Support and Chat thread for parents of Early Waking Toddlers #2

[traceyg24]

Hi;
My DS is almost 21 months old and has been a great sleeper (knock on wood) since he was about 9 months. Has always slept through the night (minus the very rare NW due to teething or something) and gone to sleep on his own very well, etc. His routine was as follows:

6:30-7:00 a.m. - wake up
7:30-8:30 a.m. - breakfast
9:30-10:00 a.m. - snacks (not much)
11:30-12:00 noon - lunch and as soon as he's finished lunch, he goes for his nap.
12:00/12:30-2:00-2:30 p.m. - nap (sometimes his nap would even be for 3 hours)
2:30-3:30 p.m. - snacks
5:00-5:30 p.m - dinner
7:00-7:30 p.m. - bedtime
Usually asleep by 7:45-8:00 p.m. (lies in bed talking to himself, etc.)
Has had this routine for quite a while now with no problems.

Now, he was just transferred to a big bed a couple of weeks ago; however, this transition went very well (was used to sleeping in big bed for naps at grandparents already with no problems) and rarely gets out when put in bed so that hasn't really changed anything in that way.

For the last week; however, he is suddenly waking up earlier and earlier. It started at 5:30 a.m. and is gradually moving to 5:00 a.m. now and has happened every morning so far for a week except for one (and started a few days before daylight savings change). The only day he actually slept in was the morning after daylight savings change (go figure!).

He's not waking up crying, but since he is in a toddler bed now and can get out, he gets out and wants to start the day. Before, if he woke up early, he would just stay talking and playing in his crib until I came and got him and sometimes, he would fall back asleep. I have been putting him back in bed saying "it's still night-night time" with no cuddling, etc. and he will stay back in bed maybe 10 minutes at a time, but keeps getting up again and we do this routine until 6:00 a.m. when hubby gets up to get ready for work (bathroom is right outside his room). I have put a gate on his door, but he just yells at us to come and get him.

I can't figure out what is waking him up so early suddenly and so consistently. Nothing else has changed and I am due with our second any day and don't want to be dealing with this now!!

I've also noticed that his naps have shortened a bit to 1.5 to 2 hours max at a time at the exact same time.

Any thoughts and ideas would be appreciated!

[traceyg24]

Just wanted to add that we tried putting him to bed earlier the past couple of nights thinking we might have an overtired issue (especially since he has shortened his naps as well at the same time though don't know why he suddenly started doing this to become overtired in the first place).

The first night he was asleep by 7:30 p.m. (instead of falling asleep by 7:45-8:00 p.m.) and this resulted in no change. The next day he was up around 5:00 a.m. and only had 1-1/2 hour nap.

The second night (which was last night), he was asleep by 7:05 p.m. and didn't wake up until 6:15 a.m. this morning!! Yaayyyy!!! However, I had to use the bathroom in the middle of the night around 2:30 a.m. and noticed that his door was wide open (it was closed when I went to bed and he has a gate outside his door) so he must have woken up at some point, opened the door and gone back to bed without crying out or calling out to us (unless we were too zonked to hear him talking - we would have heard crying). I also noticed that he was down at the bottom of his bed (where he would have to crawl out to get out) so I'm wondering if the fact that he was up at some point and had a NW that made him sleep in rather than the earlier bedtime.

I have no control over his nap today either as he is at daycare (I'm still working part-time). Will have to try the early bedtime again tonight and see what happens tomorrow morning.

[james030405]

Tracy, well done on the later wake up. My 21mth DD was asleep at 6:05pm after only having a 50min nap yesterday - which is very unlike her - and she woke at 430am.    I was sure she would go through till at least 6am.  Oh well, today is another day.

[nevviemama]

A few developments here. She contracted a virus called Roseola, she broke out in a rash 2 days ago and woke at 5am crying really hard; I didn't notice the rash until later and maybe that's why she was like that. She's been sick-ish the last 2 weeks with sniffles and a fever a few days ago. I can't recall but maybe the early wakes roughly coincided with her starting to get sick.
Anyhow, yesterday her day started so early that naps were early too. She woke from her afternoon nap at 2 (am nap was 30 min and pm got better with 1hr). By 5 she was ready for bed but I stretched it to 6 for fear of an even earlier wake (here it seems that early to bed results in early wake!) At 6 she was just READY, squirming out of my arms and just rolling right over in the crib as soon as I put her down. Not a peep until 5:10am. I got up and fed her (I started feeding at the early wakes as I thought she might be hungry and now perhaps I've reinforced or created the habit) but I only offered one side and she latched off after only a short feed, and I put her right back down and left the room. Sometimes this backfires and sometimes we get 20min - 1hr more. But she slept until 7:30!!! My girlfriend says her mom told her that babies finally sleep when they feel better; maybe this was the case. Then, I got a 1.5hr nap this am, unheard of in this house! Pm nap happened later than I wanted; she slept from 4:15-5pm. By 7:15, she was READY and looking for bed again. She went down without a peep. I'm hoping for the best tonight!!!

[newmama12]

Tracey, good job!! That's great!! We're going to have to do a super early bedtime tonight as dd is still having ew issues and short naps. It's awful! This morning she was up from 4-4:45am; just playing in her bed. And now, she's up from nap and has only slept 45 minutes and it's only 12:45pm!! AHHHH!! She's going to have to go to bed at 6pm. I have no other choice. She's gotta catch up somehow.

