4yo not getting enough sleep. At wits end

[ListenLinda]

Hi everyone, hoping someone has some magic advice.
Since we removed the baby gate off DDs door and the light mornings (shows how long this has been going on for!) she has been waking at ridiculous times and trying to get up for the day.
Today was 4.10am and I am currently watching on the camera at her pissing around in bed instead of going back to sleep. I never let her go downstairs but she wont go back to sleep now.
As a result, she is cranky and whingey and has started napping again which of course causes havoc at bed time!
Her behaviour is terrible lately and she really is silly when she gets over tired.
She has a blind in her room but I don’t know where to get the ones that go against the window to completely block light out.
Bar from putting a sodding baby gate on her door to stop her wandering downstairs at 3am what can I do?

Try blinds2go for blackout blinds.

Deal: The Gro Company Stars and Moons Gro Anywhere Portable Blackout Blind with Suction Cups www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00BKZLWBU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_RQCM6M7C299VCST32YTG?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

We used one like this as a temporary fix - super easy to put up and really does block out the light. You can use it for holidays etc too.

Can you try getting in with her/letting her in with you if she wakes and seeing if she’ll go back to sleep? My DS sometimes wakes early but if I lie next to him and missy he at least lies down, he’ll often drift back off for a bit.

Get a decent blackout blind. It’s not her fault! You can get Velcro ones. Ugly but effective.

We used but got better velcro

Also is the bird noise waking her? Or other noises? We used white noise as well.

Not sure what is waking her, but she wakes up and that’s it. There is no going back off.

She is a stubborn little monkey, she is going to be very tired at nursery today.

Maybe she just isn’t going to be the sort of person who can sleep on demand . There’s no way that I can go to sleep because someone else tells me too, my body doesn’t work like that .

*Deal: The Gro Company Stars and Moons Gro Anywhere Portable Blackout Blind with Suction Cups ]]

We have this one too. Did it seriously never cross your mind to try Amazon? Its that the first place everyone goes to when they dont know, where to find something?

Bloc blinds are really excellent

No in all honesty I didn’t 😂 but now I do.

I think she is a lark like me but even I think 4am is too early!
Whenever I ask why she just says ‘i don’t want to sleep Mummy’

What time does she go to bed?

Just tape some tin foil over the glass for the next few nights til you manage to source a blackout blind.

@ListenLinda

Not sure what is waking her, but she wakes up and that’s it. There is no going back off.

She is a stubborn little monkey, she is going to be very tired at nursery today.

It may be that she’s being woken gradually - and that is hard to go back to sleep from. A combination of the night getting slightly cooler and the birds starting up.

We used to have a fold out foam mattress in the dcs room at this age. When they woke early, we’d go in and crash next to them.

I would try a combo of the Velcro blind, white noise and an extra blanket on her when you go to bed (I’m religious about this and check the night temp every night just in case as I wake up cold and so do the dcs. But they’re old enough now to sort themselves out!!)

Make sure she is nice and full at bedtime - a bowl of porridge for instance. Hunger can kick in around 4am.

You don't even need tape to put tinfoil on the glass, if you wet it with a cloth, the tinfoil will stick. I'd try that. I bet it's the light, my son always starts getting up super early when summer comes in. We got a blackout blind from IKEA which works well but the tinfoil is a good temporary solution.

True

She may be going to bed too early.

@Amammai

Deal: The Gro Company Stars and Moons Gro Anywhere Portable Blackout Blind with Suction Cups www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00BKZLWBU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_RQCM6M7C299VCST32YTG?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

We used one like this as a temporary fix - super easy to put up and really does block out the light. You can use it for holidays etc too.

Can you try getting in with her/letting her in with you if she wakes and seeing if she’ll go back to sleep? My DS sometimes wakes early but if I lie next to him and missy he at least lies down, he’ll often drift back off for a bit.

We have the gro company temporary blind and it's amazing. We use it in their bedroom as soon as spring arrives and will be taking it away with us if we go anywhere. Its simply fantastic.

Blind.

Supper so she's not waking hungry.

Put the gate back on.

At 4 she's old enough to know that if she wakes she can read a book in bed but she isn't allowed out of bed to play but she can look at a.book in bed. Sort out some books before bed so she's not ferreting about at 4am looking for a book

What time is she going to bed?

She goes to bed at 7.30pm and is asleep for 7.45-8pm.
She always has supper before she goes up too.

Could she be waking for a wee?

@FATEdestiny she sometimes does and will go back to sleep but she doesnt ask to go at this time she wants to go downstairs and play with her toys.

Naughty minx, stair gate back on then

Do you have a day/night clock? We had this problem with my daughter and she said that she genuinely didn’t know if it was morning when she woke up. After we got this clock that had a sleeping cow at night and an awake cow during the day her sleep completely transformed. This was years ago so there are probably better versions of the clock now.

Well. A ‘short’ nap at nursery has resulted in me and DH up and down the stairs since bed time. And despite the late night she will be up early still. Plan of action tomorrow is to get the blind and rearrange her bedroom.
I dont know if we can ask nursery to stop letting her nap to break the cycle.
I thought we had cracked it with her when she stopped napping and was in bed asleep at 7.30-6.30 every day. I’m exhausted with the broken nights and early mornings. (DS is two and wakes once a night for a drink. He will sleep until the cows come home if I let him though!)