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Original poster

Sleep training at 5 am?

32 replies

naomiembrace · 07/03/2023 06:50

Has anyone tried this? My baby is 10 months and will sometimes sleep through but often wake up around 5. I'll feed him, change nappy. He used to go to sleep after 15 minutes of babbling in his cot but will now just cry. Sometimes if I pat him for an hour (literally) he will sleep again. Routine is half hour sleep 9:30-10 and then nap 12-30-2:30 ish. If he sleeps less in day, doesn't impact night. Wondering if sleep training would work as it feels too late in the morning-probably less sleep pressure? Thanks !

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MamOfFive · 07/03/2023 07:00

I doubt it sounds like he's a early riser normal for them to think 5am is time to get up. Just got to roll with it!

Matilda1981 · 07/03/2023 07:04

I do think you have to roll with it until they start sleeping later. His daytime naps seem ok, the only thing I can think of is that he might be hungry? To be fair 2 out of my 4 we’re early risers until they were about a year/18 months old.

ShirleyPhallus · 07/03/2023 07:06

It’s meant to in that you treat the 5am wake up like any other but I think it would be a lot of crying as the sleep pressure is much less like you say. I think a period of 5am wake ups is a rite of passage tbh!

in other news, why are you changing his nappy at 5am unless it’s dirty? I’d get bigger / more absorbent nappies and leave it, that’ll be waking him up more

Nimbostratus100 · 07/03/2023 07:08

I think this is just the natural wake up time for a lot of children - just accept it for the next few years.

bcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyza · 07/03/2023 07:10

That is my son and he is 6. He always woke up early tried everything we just learnt to embrace it.

MrNook · 07/03/2023 07:20

Sounds like that's just his wake up time and leaving him to cry isn't going to change that

forwardsandbackwardsandup · 07/03/2023 07:32

Not what you'll be wanting to hear but my son has been an early riser since that age. He's turning 2 soon, I've been up since before 5 🙃 people assure me he'll grow out of it. I'm laying a lot of hope on him sleeping a bit longer when he drops his nap. You just need to go to bed early. And try not to hate your useless husband when it's you who gets up every single morning of life. Except that's probably another thread.

TheRookie · 07/03/2023 07:36

Definitely a rite of a passage, we have all been there! I don't think it's worth an hour of patting, an hour of crying, an hour of settling to get another hour sleep!

BuildingUp · 07/03/2023 07:42

I know it's easier said than done, but maybe try and encourage the longer nap earlier in the day. 2hr morning nap and half hour afternoon nap.

LapinR0se · 07/03/2023 07:43

What time is he going to bed for the night?

LapinR0se · 07/03/2023 07:44

BuildingUp · 07/03/2023 07:42

I know it's easier said than done, but maybe try and encourage the longer nap earlier in the day. 2hr morning nap and half hour afternoon nap.

Usually this encourages early morning waking unfortunately

Original poster
naomiembrace · 07/03/2023 07:49

Thanks all. I don't think it's really his natural wake up time because when he does sleep later he's much less grumpy in the day. He goes to sleep at 7. When he goes to sleep later, makes no difference. I change his nappy because he normally has a poo (I think he wakes up, does a poo and then cries) and if he doesn't do a poo and I don't change him he gets upset -I think he's used to the routine of being changed. Not sure he's hungry -I breast feed him when he wakes-and he eats loads during day.

OP posts:
cigarettesNalcohol · 07/03/2023 07:53

Sounds more like an early riser to me. My child is the same and was waking up at 5 every day but not much we could do to resettle him. He now wakes closer to 6 but it's still brutal. I cut back on the morning nap and that made a small difference but ultimately we have an early riser, who wakes up crying immediately too. Stressful for sure. No ideal but it will pass.

Hidingawaytoday · 07/03/2023 07:53

My DD did similar at around the same age - I mentioned it to the HV when I saw her for the 12m check, and she suggested going down to one nap - which seemed to work for us.

