DS 21 Months wakes at 6am no matter what PLEASE HELP

[Bright Eyes]

Before Christmas I discovered The Baby Whisperer and decided to implement all her tatics and recommendations gradually to ensure I had my DS Adam on a good routine before the arrival of number 2 on April 1st. Just to note eating and food has never been a problem and he eats alot and regularly.

I implemented all changes gradually and Adam took to it all like a duck to water and I saw a great improvement in his eating, sleeping and general behaviour and by mid January could not sing the BW praises enough.  Then Adam got very ill with vomiting and a bad flu virus which meant his routine was not present for about 1 week.  Our biggest issue previously was waking regularly at 5.30 - 6.00am daily and nothing could change but the wake to sleep approach solved this and before he was ill we had managed to get him down from 7.30pm to approx 7am nightly.

Its now over 2 weeks since his illness and I went back to the beginning and started wake to sleep and all that I did before but he will not change and wakes like clockwork at 6am every morning.  Also he is now waking from his nap each day very upset and distressed which was never the case before.

His routine is as follows:
Wakes 6am gets changed and has 4oz bottle downstairs
Breakfast 9.30 am Cereal and fruit
Activity during AM
Lunch - Juice, Savoury & Desert 1pm
Nap 2pm (has 3oz Milk)
Wakes 2 to 2.5 hours later very distressed.
Activity for PM
Tea savoury and biscuit 6pm
Bath 7.30
Bed 8pm.

Please help THanks

[andibig]

i'm going to move this to the sleep for toddlers board as you'll get a better response

i suspect that his nap is too late and his bedtime also making him overtired hence the early wakings.

[Fiona (Leah & Kians Mom)]

Hi There,
Have to agree with Sashas Mummy, the nap and bedtime are too late. With a 6.00 am wake up it really should be at mid day and definetly no later than 12.30 which means that you will either have to push lunch earlier or after a nap, I would suggest you push breakfast foward too, will he have breakfast around 7.30/ 8 then you could do lunch 11.30 followed by nap. You would also have to bring dinner forward to about 5.30/6.00 and have bedtime of 7.30.

[Layla]

Agree with pps - my dd wakes at 6am also (always has) so her nap is at 12-12.15 and her bedtime is around 7pm (falls asleep by 7.30). About a month ago, I pushed her nap to 12.30-1pm in the hope that I can push her bedtime and make her sleep later in the morning  but she also started waking up all distressed and crying so I had to change it back  .

[Bright Eyes]

Dear Ladies,

Firstly thank you all so much for your helpful replies 

I had figured this might be the problem but felt if I changed to suit the 6am wake up he would never change, but if I tried to get it back to the routine before he was sick he would slot back into the later waking time that he had seemed to take to so easily with the Baby whisperers advice.

He would be the spirited touchy type.

So if I changed the eating times as suggested to earlier and bring the nap forward this will help his distress when waking and enable him to be more ready for bed by 7.30pm.

Will this eventually result in him waking any earlier?

I really would like to change his waking time to 7am onwards as that hour makes such a difference especially at the weekends, the worst thing is he did it for over 4 weeks before getting ill so I now know it is possible or should I just accept the 6am and concerntrate on him having a better routine and sleep pattern?

Bright Eyes 

[TDR'smom]

Hi Bright Eyes,

Glad you LO is feeling better now.  I would start by moving his naptime up a little and see how that goes.  Definitely try and give him a good snack or lunch before you put him down for his nap.  He should be waking up happy and well rested, not distressed.  That is the first sign of being over tired.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Judy

[andibig]

bright eyes
IMHO i would concentrate on the earlier nap and bedtime for now.that way he can catch up on his sleep etc.
then you can start to work on moving his day forward.
DD is a 6-6.30 waker as well (mind you shes asleep by 7pm) and try as i might to move her schedule she won't have it!!!so i just accept that shes an early bird

[dmills]

Yep, my ds is an earliy riser as well and nothing has rectified that issue.  He is 28 months...wakes by 6AM naps between 12 and 12:30 for 2 to 3 hours and goes to bed at 7:30.  A shorter nap, earlier bedtime, later bedtime, etc...have not done anything for us.  He use to sleep until 6:20 or so, but when we moved him to a big boy bed, upstairs and did away with the paci he moved it up a bit.  I just have to be grateful that I do have some time to myself in the evenings and that he usually sleeps through the night.  I would on that note suggest an earlier naptime as well.

[Bright Eyes]

Ladies thanks for all the helpful advice and delighted to let you all know we are back on track.

Adam's day is now:
Wake anytime from 6am to 7am - has bottle when wakes and is up
Breakfast changed to 8am
Activity AM
Dinner 11.45 - 12.15
Nap - 12.45 - 1.15 (depending on day's Activities)
Wakes 2 to 2.5 hours very happy and content
Activity for PM
Tea savoury 6pm5
Bath 7.00 - 7.30pm
Bed by 8pm.


We have accepted his early mornings and if he wakes later than 6am we see it as a bonus but expect to be up for 6am most mornings now, but moving the eating and sleeping pattern worked within 1 week and he seems to be so much more content and better spirited in the afternoon and when bed is mentioned he heads straight to the door waving bye bye with no extra persuading needed.

Yet again the BW saves the day THANKS!!!
 

[TDR'smom]

Glad things are going better for you guys!