toddler suddenly waking up early

[Mog]

Dd has usually been a reasonably late sleeper, usually waking about 7.30 am. Over the last week she is now getting up at 6.00 am. Thought this might be due to lighter mornings but blackout curtains have made no difference. Since I'm getting up in the night with a new baby I could do with some tips to get her to sleep later (she's quite whingy when she wakes so can't just leave her). Anyone had a similar experience and discovered the reason for it?

The main reason when dd does it is that she has gone to bed overtired. The 'cure' is giving a LONG sleep at midday - as long as she will sleep for - sometimes as long as 3 hours - until she gets back to 'normal'.

Our experience echoes Bayleaf's, if dd is overtired, she wakes earlier & earlier and gets worse at settling in the evening; there is also demon child behaviour during the day !
We bring bedtime forward by 15-25 minutes for a couple of days and that usually helps. She doesn't have a nap now but when she did early waking often coincided with interupted naps.

Perhaps your dd is stirring when you get up to your baby, without properly waking thus getting disturbed sleep or maybe your previous bedtime routine (assuming you had one, not trying to be provocative !) has altered due to the new baby's demands on your time so she's settling to sleep later.
I've only have one child so am not really qualified to comment, but have heard many friends expressing similar questions.

My dd has also just started waking at 7 instead of 8+ - not awful but I'd got used to later, & she has also started not having an afternoon nap so often. she is nearly 3, do you think this means she should still nap, or just go earlier at night? Used to nap 4-5.30 (wouldn't go earlier) then to bed at 8.30 - now take her up at 8.

My ds has also been waking at different times lately - he used to be like clockwork and wake up around 7.30 every morning. Now he's waking at 6.30 some mornings, and 7.45 other mornings. I never know how early/late he's going to wake up so it's affecting my routine somewhat as well. I feel so tired all the time - wish I could sleep like a log the way I used to! I've started to wake up around 6.15 in anticipation of him waking early, and you can bet that the mornings I'm already awake, he'll sleep longer. He's going to be 3 in four months so I don't know if that has anything to do with his sleep pattern changing.

I echo what you're all feeling! Dd2, 3 in August, is and has been for a while, waking at 6:30am. She manages to wake dd1, who is becoming increasingly ratty and insulant. I've tried later bedtimes but this changed nothing. I do vaguely remember ds and dd1 going through an early rising pattern at about this age. I think (hope) playgroup exhausted them enough to sleep longer. Dd2 starts after Easter.

Think I'll try the early bedtime routine for a while... What a shame it's not possible to buy over the counter bottled sleep.

Mog -I do think it's the light. DD a fab sleeper (who has black out) woke much earlier all last week... and now she is back to normal... it's almost as if their bodies knew it was daytime. I also noticed that birds sing earlier too..... so that noise may wake her!

hello everyone,
My ds at one point was waking up at 4am!!!My dh worked shifts and I think that was waking him up, the slightest noise, he is a very light sleeper. And when he woke up he would go and wake my dd up too, Thankfully he hasn't done if for a while, but it is very annoying, especially if you have gone to bed late.

Thank you all for the advice. I let dd rest more during the day and she has returned to normal wake time the last 2 mornings. It would never have occurred to me that she could be overtired. What a wonderful resource Mumsnet is!!

What time do your children go to bed? My dd1 goes at 7:45 - wakes around 8am and dd2 about 8pm but wakes around 6ish. They're 15 months and 3.5yrs. My problem is I never get home before 6:45 - often later so if they go to bed earlier I wouldn't see them and I like to play a bit, bath and do storied. However, would like dd2 to sleep a bit later in the mornings - maybe she's overtired? My dh gets up with her but would rather not. Any advice? Thanks.

DD1 doesn't usually sleep during the day - maybe half an hour if in the car and v tired. DD2 probably has 1hr/1.5hrs.

My ds used to wake between 8-9 am, so I can a little annoyed that he started waking at 6-30, I however worked out what it was, he was ill one night and I ended up sleeping on the floor and was woken up about 6 by the sound of the birds chirping outside. So this was probably the cause. Saying that the last week he has been waking up a lot nearer to 7.30. Better