18mo early wakes - is there anything that helps ?

[Tiredturtle]

My 18mo DS has started sleeping through in the last few months which is amazing but I would love it if we could start the day a bit later ... He goes to sleep around 7:30 and wakes up between 5-5:30.

He still seems tired when he wakes up and can sometimes struggle to get through to his nap but nothing seems to get him back to sleep (we've tried milk, bringing him into our bed, lying next to the cot, leaving him etc.)

He has 1 nap around 12-2.

A lot of people seem to say that there's not much that can be done to help with the early wakes but just wondering if there's anything that worked for you that would be worth trying!?

He might just be an early riser @Tiredturtle - mine always has been. At that stage, id be less strict on the nap time and just put him down for his nap whenever he needs it each day whether it’s 11/11.30/12 or whatever. It might pull his bedtime forward a bit too.

I'd push bedtime and have at least 6 hours waking before bed..

My son is 7 years old and still wakes at 5:30. Difference is he sorts himself out for an hour by playing in his room. Some kids are just early risers. It’ll balance out eventually.

I'd try and push the nap back by half an hour, push tea back by half an hour, and bedtime by 30-60 mins. With the hope that will get you closer to 6am, which sounds much more civilized!!

Both of mine did this.

We tried everything and nothing helped.

Once they were around 2.5 they could understand the gro clock and had a tonie box they would listen to until 6:15

Thanks everyone. I'll try tweaking nap/bedtime to see if it helps... But I might need to just get used to it!

@Tiredturtle It can be a big adjustment! I was always an early riser prior to having kids but even I struggle most mornings 🫠 It’s very different waking up and having to be “on” from the minute you open your eyes 😴

We found with now almost 5yo DS that if he went to bed even slightly overtired he’d have quite a restless sleep, usually waking a couple of times in the night, and then be up ridiculously early - I’m talking sometimes 4am 🫩
But if we managed to hit that sweet spot when he was just tired enough, he’s sleep much more peacefully and usually make it until 6am - still on the earlier side but far better than 4!