When you’ve resigned yourself to an early start, when is breakfast time?

[NotReallyAPrincess]

20mo DS is having a bit of a sleep regression at the moment and we’re up for the day at 4.30ish sometimes. He will occasionally self-settle if I don’t go in but in recent days he’s had a wet or dirty nappy which has sometimes leaked, so I’m less inclined to leave him now. Then by the time the nappy and clothes are changed, we’re all awake anyway.

My question is about breakfast. Before this he would wake at about 6.30 and would have a small cup of milk, before breakfast at 7ish. I don’t want to leave breakfast as late as that if he’s been awake for a few hours, but I also want to keep to a good routine and worry that an early breakfast encourages an earlier wakeup. He’s had a banana today as I was hungry and needed something with my coffee, and he spotted me eating.

What do you do with your early waking toddlers?

I was advised by a sleep consultant to stick to your desired breakfast time because if he suddenly starts getting breakfast at 5/5.30 it will encourage the early wake up. It's hard when you feel like they're starving but try to keep him upstairs in his room as long as possible then distract until breakfast time

I cannot imagine that at nearly 2yo, calorific need is a driver for waking early. There's something very wrong in the child's diet if there is. There are a million other reasons for waking early, food/thirst should be very low on that list of reasons at this age.

Ergo - I'd take the routine of having two breakfasts on early waking days. First breakfast within an hour of waking (as I would assume is normal for every morning). Then if needed, "second breakfast" at the mid-way point until lunchtime, or thereabouts.

Even without early wake ups, Second breakfasts are A Thing throughout the preschool years. Don't sweat it.

I just gave breakfast as normal when he woke early tbh and then something later on to see through till lunch

@RoseGoldGlasses

I just gave breakfast as normal when he woke early tbh and then something later on to see through till lunch

Should have said, as normal meaning half hour after waking

@FATEdestiny

I cannot imagine that at nearly 2yo, calorific need is a driver for waking early. There's something very wrong in the child's diet if there is. There are a million other reasons for waking early, food/thirst should be very low on that list of reasons at this age.

Ergo - I'd take the routine of having two breakfasts on early waking days. First breakfast within an hour of waking (as I would assume is normal for every morning). Then if needed, "second breakfast" at the mid-way point until lunchtime, or thereabouts.

Even without early wake ups, Second breakfasts are A Thing throughout the preschool years. Don't sweat it.

This is good, I’m always down for a second breakfast. And the available time means we can have more elaborate meals too.

His diet hasn’t been great recently due to illness and teething, but his appetite has been brilliant for the past few days and the early waking has persisted. So you’re right, can’t be a hunger or thirst thing. He does have a water cup in his cot but I’m not sure if he uses it.

My older two were both 5am wakers until they were about 2.5 or 3 (then I got a night owl dc3 who'd only settle for a stretch of over 90 minutes at 6am, exactly when dc1 started school and I had to be up with her ).

I used to be deliberately sleepy and not engage much until 6am, but plonked sippy cups of water and a banana on the coffee table and pretended to doze on the sofa while they pottered about with duplo/ toy cars/ Playmobil 1-2-3.

It worked well and I thought I had it sorted until dc2 decided he was potty trained and didn't wear a night nappy, and started taking himself to the potty in the upstairs bathroom at 4:30am and then being very awake indeed (and proud of himself). He never wet the bed even once and I didn't want to knock that back, but it threw my morning benign neglect plan out as he was so wide awake and happy and proud So we did the two breakfasts for a while, and he'd eat at about 5am, 7am, 10 am and 1pm and then be done for the day and not want dinner...