Support and Chat thread for moms of early waking toddlers

[OliverRowland]

Can anyone offer any adivce?
my ds is almost 22 months.  he has been waking earlier lately.  i read a few of the first posts on this thread...saying it may be possible that this is normal for this age?
he is in bed with lights out at 7:30 but not asleep t'ill 7:50-8pm.  he's waking 6:00-6:30 (closer to 6am).  he struggled with consistent naps for a long time (needed help to complete a 2hr nap), but lately he is a super napper ...2-2.5hrs (i never let him go past 2.5hrs otherwise bedtime is a struggle).  Nap is at 12:30
do i wait this out?  or change something?

[Layla]

That could be all the sleep he needs...2.5hr nap with 10hr night. Does he seem tired & cranky to you?

I would try to shorten the nap to 2hrs for about 3-4 days in a row to see if it makes a difference to the wake up time.

[DebLillian]

Lurking... my dd is a chronic early waker and several things have not solved our problems in the past 4 months.  I'm interested to see what everyone else is doing about their EWs.  Just for reference, here is what we tried:

1.  2-1: yikes.  She is not ready.  She had so many NW and was falling asleep at every opportunity when I tried this.
2.  PD & wi/wo:  This works for going to sleep for a nap (not usually needed at night) or for an earlier NW but doesn't work any other time (it's a nightmare for a 4am waking- for us and the neighbors)
3.  PD and putting my hand on her to help her fall back to sleep:  This is the only thing that works for extending naps but not in the morning
4.  Sleeping in her room (GW):  Does nothing for EW but helped with NW when they were at their worst.  She really responds to spoken word now ("sleeping time, love, mommy is here for you when you need me but it's time to sleep now")
5.  w2s:  This worked a couple of times for her EW but then she started having several NW due to grandma induced OT so I have abandoned it until we get through the NW.
6.  Crazy earlier bedtime:  She'll still do 10-10.5 hrs no matter when I put her down so may as well wait until the usual 7pm.

and our sleep schedule:
5am wake (on a good day)
8am nap (1-2hrs)
1:15pm nap (1-2hrs)
7pm sleep

I'd love to put rearrange some of that daytime sleep (which usually totals 3-3.5hrs) so that we can sleep later but this has not yet been successful. 

Ok, that was far longer than planned.  Glad to get to chat with other earlier risers... perhaps someone here will have the magical solution that gets us the average 11.5 hrs a night that 14 mo olds are supposed to get

[Melsy]

Can I join in???

Aidan is 3.5 years old, never been one to sleep till 7am (unfortunately!!  ) but I was able to deal with the 6 or 6.30am wake-ups.  Especially when I was working, as DH and I would be up at 6.30am for work anyway!

We now also have an 11 week old baby, whom thankfully, Aidan adores. 

The baby is sleeping like a champ - 7.15pm till 7.30am with no night wakings (touch wood!) just a DF at 10 / 10.30pm.

BUT... I am so tired cause DS#1 has decided to make 5am his new favourite time to wake up!  It was SOO dark at 5am today, I was like "you have got to be kidding me!!".     It probably wouldn't be so bad if I could get to bed really early but I have to wait up for the DF.  Plus, it would be nice to watch some telly at night with DH that doesn't involve Thomas the Tank Engine!

He is just about ALWAYS naked when I eventually go into him (I usually ignore him for as long as possible HOPING he will go back to sleep) and tells me he wants his "duds on" (clothes).  He wears undies during the day but a nappy to bed (which is always full in the morning) and he tells me to put his nappy in the bin.     Could the wet nappy be waking him??

The other thing he does when he wakes is kick the walls with his feet.  Really loudly, sometimes.     I am so worried he is going to wake the baby doing this.  Not to mention that it is annoying!!  His room is really tiny, not much place for the bed except for beside the wall.   

I actually convinced him to have a nap today when DS#2 when to sleep so for the first time ever, they are both asleep at the same time!!  Of course, I tried to sleep but can't.      

I just wish I could sleep till 6 or 6.30am again, as I get so tired looking after them both all day, then waiting up for the DF.

Melissa

[imoan_nat]

Hi there

My son is now 19 months and for the last month has been waking near enough 5am each morning.

Our schedule is:

5am wake (sometimes earlier!)
12 -12.30 nap for av 1.5 - 2hrs
7pm sleep

He doesn't usually wake in the night so he is doing 10 hrs straight normally, and if he does wake he is usually very easy to get back to sleep.

I have a great fixed bedtime routine so little man knows what is coming next and happily goes.

