5am riser since birth :(

[beth1991]

Hi all, my daughter has just turned 2. Since birth she’s always woke up between 5-5:30am no matter what.

We’ve tried everything, later bedtimes only mean she gets less sleep so are counter productive. She’s always had a solid bedtime routine and gone to bed at 7:30pm. 2 years of waking up at 5am are catching up with us and very much putting us off trying for another until it’s sorted ha!

I am going to try the Gro Clock but as she’s literally only just turned 2 don’t think she’ll quite understand so don’t want to start until she fully understands for fear of it not being effective.

Everything I read relates to toddlers who appear to have just spontaneously wake at 5am but have previously slept well, mine has been doing this for 2 years, anyone else? Praying I won’t be waiting until she’s 13 to sleep into the Unknown’s of 6am

Thanks

We were always up early. This week will be horrendous for you as the body clock has to adjust to the new times. It will get better. Try the grow clock. Try putting a warm duvet on the child before you go to bed. Try sleeping with her. Don't put off trying for another as all kids are different.... just embrace early nights.

We’ve just bought a groclock for our 13mo who has a habit of waking some time between 4.30 and 5.30. Set it for 6 this morning (knowing that due to the clocks changing it would actually be 5) and he woke up exactly as the clock changed. We’ve only used it once so it might be a fluke but it’s looking positive so far! 2 might not be too young! Early bedtime for you obviously helps too. We’re in bed by 9 most nights and I actually love it 😬

Yup my 3 year old does it. I'm grateful it's 5.30 and not 3am like it was for a while. Doesn't matter how late I put him to bed.

Only way I got round the tiredness was having to go to bed early myself. Either that or feel like a zombie every day.

Ds is 7 and I consider 6am a lie-in as he is always awake between 5.45-6 every morning. The only reason he's 'slept in' this morning is because he's got a bad cold (but obviously after years of getting used to it I've been awke for an hour now).

Putting bedtime back never worked, he just woke up even earlier in a foul mood, so we accept the upsides - we get evenings to relax or get stuff done and if we are going out at weekends we are up and out early .

yep 04.00 to 04.30 every day.
my son is.2.5

Do you use a black out blind? That's all I've got. I have a terrible sleeper early riser so you have my sympathies. But my second child sleeps 6.30-6.30 and has done since 6 months old so don't assume the second child will be the same (thank God mine isn't!)

My youngest is 12 on Tuesday and woke 5-530 everyday until about 6 months ago no matter what
I just went bed earlier and adjusted
These days I'm up before everyone else as can't reset my clock to wake later!
I love my quiet time in the mornings,have more productive days and in summer enjoy sunrises in the garden when it's still and it feels like they're just mine

Gro clock will work (it did for my 18 month old). Takes a few morning of explaining (and a few tears), but they're great. Start with light on gro clock coming on at 5.15, then afer a few days, 5.30, and so on.

If it makes you feel better, my DC2 was like this, and all of a sudden, at almost 3 - started sleeping until 7.30/8am. So it can happen!

I know you said you tried later bedtime but what about earlier? Does she still nap? Does she have a book or teddies to hand in her bed/cot to entertain herself or does she cry out at 5am for you? What if you ignore her for a bit, does she quieten down? Does she have water or milk to help herself to. Sorry you've prob tried all this!

I feel for you - DS is 4 and his wake time is 5am. We have tried everything - black out blinds, for clock was bloody useless, early bedtime, late bedtime... a lot of people have said oh maybe he only needs 10 hours sleep. This is wrong though as the poor thing is knackered, cries for his Dad who does his bedtime at lunchtime because he wants to sleep! I’d happily let him nap after his morning at preschool but he fights it. He’ll move from the sofa to the hard floor if he feels himself drifting off. It’s affecting what he wants to do; he’s refusing trips out. Even a visit to the fancy cake shop!

We’re completely of ideas and it’s starting to affect his life now. :(

I’d your DD managing the day ok or is she too tired?

We’ve been up by 5.30 for 8 years. Once they get to about 4you can plonk them in front of the tv and go back to bed.

My nearly 6yr old has always been an early riser varied between 4:45-6am normal was 5:30. Nothing worked we also have the glo clock.
It’s only really been this year that he has started to sleep closer to 6 and now he in year 1 we’ve had a could of mornings where he’s slept till gone 7 just a shame it was on a work day 🙄

I'm sorry but my early riser didn't start sleeping until 6am until she was around 6ish. I tried everything! The only thing that made a slight improvement was a black out blind. She is now 8 and only just makes it to 6am. What we did was work out how much she was sleeping for at night so for her it's around 10 hours or just under so we put her to bed at 8 and let her read which gives us a 6am wake up. You have to do it for at least a week though. If it's any help though my other 2 are great sleepers especially my 2nd she regularly sleeps for 14 hours and she is only a year younger.

Mine used to do this op. Anything past 6am we considered very much a lie in. It broke us for a few years. In my experience they do grow out of it, they normally wake up about 630 now. Hoping that will get later!

Thank you all for your many responses!

I may try the Gro Clock, I planned around Christmas but will buy one and give it a go!

She still naps in the day for 1-2 hours as she's tired from waking up so early, her room is like a black hole with black out blinds and curtains 🙈 love an early bedtime myself but whilst studying for a degree, the evening is also the only time I get to study 🤦🏼‍♀️

Thanks all x