Early morning waking - What needs to be changed?

[Mydreamcametrue]

So Tyler (now 15 months old) has been waking up between 4:00 and 5:00 every morning and will not go back to sleep. 

Here is his normal day:

Wake - Between 4:00/5:00 a:m and pray he will fall back to sleep after his bottle, but not usually.
Nap 1 - 9:30 (In the car normally since we take DS1 to school).  If I let him sleep, he would sleep 2 hours, but that would be it all day.  So normally I let him sleep 45 minutes or so.

Nap 2 - 2:00/2:30 until 4:00

READY... for bed at 7:00.  He cannot handle being up no later.


I think he may be waking partly due to being hungry because he drinks rice milk, but I also think he may be ready for go to one nap??

I can't remember what I did with Zach when this happened.

Any suggestions?

Thanks, Wendy

[*Natasha*]

I think he may be waking partly due to being hungry because he drinks rice milk, but I also think he may be ready for go to one nap??

I can't remember what I did with Zach when this happened.

EWing is a big sign that they are ready for 1 nap. If he is still waking so early i would only let him sleep 20mins in the morning in the car to get him through and then put him down at lunchtime for a long nap(perhaps at the same time as Zach if he is still napping). Once he stops the EWing then you can stop the short morning nap and just give the lunchtime nap.

Just to help you this is our day:

7.30am - Wake up (give or take 15mins)
12.30pm - Nap 2.5-3hrs (i wake her if she is still asleep at 3hrs)
7pm - Bedtime.

[Mydreamcametrue]

Hey Natasha:  I remember your routine with Catherine, just like this. 

When did you go to one nap, did I just totally miss that?  I thought Zach was older than this, but then again Tyler has done everything much sooner than he did.

I will try that. Zach want go to sleep that early, he does not get out of school until 12:30, so I somehow have to shoot for a 1:00 naptime.

[*Natasha*]

Catherine went to 1 nap just after 11months old and is still napping now from 1pm for about 1.5hrs
Mirelle went to 1 nap just before her first birthday and is doing great on it she gets tired most days around 11ish so i generally give lunch at about 11.30am and that gives her the energy to get through to nap time.

[Mydreamcametrue]

Maybe Zach was younger, I still think of Tyler as my little baby.  Heck I have not even attempted to break him from the bottle :-0  I know I will totally regret this later, but we are still working out other issues with him.

So today he slept about 20 minutes in the car and just laid down for a nap at 1:45. 

he woke up at 4:00 this morning, Ahhhh....

[Alison_3]

{{{{Hugs}}}} Wendy.  I would go with the one nap too.  We have to do a 12:45-1:00 naptime because of Ben going to school. 

I am up early with you right now because BEN has decided that 5:00 a.m. is a great time to start the day the past three weeks.  I'm telling you, you get one sorted out and the other starts.  I swear they plan this!!

I hope the transition goes smoothly.  I remember switching to one nap earlier with Charlie than I did with Ben.  Some will say to switch cold turkey and stay with one nap and others just go with it during the transition period.  For us, we did some days of one nap and some days of two.  Charlie would do a catnap in the morning while taking Ben to school or running errands and then his "good" nap would be in the afternoon. 

Good luck and thank goodness for coffee!
 

[Fiona (Leah & Kians Mom)]

Ds did 6 months of EW usually around 5. For months I got up with him and eventually being sick of it I gave him a bottle to get him back to sleep. Then at 12 months he switched to one nap and our EW went from 5 am to anywhere after six and usually closer to 6.30. Its just difficult getting to that one nap. We were lucky that we had a long trip which totally disrupted our schedule, we got an hour nap day, late bed, late wake up and that day went straight to one nap, never looked back. Good luck

[QTpie]

Hi, I hopped on board to post about my daughter EW.  She has been up for 2 weeks at 5 at today 4:30.

It is 8:30 now and she is down for a nap.  Starting tomorrow i will try to keep her up until after lunch.

Thank you!

[XMAS]

First time posting, tho I have been reading on this site at least a year.  Bought Tracey's book when baby was 4 months & it saved my life.

I have a EW myself.  My story doesn't sound so tragic b/c she wakes @ 5:30-6:00am, but I don't have to be at work till 10am which means we don't get home from daycare till 6:30pm so her bedtime is at 8pm.  I am also in school so have to stay up & study & cook my own dinner late after she is in bed.  She actually recovered from the time change last month over a weeks time but now, out of nowhere over past 2 weeks since being sick, wants to get up 1 hour or more earlier than she used to!  We only nurse now before bedtime at night & first thing in the morning, so she is asking to nurse when I come in to her.  Thought about trying PU/PD, but walk in & smell her having an early morning BM so I have to get her out of bed to change her.  Then she comes unglued cause she wants to nurse & eat breakfast.

She is an angel to put down at bedtime, & pretty good napper too, most days still asking for 2 naps a day.  I am single parent working FT so rely on daycare provider to change routine if we should go to one nap a day.  Would that help?  What about morning BMs?  Have to get her up when she does that.  Already asked daycare lady to feed her dinner before I pick her up so that we can skip that late 7pm meal at home & get her to bed asap after bedtime routine.

I have read many post on this thread & it seems we are all in similar boat.  Thanks.

[Mydreamcametrue]

Hi, Welcome to you both.  XMAS, I can't believe you have been reading for a year now and just posting.  This site is so great.. The best!

Today he will only have nap. He is down now, so we will see what time he gets up tom. morning.  He woke up at 3:30 this morning, but did go back to sleep

[XMAS]

I am going to try to get her daycare lady (she is a SAHM with only 1 other baby & her 2 kids she homeschools) to help me switch her to one nap.  She has done it on days with me & it went ok, so I think now that she isn't sick, we should try again.  Maybe that is why she is sleeping less at night.  I would like to do it before Christmas because we will be traveling & with family & it will be hard to find time for 2 naps a day.