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Sleep

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Original poster

so what do you do when your lo is awake at 4am every day????

21 replies

zulubump · 13/06/2008 05:49

I know this seems to be quite a common problem, but it is starting to drive me nuts!! Every day for the past few weeks dd (8months) is awake around 4am. Sometimes she's awake for an hour, somtimes two. Sometimes crying, sometimes happy but fairly noisy. Whether I feed her or not seems to make no difference to how quickly she goes back to sleep.

For those of you with the same problem what do you do?? I've considered just getting up and starting my day at that time and perhaps going to bed at 7pm with her! Or putting her to bed earlier, or later even! I just can't think straight and am so fed up with starting every day feeling completely exhausted. Please some sympathy even if no advice...

OP posts:

GordontheGopher · 13/06/2008 06:09

I guess you've got blackout blinds? It's probably the birds.

Can completely sympathise!

RipMacWinkle · 13/06/2008 06:12

I hear you - we're currently fluctuating between 4 and 5am. We've tried everything. have resorted to taking turns to get up with him. I think it definitely must be to do with the summer.

DS is 20 months!

IAteRosemaryConleyForBreakfast · 13/06/2008 06:37

What do I do? Get up, stagger around, try to get some breakfast made, drink several cups of tea and watch the news while waiting for him to decide it's time for his morning nap. Nothing else works!

Much sympathy though. Through work I didn't get to sleep until gone half 2 last night and I've been up since 5, feel like the living dead.

naughtynoonoo · 13/06/2008 06:52

Get up with her, do your chores, then when she sleeps you do too - don't miss out on that!

littleboyblue · 13/06/2008 06:57

Hi there. My ds always wanted to get up at 5am. There's no way I could start my day that early.
You could try getting up just before she normally stirs and rock?pat her back to sleep before she wakes properly.
I put some teddies and toys in the cot and leave him till about 6 unless he's very distressed then he comes into bed with me

Original poster

zulubump · 13/06/2008 08:08

Actually I've not got blackout blinds Gordon. I've got some old thick blankets and I might improvise with those and if it helps get some proper ones.

During the day I've been contemplating the idea of getting up at that unGodly hour and doing something useful, but when my wakeup call comes I can't face it. Though today I did get up and start this conversation! I think the worse thing is when I feel myself starting to get really angry at her waking up and then even if she goes back to sleep I can't because I am fuming!

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littleboyblue · 13/06/2008 08:13

We've all done that. My worst time was the teething. I was so angry with him for keeping me up all night and constantly crying all day. I just had to keep saying, sometimes out loud, it's not his fault, it's not is fault, it's not his fault.
Maybe for a while, get up yourself but don't get her up. Si by the cot and play with her a bit while she still laying down and don't get her up till a more suitable hour, then maybe she'll get used to thinking 5-6 is playtime in cot and she''l do it on hewr own if you put a few bits in there. Anything worth a try. Do it similar to controlled crying, play with her then leave her 3 mins, play with her leave her 6 mins, play with her, leave her 10 mins and so on

beeny · 13/06/2008 08:14

my daughter did this until we got blinds and curtains.Hope u get sleep soon

Original poster

zulubump · 13/06/2008 08:28

That's a good idea littleboyblue. I am not sleeping when she is awake so I might aswell go and keep her company if she is awake and bored. It's making me feel better just to know other people go through the same things. I think it's the loneliness of the situation that gets to me aswell. There should be safehouses where mums with babies that don't sleep well could go and share those sleepless hours together!

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PurlyQueen · 13/06/2008 09:08

my 12 week-old son is bright-eyed at 4.30am. I tried doing a dreamfeed at midnight in the hope that he would sleep through until 6 or 7am but no luck. Now I feed and wind him, then put him back in his cot to fall asleep while I do easy chores such as letting the cats in from the garden or sterilising his bottles for the day.

IAteRosemaryConleyForBreakfast · 13/06/2008 11:39

Ah I forgot about the toys thing. We cosleep but when he wakes around 5 I often feed him then put him in his room in the cot and give him toys. I found the best way is to fill a small cardboard box with loads of little toys (rattles, beakers, soft toys and teethers, that sort of thing). He can't resist emptying the box and sometimes I get a whole extra half hour. As soon as there's a 6 on the clock I can cope a million times better, it's just the psychological torment of being up at 5-something that I struggle with!

