So fed up of early wakings

[boymum2020]

LO has been waking between 5-5.30am for around a month. (Sometimes even 4.30)
He's almost 6 months.
This all started when he started teething so I tried to help him go back to sleep. But it hasn't been successful he just wants to start him day.

Tbh I'm absolutely fed up. I've tried everything it help. He's such an happy baby and pleasant baby, except when tired so I make sure he doesn't get over tired.

But I feel like I'm ready to break and throw in the towel. I can feel resentment building. I'm so exhausted I go to bed at 9.30-10pm as I know I'll be awake at 5am no matter what.

It's making me feel like a failure that I can't do it. I cry basically every day out of exhaustion and frustration. Then guilt that I'm getting annoyed at an innocent baby.

My body clock is that messed up that I wake multiple times throughout night. And when my partner takes baby in morning I can't go back to sleep. Even though I'm that exhausted.

No advice apart from I completely understand. My 2.5 year old is exactly the same and it’s got worse during lockdown, she also wakes in the night and I am also breastfeeding a newborn. I am broken

I always found with both ds's around the age your lo is at right now was the hardest regarding sleep! I'm sorry you must be tired.

I can't really suggest much other than say that it's all just phases that change eventually, before you know it they won't be getting up so early. What time do they go to bed? Sleeping through the night? Do you have blackout blinds? It's so light in the mornings right now which maybe isn't helping!

I’m definitely not qualified to give advice (FTM to 6MO), but we found that reducing his afternoon nap has really helped. I use the Little Ones program to help and it’s been great.

Naps for our little one are 920-10, 1220-220, 430-450. He goes to bed at 7 (give or take), with a dream feed at 1030 and gets through til 7 now. When we were letting him have a longer afternoon nap and/or sleep past 5pm he would always wake early (5ish) and it was killing me, so I can fully sympathise.

The Little Ones programs say the following are things to consider re early waking: over or under tiredness, too warm/too cold, sleep environment not ideal (they recommend blackout blind and white noise)

Also, you definitely aren’t a failure and it really will get better. I spent many hours on my knees in tears about our baby’s sleep and it is bloody exhausting and stressful. But it will get better and you can do this

Being a mum is bloody hard work. Have you got some buddies with babies you can chat to? My NCT group have been invaluable in supporting me with the tough timrs

I’ve just seen that theparentandbabycoach on Instagram has a theme of early waking today - maybe have a look at that x

My son was always an early riser. I remember thinking if he made it to 6am it was a good day! Hes 16 now and rarely sleeps beyond 7-8am even at weekends.
Don't feel bad about going to bed early - you need to take care of yourself. In a few short years you can set him up to play in his room if he continues to wake early - make it a rule no disturbing you until the clocks says 7!

This is the most baffling thing. I've tried all the recommendations

He's got black out blinds (completely pitch black), white noise sound machine.

He usually does a 1h 15 min nap first.
Then an 1h30 min nap 2nd
Then last nap is usually 30-45 mins finishing around 4.30-5pm
These are usually in his cot but sometimes I have to help him extend them. I watch his awake hours and he's usually tired after 2h15 mins and he's usually asleep by 2h45 as last day.
I use the huckleberry app to help with his nap times too which was working great (now not so much)

So his bedtime is around 7-7.30pm
He was sleeping 7pm-6.30am until teething hit. Then it got earlier and early. He was going through 4 to 3 naps a day transition as well which kept the day changing.

I feel like I've read every single recommendations online from taking carababies, to littlesones basically every sleep expert website.

Unfortunately because of lock down I never got to go to baby groups to meet people and none of my friends have kids. Neighbours baby is 3 months older but from from 6 months her baby stopped napping during day completely.

My dd used to do this and it is exhausting

It will get better
It may take time

I have no magic cure I survived by going to bed early and accepting it would pass.

When she woke up,I would get up, I would use the time to get washing done and organise house. I would nap when she napped or at least rest.

It did pass and she gets up later than me now, she is fifteen though

Mine was an early riser (4:30am) and woke up throughout the night, every hour on the hour. It was just bone soakingly awful.
So you're not waking between 10pm and 5am? Count that as an enormous blessing. Sorry if I don't sound too sympathetic. I do understand that the early wake up is a killer. But that will change. There's nothing to be done but to roll with it.
Acceptance is not defeat.

My baby has been doing this well he will be one in two weeks
Anyway he wakes up 4.30-4,45 am he doesn't cry but he chats and it wakes me up

Last night was a revelation it could be a fluke

We have a lot of birds in the garden and they sing constantly

The house was sooo still last night that we were all basically naked and sweating so we actually got the fans out of the attic and put one in our room one in 4 year olds room and one in the baby's room
I left them on in the kids rooms all night

My baby the 11 month old slept until 7.15

It could be a fluke but I'm wondering if that sound was a constant so he didn't stir?

I've had two kids and never been able to get them to sleep in in the summer even with a black out blind
Can you try some noise in his room all night

@boymum2020 Is baby sleeping through the night, or waking in the night?

Because a normal nights sleep at this stage is 10-12h overnight sleep. If your DS is going to bed at 7.00-7.30pm then waking at 5.00-5.30am is within the range of a normal overnight sleep. It's on the low end at 10h, but still it is within normal.

That would suggest that what you need to do is shift your whole day 1h or 2h later to solve this. There will be a transition period in doing that. You will have a good two weeks or so where baby is going to bed at 8.30pm and still waking up at ridiculous o'clock and you'll also have the nightmare of keeping baby up until 8.30pm the following day. It needs about 3 weeks to start seeing a movement in the body clock, so dont give it up as a bad job if you are still getting early mornings after a week of later nights - because it wont work that quickly.

I'd shift your day by focusing on a later morning nap, then use this to shift your whole day later.

You dont mention the timings of your naps, but using your suggestions I'd guess your day is currently something like
5am wake - 7.30am-9am nap - 12.30pm-2pm nap - 4.30pm-5pm nap 7.30pm bed

Your aim is to move that morning nap to be starting at 9am. I appreciate that this will be really tough at first, through the transition period. So just aim for as late as you can make it, keep baby going and active as long as possible for the first nap. Then follow as you have been, with 2h30m (ish) awake times.

A very early morning nap messes with the body clock and can actively encourage an early wake up from nighttime sleep. So pushing it later is the way to go. Team this with later bedtimes (I'd aim for 8.30-9pm) and give it 3 weeks for consistency, and you should then start seeing a difference.

Then longer term you can drop the third nap and make bedtime earlier, making it a more reasonable 8pm for example - aiming for an 8pm-7am night time, 11h average sleep (so expected wake up in the region of 6am-8am)