He sets his alarm for 4am every morning.

[Donbean]

When i find the blasted thing its going through the window.
Every morning for about 8 weeks now...on the dot ds (23months) awake, shouting me and crying.
Give him calpol ?teeth, give him a little drink then put him back down.
Its driving me mad.
I have left him a couple of times but he is whining on until 6 am.
What shall i do??????

got blackouts?

Kind of....of a sort but they dont make the room dark enough.
Also its the dawn chorus so the birds are going crazy at that time so it may be that.
Where did you get your blackouts from? (assuming you have got some)

Well - I'd been using dark curtains as normal - then I had some spare dark material that I was wedging round the window itself - but since I've been having to leave the window open cos of the heat i've been kind of draping the extra material over the top of the curtain pole. But it's not really working and ds woke at 4.30am on Tues and 5.25am this morning. I did ask dh to get some black card from the art shop but he told me that I didn't need it!! huh!
But I think you can get proper blinds from argos or Ikea.

the babywhisperer would suggest that you disturb your lo an hour before their usual wake up time i.e. 3am - this will re-jig your lo's sleeping pattern and get him past the 4am wake up habit (as that is what the wake up has become). It is an awful thought to have to get up that early but better than waiting for the inevitable wake up you have been getting just now!!

I had to do this with my dd when she started waking at 5.30am - I changed her nappy at 4.30am while she was still in her cot. She shifted about a bit and murmured but didnt wake up properly. She has now stopped waking at 5.30am - normally somewhere between 6.30 and 7.30am.

It is recommended to do it for 3 nights in a row although it can work from the first night too. Just an idea for you anyway.

p.s. she already had blackout blinds from Argos.

hmmm - Imay try that one if it doesn't improve soon. can't say i'd relish the 3am wakening!

My ds also wakes at 4.30 to 5.30. When i have done this technique he would fully awake and never go back to sleep as he is so clingy. Any chance of being with his mum, no matter what time of the day or night. Arrgghh!!
Any other suggestions......

Yes i think that ds would probably react in much the same way as yours Louise.
I dont know, i suppose i shall battle on and hope that its another phase (RUBBISH phase) soon to end!

I had the very same problem. I bought black card from WH Smiths and I tape this to the window every night. Also tried the baby whisperer method as described by Seona1973 and it seems to have done the trick.