DD won't sleep past 5am

[MBM18]

DD 23 months sleeps straight through until 5am ish, then wakes and is so hard to get back to sleep. She's definitely tired still and needs more sleep.

Currently sat on the floor next to her cot where I've been for the last 50 mins. She wakes up, cries, I go in to settle her and she wants me to either hold her hand or rub her back and any attempt at stopping or moving away, she cries again.
She's only just gone back into a deeper sleep where I'll be able to sneak out of the room now, but she won't fall back into a deep enough sleep that she'll sleep undisturbed for another hour or 90 mins. She'll stir and wake up again in 20 mins.

Any ideas or tips on how to get her sleeping until 6/7am, or falling back asleep quicker when she wakes at 5am??

So as not to drip feed, she is still breastfed a few times a day (usually first thing in the morning, once I finish work and before bed) but I haven't fed her during the night for a while now.

She falls asleep in her cot with either my partner or I in her room, or alone by herself with us watching on the video monitor. (I thought self settling was the magic key!)

If she wakes any earlier, it only takes a few minutes to settle her but anytime after 5am it takes at least 30-45 mins!!

Thanks for reading.

Yeah I explained before he went to bed that the star meant it was nighttime, and when the sun comes up it's time to have breakfast. He obviously had no idea what I was on about until he saw it change the next morning. But after a couple of days he clearly understood. Still woke up before and cried out but there were no hysterics as I think he knew there was a clear end point. Mostly now he waits for it. We made it later quite quickly but he got upset waiting for much longer so I've left it at 6 for now.

Like @sashh says I have no issue with him waking before 6 but I don't want him screaming and waking the whole street.

I took mine into my bed when he woke at that time, gave him some milk, said ‘the world isn’t ready yet’, and then completely ignored, so no eye contact, but a cuddle. There was absolutely no way I was going to start the day at 5am.

Ah see if DD went to sleep at 6:30pm I wouldn't mind so much. Last night she fell asleep at 9:20pm!

You're right @sashh, it's not the waking that's the problem, it's the crying and not settling without me.

Just to let you know after 3 months of 5am
wake ups I tried again to cut out morning nap. I moved afternoon nap to 12 and for 3 mornings I didnt go into until 6:15 and this has actually done the trick. He has got up from 6 onwards last few days which was unheard off. He learnt quickly no one was coming and went back to sleep! I think it was habit/nap transition

How's it going OP?

@CSMD how old is your DC and how long do you let them nap for at 12?

He is turning 1 in a couple of weeks. At 12 he sleeps for 2 hours. I notice by 11/11:30 he is tired so he gets lunch and goes down after, sometimes the nap is 11:30-1:30

I do wonder about massively shifting his nap to 11.30/45 -1.30. Just messes up our day as means we have to be home by 11 to give him lunch, although I could give it afterwards I suppose. But it would stop this awful cycle of up at 5.30, tired by 10.30, exhausted by 1, sleep for ages, grumpy when woken and then not that tired at bedtime at 7.

Not so great! DD is currently standing up in her cot crying, I'm just so fed up of bedtime being a battle every night taking around 1 hour to go to sleep. Think I need to just start putting her down and leaving the room but it's so hard when the weather is hot because she cries and screams, our neighbours must be sick of us.
She's still waking around 5/5:30am but is easy to settle and usually sleeps for another hour. I've started waking up just before she stirs and staying awake, tbh I don't actually mind it lol gives me an hour to get some things done or just chill before she wakes up.
How are you doing @saywhatwhatnow?
DD also naps 11/11:30 for 90 mins and has lunch an hour after she wakes. She's too tired to eat before so has a snack a couple of hours after breakfast.

Really feel like I'm missing something obvious with her bedtime, it's gone 8pm and she just doesn't seem tired!

Today she woke up at 5:50am

Napped 10:50am for 1 hour (usually naps for 90 mins but we were going out this afternoon so I didn't try and settle her back to sleep)

We've spent the day at the park for a friends birthday so she's been active. Hasn't showed no signs of tiredness and had dinner, bath and has been in bed for the last hour.

She's currently standing in her cot crying, we keep going in every now and then to settle her but she's not giving in

What time did you try to put her down @MBM18 ? My ds went through a phase of doing that and what actually helped was putting him to bed earlier. He didn't appear tired at all but if we put him in his cot at 6.45, he went out like a light.

The best thing I have learnt with sleep is that they go through phases. My DS has about 6 weeks of doing one thing ( waking up at 2 for example) then he just drops that and moves onto something else ( waking up at 4 for example!). I used to battle and get really stressed but the best thing I have found is to accept that this stage is hard but it will move on before you know. So hard when you're utterly sleep deprived though!

I put her to bed around 7:15pm last night.
I think earlier bedtime may be the trick I am missing. Evenings always seem to be a rush but will make an effort to have her in bed earlier and see if that makes a difference.
Last night she only slept for just under 10 hours and has been hyper all morning, it's so strange that being tired has the opposite effect on them!
Thanks for your message, will update with progress hopefully :)

I keep reading the same, 'they are overtired so put them to bed at 6/6.30'. It just makes everything so rushed though.

I've found an earlier nap helps with bedtime settling, makes it much quicker! But he still wakes in the night. We only have to go in once or twice,and there is no screaming now, but it's still annoying.

Next stop earlier nap AND earlier bedtime. Keep us posted on your efforts OP.!