Early waking help! Please!

[Keep Smiling!]

Hi,

I have had quite a few problems with my LO's sleep and have been getting advice on the Naps board. But I now have a new problem, early wakings! My LO is 1 in a week and has never been a good sleeper. She has just started nursery and I was worried about her naps but she seems to be ok. She goes to bed at about 7-7.30pm and then hasn't been waking until about 5am. She does need rocking to sleep but then generally stays asleep until morning.

5am is just a little early and I would love her to wake at 6am, is there anything I can do? We had a bad night last night and put her down at 6.15pm as she was so tired but as a result she woke up at 3am. We tried to get her back to sleep and she eventually fell asleep at 4.30am in our arms and slept till 6.30am. Obviously we can't do this every day as we're both at work full time. She has been having 2 naps at nursery but I don't know how long they should be for or what time. I'd love some advice!

[RosieMac]

I'd be interested in the response to this, as I have posted a similar email on the PUPD message board!

I feel for you, as my LO has been waking at about 5 in the morning too (after about 2 waking in the night, one for a feed and the other out of habit for him, I think). An extra hour or 1.5 hours would make a world of difference for me in the morning, as I am returning to work full time in a couple of weeks and it's going to be very full on....

[becj86]

Do you know her naps have been like at daycare? When and how long?

We had a bad night last night and put her down at 6.15pm as she was so tired but as a result she woke up at 3am.

This could be OT or UT. How was she when she woke? happy and chatty or grumbly and wanting to sleep but not able to settle?

What was her EASY before she started nursery? How old was she and was it working well for her?

Do you think it could be related to you going back to work? Some LO's wake to spend time with mummy...

[Keep Smiling!]

When she was 10 months she was in a great routine, awake between 6-6.30am then nap around 9.30am for 1.5 hrs then a second nap from 2pm-3pm and bed around 7-7.30pm. She would wake once or twice for dummy but that's it. Then one day it changed and we had 5 weeks of awful sleep. She was refusing 2 naps and having one long nap about 10-12.30pm then would be awake till bedtime. She would either go straight asleep but be awake a lot before midnight or scream for hours and eventually go asleep about 9pm but stay asleep until morning.

She has changed again over the last week. Since the awful 5 weeks she has needed rocking to sleep (she used to self settle) but generally goes down between 7-7.30pm and doesn't wake at all until 5am. She has given up her dummy (she has recently had a cold and 3 teeth have cut which could be the reason for the bad 5 weeks) and this may be why she doesn't wake at all in the night.

She sleeps in her pram at nursery and generally has 2 naps. They have been anywhere between 9am and 10.30am and it usually lasts about 1hr 15m. Then she will have another nap between 1-2pm and can be anything from 15mins to an hour. She usually has to be woken especially if it's only 15mins. I ask the nursery to make sure she's awake by 3pm otherwise I find it interferes with bedtime. I have asked them to give her a short am nap and a longer pm nap as I think this helps with EW but I'm just a bit unsure what to tell them. I know they will work with me but not sure about the combination?

When she woke last night she was quite happy at first but had only had 9hrs sleep so not sure if that could be UT? She was up 1.5hrs then slept another 2hrs!

[becj86]

When she woke last night she was quite happy at first but had only had 9hrs sleep so not sure if that could be UT? She was up 1.5hrs then slept another 2hrs!

Sounds UT. Its a hard balance to strike with EBT and UT...

What you're describing sounds so similar to the horror time we had with DS around that age with sleep. There's a lot going on developmentally at this age and adding in the new activities at daycare, etc. she's got plenty happening. She's likely hitting a physical milestone - walking? Also there's a mental leap at 12 months that can trigger a bout of separation anxiety.

I'd do long AM (1.5hr or more) a bit later in the morning, short PM (probably as short as 20-30min) as long as she is not refusing the PM catnap - that way if she short naps in the morning, you can catch up in the afternoon. No second chances with short AM, long PM though that is often part of the transition to one nap. She was coping with pretty long A times - is it possible you could go to one 2hr+ nap? You'd have to have a short day though - 11-11.5hr probably to start off with... that may not be possible with daycare and commuting though.

[Keep Smiling!]

I think while she is up so early she won't last with just one nap as she is really tired by 9.30am. I'm not sure how to get out of the EW so that she will have one nap? She was having a long morning nap but I thought that may have been making the EW worse?

[becj86]

If she can only do a 3hr A time, she can't go to one nap. I'd stick with two for now.

[Keep Smiling!]

She does 4-4.5hr a time, she's asleep by 9.30 if she's been up at 5am (ish). Im going to pick her up soon so will see how she has been in nursery. So it doesn't matter in terms of EW if her am or pm nap is the long one?

[becj86]

I don't think so, provided the A time before the first nap is long enough that LO isn't tacking onto night sleep.