to bed ...8.30pm:9pm, will then wake after 30mins and then does an hour...Finally down down at 11.30pm on average - sleeps till morning but can wake at 2am or sometimes 5am - usually if teething.

Lie in is good but my evenings are completely gone!!

Nap is one only usually at 1pm for 90 mins to 2 hours.

Maybe I'll try an earlier wake up and hopefully get some evening back!!!!!

Anyone else got any advice?

We had to limit nap time at that age which worked after a while. I think it’s just an awful phase though.

The thing is he goes for a nap by 8.30 coz hes so tired tgen a cat nap in afternoon i feel it should be other way. I wonder if we try a 7.30 bed every night for a few days and a later nap if that would work xx

@SnowWhite26 let us know how that goes...
I'm wonder if that's the problem
I have but my DD won't go down till 9pm most nights and then will sleep -bar a few wake ups sometimes at 11pm 12am - to 8.30am.

Would like to have more of an evening...

Hi. So an update. He has been going to bed about 7.30 last few nights. We have had one 6am wake up but he had woken randomly about 11 for 20 mins.The rest of the time its been 5.30-5.40 not earlier though. He is pretty tired by bedtime so stretching it till 7.30 has been a challenge and not really worked well lol we shall see tomorrow :)

My daughter woke at 5am since birth, she is nearly 5 now , she still wakes at 5 but will now entertain herself for abit in the mornings, some children just have early body clocks! I tried everything but is easier now she is older! She is such a good sleeper so I guess you can't have it all

6am this morning. Dunno if its a fluke or slightly later night x

Ahhh all was going well and now on holiday in a static caravan and hes started waking upnat 5.15 again. Its 20 degrees in the morning in there and feels a bit chilly but he is in a 1 tog and a romper. Do u think hes cold? Just give him milk as this never works but seeing if it will send him back. He has just cut a tooth but slept ok for naps and bed at 7.15 to 7.30 likr normal when gettong 6am wake ups. Hes in his own room here as well no disturbances from sister.

Milk didnt work. Wanted to wait till 6 but he cried. Its so annoying that we made it work and now....

They do say with teething it's four days of fussy ness before and four after the tooth breaks.

You're doing a great job - I know it's really helped but try to go with it. Babies change things up all the time. My DD now 12 months takes one long nap now but used to have 3 45/30 min naps a day!

I've started taking my 16month old out for a 30 walk/play outside after tea and it does seem to be helping. Something to do with dusk light exposure being good for early wakers. There is an old thread on here somewhere where people recommended it. And I also stopped the morning cat nap, so he just has one nap after lunch, yours may be a little young to do this but you could make it later and shorter.

We're on day three:
Day 1: woke 4.30 , whinged on and off with me going in a couple of times until 5.45 then fell asleep until 6.37
Day 2: slept 7pm - 6.05am
Day 3: stirred at 5.15 (went in once) and slept until 6.07

Let's see what tomorrow brings.

We've been away recently too and it all went to pot for us. We waited until we got got home to change things around and just embraced sleep deprivation until afterwards.

@saywhatwhatnow That's really interesting about going out at dusk...what time do you do that?

@Bronnie2018

We normally do tea at 4.45/5 and then go for a walk until 6ish. You could just go in the garden (I must admit it's a bit of an effort on my part at the moment as I'm 20weeks pregnant and just want to stick him in front of the TV at that time of day!!!) but i walk around the block or pop to the corner shop. He's toddling now so I think it burns off the last bit of energy too.

I think the idea is that people who are often outside at dusk want to sleep later ie students. And to have the opposite effect, ie get them to wake up earlier, they need to be exposed to dawn light. Hence why you should open babies curtains when you want them to wake up. I'll clearly give anything a go if I get an extra hours kip though!

@saywhatwhatnow

I have the opposite problem...my DD now 13 months wakes late in the morning...9am but that's after a bedtime of 9.30pm with a couple of wake ups between then and midnight.

I don't have any evenings but get to have time in the mornings...however I'm usually awake at 8am unless it's been a particularly bad night and I'm so knackered I sleep till 9am.

I've been told to start waking her at 8am and then 7.30 if I want her to go to bed earlier in the evening. I did try this but I think I need to keep going. Woke at 8am but still not down till 9pm...then wake ups till midnight...knackered!

I spoke to a sleep advisor about it @Bronnie2018 and she said give it 3-5 days to see changes, so maybe give it 5 days to see if it makes a difference.

Its pretty cold in our caravan in the morning was 17 in his room this morning. I have put him in a full baby griw and a 1 tog sleeping bag as thats the warmest i have so we shall see. Its so annoying as we did the 3-4 day thing it worked putting him ti bed a bit later then waking at 6 which is ok but now back to 5.15 its soul destroying lol (drama i no)

No advice but in the same boat so following with interest. We can’t leave ours to cry either as he wakes our 3 year old. We have tried all approaches. Goes crazy if you go in and check on him then leave. Doesn’t go back to sleep if you leave him. On the odd occasion he goes back to sleep if you let him lie on you. He’s 16 months and has been doing this since 11 months. This morning it was 4am. Our kids seem to be the only ones that don’t sleep till 7!

My son was the worst sleeper, but it did get better so it will happen for you! My daughter is another story, but even she has stopped the early wake ups. I can't tell you how bad the first 14 months were with my son, he cried constantly, it was horrendous but we did a few different sleep training techniques and then got him a groclock and the combo really helped - hold on, you'll get there too!

Hi SnowWhite,

You need to push his morning nap back to 10am. It's really difficult when they wake so early so just see how you go and try to push back by 15 mins each few days. Maybe aim for 9:30 to begin with. Then don't let him sleep longer than one hour in the morning. Then another nap at 2:30 for an hour and then bed around 7:30-8.

It's taken a while but we are now waking around 6:30. It's a tricky time because they are needing more awake time but maybe not quite ready for one nap and so bedtime gets pushed back later but that schedule works for a lot of babies this sort of age.

You are basically looking for a routine that is 3/3.5/4 or 3/4/4 or 3.5/3.5/4. But you need to base the first nap off of the time you'd like him to wake (10am nap assumes you want him awake at 7am for example) rather than the actual time he wakes. Otherwise you are just perpetuating the early wake.

Hope that helps

So he doesn't need you between 7pm and 5am and you and his dad share getting up 50:50? It sounds absolutely dreamy! Mine started sleeping longer, usually, after naps were dropped.

My 13 month old wakes up crying between 5:30 - 6am every morning and I hate it! I really am not a morning person at all and need time to pull round. I would do ANYTHING to get him to sleep til 7am.

That said, he is usually asleep by 7 - 7:30pm so that works out at 10.5 - 11 hours sleep which, from everything I’ve read, is very typical at this age. I think babies that sleep 12 hours straight through are quite rare!