9 month old has decided to wake at 5 every morning!!

[Portlandmum]

My little man has decided to get up at 5am every morning. He has been a great sleeper up until now..sleeping through from 7 until 7, but for the last three weeks he is always awake and crying for milk at any time between 4.30 and 5.30. Any ideas...have made sure the room is dark...its driving me a little loopy now!! Thanks

No answers I'm afraid but am having same problem with my 6.5 month old. She was waking at 7am, then 6 (which I could cope with) but now anytime around 5ish. I feed her in the hope that it'll send her back to sleep but nope! she's awake and wants up!

Bought a black out blind in hope that might make a difference but it hasn't!

This morning I was so tiored I just put her back in her cot and she was happy to play wuth her mobile on her own for 30 mins.

what are their naps like in the day? my now 13month old did similar and I moved the morning nap on to half nine and just tried to make sure she wasn't having more than 3 to 4 hours or so naps in the day and she stared sleeping through to 7 again (up to that time she was having 5 and a half hours nap in the day - it took a couple of days but it did work. hope this helps

Naps can be a bit hit and miss. She basically sleeps after every 2-2.5 hours awake. She fights her sleep during the day and often only naps for 45mins - 1 hour. In a typical day (starting at 5am!) she probably sleeps approx 3.5 hours. It's pretty unpredictable though!

If she wakes at 5am she would usually be asleep again by 7.30am. Would you suggest keeping morning nap (and others for that matter) at same time regardless of when she wakes?

Will try keeping an eye on daytime sleep and see if any patterns emerge.

I would. Its hard work with babies isn't it - just when you get used to something they go and change the script! What you should really be trying to do is getting her to have two or maybe even three naps in the day. What I did was kept applying the same routine forgetting that she was getting older and the the naps need pushing on and that they can stay awake for longer periods.
I think at that age my lo was doing:

9.30 - 11 nap

1.00 - 3 nap

then as she got older say about 8-9 months I pushed the morning nap to nearer 10 for 30 - 40 mins and the afternoon one from half 1 or so for a couple of hours.
mind you this is all a lot easier if they wake at 7!

I have been keen to get a routine but it's so hard when one day she might sleep for 1-1.5 hours and the next it will only be 30 mins. That then puts everything out of sync! Those times would fit her awake spells if she was geting up at 2pm! she'd have her 2.5 hours awake then nap at 9.30. But I'd never be able to guarantee that she'd sleep that long. when she wakes after 30mins she never settles again staright away despite efforts! She has never slept for 2 hours at a time in the day!

Am thikning I might need to try and spend a few days at home to try and get something sorted. It's hard when out and about every day too.

oops, I meant getting up a 7pm!!

it is harder when you are out and about. thats a good idea to spend a few days in - it usually takes 3 or 4 days to settle in
you might just have to endure a couple of days where she is unsettled. trust me though once that napping in the day is sorted the nighttime sleep gets sorted too.

DD2 is 9 mo and was waking up at 4.30/5am every morning, what I did was moving the morning nap at 9.30 instead of 8.30 and I also put up black out blinds. She still wakes up at 5.30/6 and I feed her, but after this she goes back to sleep until 7.30. She is not a great napper, she normally has 1hr in the morning and 30 min in the afternoon. She goes to sleep at 6.30 pm.

my lo started trying to shake off the morning nap at around 9 months. it went a bit haywire for a few weeks but then when she started nursery it settled and she now only has one nap after lunch usually at around 12:45 for 2-2.5 hours when she is at home and about an hour at the nursery. she is 13.5 months now.