DTs waking at 5am!!!!!!!!!!! HELP!

[Wilkie]

Posting on behalf of my Dsis.

Her DTs wake every morning at 5-5.30am without fail. They have tried EVERYTHING. Varying daytime nap or stopping it altogether has made no difference. They go to bed at 7pm every night. Even if they go later they still wake at 5am.

When they wake up they are still exhausted but WILL NOT go back to sleep.

They are 18 months.

Any advice??

Has she tried a blackout blind?

Does your Dsis feed them when they wake? My 12 month DD also starts each day at 5-5.30am without fail. Don't know what to do either.

Yes she has a blackout blind - she says it doesn't make a blind (ha) bit of difference if it is light or dark.

She takes them downstairs when they wake and gives them a bottle of warm milk each. If only one wakes she takes her into bed with her until the other one wakes but they still don't go back to sleep even in her bed.

My mate has dt'd and when they started doingthis she went into bedroom, cghanged nappies and told them it was too early: go back to sleep, shut door and ignored them. Perseverance worked!

do they live in central London? DS wakes early because there are an enormous number of planes waiting to land at heathrow and start flying v low v early. He even mentioned the plane noise to me this eve.

Nope - Manchester (not near airport either)

It sounds like they have established a pattern of waking up at 5am, and have been "rewarded" by being taken downstairs or into their parents' bed.

My DS (12mths)has woken at 5am a few times, and each time I've treated it as though it were 3am - ie keep the room dark, cuddle and put back in cot, stroke back until calm and then quietly leave room. Often have to re-enter room and repeat, but it does work! I avoid giving any milk or water, or changing nappies unless it is actually dirty.

If they're left in their cots in a darkened room then they should get bored and go to sleep. Of course it's more likely that they'll cry, but that will tire them out, and then they'll go back to sleep. If they stand up in cot, just put them back down and tell them firmly to go back to sleep - time and time again until they do.

It will take perseverance, but otherwise they're likely to continue waking at 5am...