[james030405]

I think my family are out to get me.  It is Saturday morning and my husband left for work at 5am, my DD (21mths) woke at 5:10am and my DS (3.5yrs) woke at 5:20am.   I think I am going to have to go away for a weekend by myself just to sleep until 6am

[Melsy]

Aaahhh Lisa - you poor thing!  Could DH have accidentally woken the kids when getting ready / leaving for work?  Am going to ring you soon to see when you want to catch up!!!!

Mel

[james030405]

Sadly no,  I wish that was the case (DH waking the kids) but they just cannot sleep past 5:30am. Yesterday they both woke at 4:45am, at 8:45am I left to go on in-laws boat about 45mins drive.  Neither of them slept on the way up.  Kate ended falling asleep at 1:15pm and they both slept on the way home.  they were awake at 2:30pm by the time I got home.  Anyway, we got them into bed early, kate 6:30pm, James 6:45pm and they still both woke at 5am   It doesn't seem to matter if they are o/t or not, go to bed early or late, they wake early   I have been doing this for 3.5yrs now and I really cannot think of anything else to try. I guess the trouble (or not) is that they are happy and wide awake when they wake in the morning.  Oh well, just have to keep going to bed early myself.

[Troi]

Hi Ladies - in response to the duvet question.  I gave my DS his first duvet and pillow when he was around 20 months old.  He loves it.  He actually asks to go to bed now and snuggles under his duvet. He even makes a game of it in the day time by pulling his little cushion off of the sofa laying down and saying 'bed' so that i cover him over.  My reasoning is that I wouldn't really feel cosy in a sleeping bag and I do absolutly love snuggling under my duvet (don't we all) so I guess it is the same for him too.  Our wakings have changed from 5.30 to around 7.30 most days. 

My DS always used to wake crying but now he just calls me to let me know he is awake.  I think this is the difference between waking and still being tired and waking fully rested.  Being a spirited boy it was rather difficult to break the habit but we persevered and now we all feel much better.  I do think I used to let him nap for too long during the day but I always thought he needed it because of the early waking.  At 2 years old he is only allowed to nap for 1 hour in the day.

I must add that duvets and pillows are not suitable for babies under 12 months and personally I would probably not give a duvet until the night time wiggly stage has passed, although, my DS does stay the right way up in bed since he had his duvet.

[Doj]

Hello

I am new to this thread and need some help for my 3 yr old.
She has always been a 12 hour a night sleeper, loves naps and would wake anywhere from 7-730 in the morning (I couldn't have asked for a better sleeper)
In July of this year she moved from a crib to a big bed.
Since moving to the big bed she has started sleeping only 10 hrs a night and waking about 530-6 every morning. She is resisting her naps even though she is clearly tired.
We have tired many things, put her to bed earlier 7 (normally she goes at 8 ) because i think she is OT, bought her a lamp so that when she wakes up early in the morning she can read or colour (this lasted about 2 weeks)
bought her a night light that goes on when she wakes up, nothing works.

I am so tired because dd#2 gets up at 430 to eat and then by the time i get her back to bed dd#1 is getting up.

Any suggestions on what has worked to keep your lo sleeping longer? I think she is in a cycle of OT and I don't know how to break it.

I

[Aly Mac]

Hi guys - i think i need to join here...... Just can't seem to get Lilly to sleep past 5.30/6am consistently. I'm happy with 6.30, but 5.30..... i know some of you are much earlier, so sorry to complain.  I'll have to read back, but what do you guys do when your lo's call out to you. I mean, i'm happy for her to play in there but she calls 'mummy!!!' over and over - drives me nuts... do you call back? ignore???

bbl

hugs to all

[nevviemama]

Thanks Troi for the answer on the duvet. My lo is 13 mos and all over the crib at night, so no duvet for us just yet. Our wakings have gotten a bit better, now usually b/w 6:00 and 7:00 which I can live with. If she wakes at 6 I try and leave her as long as I can without her getting hysterical. The other day she slept like a log from 7-7. I do know that night my mom fed her dinner and she ate quite a bit, including a lot of chicken. We wondered if the big meal kept her so in our case maybe it's hunger. But I can't always get her to eat that much!

[Melsy]

HUGS Aleesa,

We do a bit of everything unfortunately when he calls out!!!     We have done ignore, go in with a pillow and lie on the floor and tell him to play but mummy is going back to sleep, the alarm clock with lights and noise etc with sticker chart....    You name it, we've done it!    

We haven't found anything yet that makes a real big difference!  Hope you find something!  Actually - DH took DS for a swim last night at about 7pm - he slept till 6.30am today....maybe it was the extra exercise that helped?!  Who knows!!!!  If you find the answer, please let me know!!!!!   

Mel

P.S. - Look forward to meeting you at Deb's next week!!!   

[Aly Mac]

OOh you going to Debs too!!! can't wait!!

i posted my own thread too- suggestions were earlier nap and bed and a timer light for wakeups. wohn't get the light til next week but will try the earlier nap tomorrow.

[emmayorkshire]

Need a bit of advice please. Put alex down at 6.30pm last night. he slept till 4.15am, then chatted to himself for 45 mins. By 5am he had had enough and was stood up crying in his cot. I had been in a few times in the 45 mins and given him his cuddly and settled him. He seems to be trying to go back to sleep as he makes nice contented noises. But then when he's had enough, it makes it very clear!! Out of desperation (Dh and I have a virus and have been sick all weekend) I dave him a bottle of milk. I usually do anyway when he wakes up, but usually we go to the kitchen for it and are then up for the day. I put him back down after the bottle and he slept till 7.20!!! My DH has always argued that he is waking up cos he's thirsty and wants us to continue giving him a 5am drink then putting him back down to bed. I'm worried we are solving one problem (the EWs) by creating another (night feeding again). What should I do?