Any advice? He would usually have woken nearer 6am which I could find easier to deal with!

Thanks

Naomi

[Layla]

Naomi, do you think he might be teething at all? If he's waking up at the same time every morning, perhaps you could try w2s to break the cycle of 10-hr nights...

In the meantime you might want to try a slightely earlier nap .. around 11.30am so that he can go to be 30mins earlier and perhaps catch up on sleep. An earlier bedtime often cures early wake ups and even if not, at least he is getting an extra 30mins of sleep at night.

hth & post back to let us know how you're going
Layla

[AgnieszkaBZ]

Hi Layla! Could you please explain the w2s technique? My son sleeps 10hrs in the night, too (sometimes even the whole night through), but somentimes I have an impression that he needs a bit more...
Thanks a lot!
Agnieszka

[DebLillian]

What is it about 10 hours?  Lillian does the same...

We did w2s by going in an hour before her usual wake time and either changing her diaper or turning her over to make her stir just a bit.  It worked for a couple days but then she became overstimulated from a zoo trip and we've been trying to deal with the NWs since then

[403girl]

Sorry to jump in here but thought I'd ask.. My DS is in the middle of 2-1 switch. The other day when he got up at about 5:30 am I decided to nurse him in bed (we just moved and I'm exhuasted.. plus the house is freezing in the morning and I really wanted to stay warm ). I thought we were up for the day like normal, but he actually fell alseep nursing and stayed asleep until 7:30am... which is amazing for him! He's always been an 11 hr sleeper. When we started the sleep training He'd wake at 6am. It was impossible to get him back down... Now I am wondering if he has just been hungry at the 11hr mark... It worked fine while he had 2 naps a day... but now its difficult trying to switch to one. Here's what I am wondering - should I nurse him at 6am and put him back in the crib to sleep? Or is this a bad idea (starting a feed)? I've got him to sleep in the last 3 days doing this.. am I starting a bad habit? Any advice?

[DebLillian]

403girl-  hey there!  We chatted a long time ago about our LO's sleep and here we are again...  Yes, it might be adding a feed but so long as it doesn't disturb night sleep and you don't mind I don't see it as a problem.  We did this at 4am for quite a while (but then she wouldn't go back to sleep one day which is why we stopped).  Or you might just want to try to give him a little drink of water at this hour to see if he just is thirsty and then eventually just leave the water for him to get himself.  Of course, this may not be BW advice so definitely check in with those who have more knowledge

[403girl]

Hey debLillian! How are you guys doing?

Yeah I am really tempted to feed him and try put him back to sleep.. if it means an extra 2 hours sleep it will make this nap switch way easier! Now I feel as though he has only been an early riser because he was hungry after 11 hours... which could explain why he has always preferred his am nap and the short a time in the morning.. I just don't want it to cause NW's... which we have a few now because of teething - however DH is handling those and last night LO slept thru.

[Layla]

Agnieszka - yes to what Deb said... w2s is where you do something to make them stir about an hour before they wake. But it does have to be a habitual wake up in order for w2s to work.

Also if your DS is taking a long nap then 10hrs might be all that he needs. DId you want to post your routine?

403girl - we do supper before bedtime to make sure that the girls are not hungry at night.

[DebLillian]

Ok, I am beyond frustrated right now and trying to keep my emotions in check.  I have done a full week of shortening the am nap, trying to give a longer pm nap (always resulting in her waking early screaming and me having to resettle her) and putting her to bed early allowing for only 3-3.5 hrs A time.  It seems to have only made things worse- she is now trying to wake at 4am instead of 4:30/4:45 and is still only doing 10-10.5/hrs a night.  I just don't think this is working.  Any thoughts?

[403girl]

Isabella&Jasmine'smum- After supper I start the bath... and off the bed.. I've even started giving him snacks during bath time just to fill him up more.. Is it possible he just needs to eat after 10-11 hrs?

Deblillian - I also tried shortening the am nap but it never worked for us. He would still refuse his pm nap or sleep too long and resist bedtime. I have been pushing the am nap farther and farther back.. some days he has one nap and some days he two. When he does take 2, we have the am nap at home and then for the pm nap I get him to fall asleep in the car. Not the greatest but some days its all I got.... I was getting really frustrated trying to do both naps at home... he would just refuse the 2nd nap.

I'm sorry that probably doesn't help you... I hope you figure things out soon!

Has she always preferred her am nap?

[momuvtwins]

I was just thinking...how about a cat nap in late pm (4ish) and a later bedtime? Wonder if that would help EW's? Has anyone tried this already?