15 month old started waking up before 6h again .. and crying!

[Jojo290615]

Hi

My lb has been sleeping really well the last months ! and finally got him to sleep past 6 am! He dropped to 1 nap around 12 months and it went fairly well. He has always been a really good sleeper just an early riser
Until last week, he would wake up around 6h15 and play a bit in his crib before I would give him his bottle and a few toys to play with but since last week he has been waking up around 5:30 crying!!! He did have a cold and his big teeth coming through so I put it down to that. But his cold is better and he is sleeping through so I'm not sure if it is his teeth!
I have been treating it like a night waking.. going in to him and laying him down, saying it's still nighttime etc... then walking out. But he gets so upset which is so not like him! I can also tell he is still tired! He si only happy again when I give him his bottle! He is an independent sleeper, no dummy etc. I put him down at bedtime awake and he falls asleep perfectly.

He started nursery last week... but he is only there a short time as it's the beginning, and it's been going really well and he is really happy there !
Could this be triggering his early wakeups?
Here is his routine

5h30 wake up crying!
6h00 bottle in his crib with some toys while i get ready for work
6h30 up for the day
8h00 breakfast
9h00 Nursery
11h00 lunch
11h45 nap for around 1h45
15h snack
17h00 diner
18h45 /19h00 bottle and in bed and falls asleep within 10 minutes

He is my first baby so I'm not sure what to expect when they start nursery, has anyone had a similar experience ?
thanks

[creations]

I'd say it's starting nursery that's had an impact. You're right about teeth and colds too but, yes, nursery. Even if they appear happy and settled it is still a new experience which is an increase of stimulation and usually LOs are more tired. The early waking crying does sound like a bit of OT or OS.  Can you try a slightly earlier BT a couple of nights perhaps?

To avoid him losing too much sleep how do you feel about staying with him a bit longer at the EW?  My DS was also very independent when it came to sleep but even so he had loads of phases where he needed a bit more comfort and soothing for one reason or another.  I'm not suggesting anything long term or habit forming, just perhaps a hand on him or sit by him with some soothing words a few mins to see if it helps him drift off to sleep rather than WO right after the PD and key phrase.  What do you think?

[Jojo290615]

Hi creations ! Thanks for the reply. Yes it does seem that nursery is making him a bit unsettled, he had a bit of a grizzle at bedtime too. So it does appear he needs extra cuddles. I will try in the morning to resettle him. He needs his energy that's for sure. It's like he no longer walks but jogs and runs everywhere hehe!
How can I do it so it doesn't become a habit ? I don't want to fall into AP. He does have a tendency of quickly relying on being soothed to sleep etc. Like after sickness and so on ?

[creations]

I would imagine that you would get a gut feeling for how much help was enough and when to back off again.  He might not need you to stay in there until he falls asleep, but just a minute or two or even ten (if he is calming and still awake) and then say your key phrase and go.  I suppose the way I approach it with mine is that I'd rather he stayed calm and sleepy rather than me leaving and him getting worked up which makes it harder to go to sleep.  That early morning WU is a hard time to fall back to sleep anyway (and EBT might help avoid the waking in the first place).
If you do end up in there for say ten mins for several days or a week I would probably start to reduce it, yk, 5 mins and key phrase then WO - you know how it goes, if he needs you you go back and do over but perhaps judge the mood and then try WIWO rather than sitting.  I would not continue sitting in there more than a week or two personally.
An example with my DS, always gets some SA around his birthday, every year. Turning 5yo he started the call backs after BT so I would go back up, cuddle/kiss, leave, call back etc. Once I realised I was up and down (he was missing sleep and I was getting firm thighs from the stairs) I extended the BT routine and just told him I was staying longer, instead of one song and a cuddle I stayed more like 2 or 3 songs, stroked his head until he gave me a thumbs up that he was ready for me to leave, then I said "ok night night have a nice sleep" and left. No more call backs (so maybe 10 mins rather than 30-60 mins).  After a couple of weeks he still wanted me to do this BUT in my gut I knew he was getting over the birthday developmental leap and phase of SA and that really he didn't "need" me any more so I suggested we went back to our regular routine and he was fine.  I think this is the thing, we just need to stay aware and not get ourselves into too much of a habit because that becomes the habit for the LO, yk?  If we keep asking ourselves and reassessing then I think we can spot the time when we really should make that move to back off and not be scared of it, which really is where those AP habits come from, our own fears of not wanting baby/toddler to get up shouting/crying again.
hope that helps