LapinR0se · 07/03/2023 08:02

An earlier bedtime can actually help. Try a 6.45 bedtime for a week and see if it helps at all

Pastaf0rbreakfast · 07/03/2023 08:06

Would he go back to sleep if you brought him into your bed and breastfed lying down, even if he doesn’t go back to sleep you would get to lie down for a bit longer. This is what I would do for a slightly later wake up time.

I would also push bedtime back a bit, and possibly cap the longer nap. Average amount of sleep in 24hrs for this age is 11-14hrs. With the 5am wake up he is getting 12.5hrs which is totally normal, so if the amount of sleep is fine, then it would be a case of changing timings to suit you a bit better.

Also sometimes it can take a few days for their body to get used to a change so give it at least that amount of time before deciding if something works or not.

BuildingUp · 07/03/2023 08:34

LapinR0se · 07/03/2023 07:44

Usually this encourages early morning waking unfortunately

Show quote history

Maybe I've been lucky, both my DC had/have a 2hr nap in the morning and 30/45 mins in the afternoon and they get up around 6/6.30 (bedtime is 7/7.30).

Original poster
naomiembrace · 07/03/2023 09:06

Pastaf0rbreakfast · 07/03/2023 08:06

Would he go back to sleep if you brought him into your bed and breastfed lying down, even if he doesn’t go back to sleep you would get to lie down for a bit longer. This is what I would do for a slightly later wake up time.

I would also push bedtime back a bit, and possibly cap the longer nap. Average amount of sleep in 24hrs for this age is 11-14hrs. With the 5am wake up he is getting 12.5hrs which is totally normal, so if the amount of sleep is fine, then it would be a case of changing timings to suit you a bit better.

Also sometimes it can take a few days for their body to get used to a change so give it at least that amount of time before deciding if something works or not.

This used to work but now it doesn't get him back to sleep, but I do still do it to get longer lying down. I'll try cutting the longer nap for a few days. Not sure I or him can cope with a later bed time..but will try that if cutting nap isn't sufficient. Thanks

OP posts:
Original poster
naomiembrace · 07/03/2023 09:07

LapinR0se · 07/03/2023 08:02

An earlier bedtime can actually help. Try a 6.45 bedtime for a week and see if it helps at all

Thanks-will try that if cutting sleep time doesn't work!

OP posts:
BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 07/03/2023 09:08

Is he going to bed with a full tummy? Maybe if hunger is waking him then a bowl of porridge before bed might just carry him another hour.

mewkins · 07/03/2023 09:28

Hidingawaytoday · 07/03/2023 07:53

My DD did similar at around the same age - I mentioned it to the HV when I saw her for the 12m check, and she suggested going down to one nap - which seemed to work for us.

This would be my suggestion too. The morning nap is an extension of night time sleep. I would gradually push it later and later until it ends up around lunchtime. It's a bit of pain(and sometimes means a stupidly early lunch) but it definitely helps them sleep later in the morning.

anon2022anon · 07/03/2023 09:33

I would absolutely try to push through with the patting to get back to sleep at 5am.who.knows if 4 days in a row of it, means he resets his internal clock to 7am? I appreciate some kids are early risers, but I wouldn't accept it without a fight 😁

I also still think they need 2 naps at that age- I think at 10 months it's about 14-16 hours a day they generally need.

Original poster
naomiembrace · 07/03/2023 09:35

anon2022anon · 07/03/2023 09:33

I would absolutely try to push through with the patting to get back to sleep at 5am.who.knows if 4 days in a row of it, means he resets his internal clock to 7am? I appreciate some kids are early risers, but I wouldn't accept it without a fight 😁

I also still think they need 2 naps at that age- I think at 10 months it's about 14-16 hours a day they generally need.

Agrees, feels really young for one nap.

OP posts:
Cascais · 07/03/2023 09:38

This is a normal time to get up

FlounderingFruitcake · 07/03/2023 09:42

Routine sounds really good. I’d be wondering if it’s related to him needing to poo at that time and would think about what you’re feeding him for dinner and if there’s a way you can play around with what he eats and when to gently get him to adjust his poop schedule 🤣