SIOBHANB2008 · 13/06/2008 12:08

try giving him a bottle of milk and he may fall straight back to sleep, if you give it to him before he fully wakes up

Original poster

zulubump · 13/06/2008 13:10

IAteRosemary, can't believe you were up until 2 then awoken at 5am!! I have nothing to complain about, I've been going to bed really early. Know what you mean about the pschological barrier of being up at 5-something (much less 4-something)

I sometimes feed dd when she wakes early, but a problem I've found with this is it makes her wee more and she sometimes then has a nappy leak. This is especially bad when she has been in our bed and I've then had to change our sheets and wash the mattress protector thing! So if I feed her at 4/5am I also then feel that I should give her a fresh nappy - all too much work and wakes her up even more. Perhaps I need to try a different brand of nappies for nighttimes?

OP posts:

MegBusset · 13/06/2008 13:21

What type of nappies are you using? We went through a nightmare stage with leaky nappies, I've found Pampers Dry ones the most reliable.

Anyway, to answer your OP, DS does occasionally pull a shockingly early morning and if I can't face getting him up then I a) ignore unless really upset, or sometimes b) take pillow and go and lie down on his bedroom door, feigning sleep -- my presence seems to stop him getting upset and I might get to doze off for a little while.

Also have you tried cutting back her daytime sleep? Around that time DS went from 3 to 2 naps, which seemed to help a little.

LEMONADEGIRL · 13/06/2008 13:54

Ds of 20 mths is an early riser. Yesterday it was 4;30 am, I could have cried with tiredness as nothing would make it go back to sleep. So took take him downstairs and put out toys on the lounge floor, close the doors so I know where he is and dose on the. sofa.

I agree IAteRosemary - 6am does feel better somehow.

I would leave your dd in the cot with some toys to explore. Or possibly bring her into your bed for cuddles to see if that helps settle her - this is something that can still work for ds on occasion.

Original poster

zulubump · 13/06/2008 14:40

MegBusset, I use the Nature Babycare ones. Might have to let go of my eco cred in order to get some dry nights though. Will perhaps try Pampers Dry, thanks. Dd has never been a great daytime napper. She usually only has two naps and can't usually sleep longer than 40-50 mins at a go. I think a longer afternoon nap would suit her as she is often overtired after teatime and crying after her bath. Not sure if this helps or hinders the night time sleep.

Lemonade girl you have my sympathies! I did put dd in cot this morning with toys and she was ok for about half an hour. Then she cried cos lonely I think and also tired! If she could just drift off to sleep again on her own at that point then it wouldn't be such a problem. But she requires me or dh to go in and soothe and cuddle for a bit before dropping off and that can take a while.

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moocowme · 13/06/2008 19:17

ms DS is exactly the same we have had some shockingly early mornings 3:50am was the worst. I have found that its mostly his teeth that are the problem.

he still stirs a few times a night (many more times on a bad night!) so i stagger the pain relief. somewhere about 2-3am i administer some ibuprofen in a bottle with a little milk and see how he goes. as soon as i hear him shuffle around 4ish i whip him straight into bed next to me and pop a bottle in his mouth. usually this is enough to keep him asleep with the odd ssshhhhhh from me while semi asleep.

this morning was bliss as we all actually slept until 6:20am. i foind that this mostly works and as long as we can stay asleep until about 6ish i am happy. when his teeth a very bad i am prepared for the worst and go to bed at 8pm.

can wait for the teething to finish and hope its way sooner than his 18th birthday.

LEMONADEGIRL · 13/06/2008 21:02

Hi Zulu,

Thanks, it is so hard isn't it. Especially when most mothers tell you how well their ds/dd sleep. I try and have a nap when ds sleeps if it has been a really bad night.

Hoping you have a good night and do not think you are on your own.

Bramshott · 13/06/2008 21:07

It is light so early at the moment. I was up with DD1 last night at 3.30 and it was already getting light!

SIOBHANB2008 · 13/06/2008 23:56

maybe try just giving her a bottle of water and she'll soon relise thats all shes going to get and hopefully she sleep later. .

Original poster

zulubump · 14/06/2008 08:10

Good morning! Thanks for all you nice messages yesterday. I had a go with some improvised blackout blinds last night and I really think it might have helped (though I don't want to get too excited yet!). She slept well and then I heard her stirring at about 5.30 this morning and I just went in and patted her on the back and she went back to sleep until about 6.30. That's the best night we had in ages! I'll certainly persist with the blackouts and see if it continues to help. Good luck to the rest of you with early wakers. If you don't have blackouts already I suggest you try some!

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