Early waking 19 month old

[Helentracey]

Hi,
My LO is 19.5 months old and has generally been a v good sleeper, so from about 7 weeks old slept through. I therefore cannot complain i know, but am stuck and have found these forums really useful before when he has experienced sleep regressions/changes in the past. I have read on here about the 18 month sleep regression so I think he might be experiencing this, or another developmental leap/growth spurt, but for the last 4 weeks or so he has been waking consistently at 5.45am (he usually sleeps until 6.45 / 7). Regardless of naps and time he goes to bed at night this wake up time has been consistent. I know toddlers can wake early but this seems way too early to me, and means he is unable to learn/enjoy things in the way he usually would. Two questions: why might this be happening (regression? something else?), and what is the best approach to take to manage it, aside from lots of caffeine?!! i am currently going in when he is crying (Which can be when he wakes or 15-20 mins after as he sometimes chats to himself for a while so i don't rush in). Usually I end up taking him out of the cot and holding him because he fidgets in the cot, grabs my hand and fidgets with this, stands up etc, so whilst i lay him back down the whole process at this time of day tends to wake him up even more...so i take him out of the cot with the aim of trying to get him back to sleep - i don't turn any lights on and he doesn't come into our room, as I want him to know it is sleep time and I continue this until 7am. Sometimes he does go back to sleep and sometimes he is wide awake. His typical day looks like this:
WU 7 (or 5.45 for the last 4 weeks)
12.30-2 lunchtime nap (sometimes less than this at nursery, but i have found if he has 2 hours it started to affect his night sleep...or thats what i thought?)
6.45 bath, story, milk
7.30 asleep

he has had this asleep time since 7 weeks and whilst it seems a bit late, seems to work, and on the occasions i try to bring it forward it can come earlier by 15 mins but not much more than that (and sometimes he resists this so we end up having the 7.30 sleep time anyway),

Any advice very welcome,
Thanks

[Haribo2012]

Hi there it could be a case of just pushing the nap a little later, lots of EW can be a sign that the day needs to shift a bit. Is it possible to try moving it by 15 mins and hold for a few days to see what happens?

[Helentracey]

Hi,

Yes that's a really interesting point and not one I had considered as I had assumed it was the sleep regression. I can try to do this at home and in fact some days he doesn't nap until 12.45/1300, however at nursery he tends to be asleep earlier, and sometimes as early as 12.10/12.15 (which often means he wakes at 1300 so is v tired by bedtime). It is a bit of a vicious cycle as today he was asleep by 12.30 as he was exhausted from a week at nursery and also lots of EW...The other query us how long a nap to give him. i know at his age 2 hours is about average however i often wake him up after 1.5hours as i had found that anymore than this can interrupt his night sleep, however now I am wondering whether this is the case?

[Haribo2012]

He may well need the longer 2 hour nap on nursery days to catch up!? If he only had 45 mins at nursery that would suggest UT so maybe ask them to push it a bit see if you can get a longer nap or later one at least.

[Helentracey]

Yes i cant defintely ask them to put him down a bit later and on some days he does have 1.5 hours at nursery. I can definitely push it a bit later at home, and sometimes (like today) he wakes naturally after 1h 20/1h 30, but on days he continues to sleep i might just leave him up to the two hour mark and see what happens. Perhaps the regression is a reminder to me to shift the routine a little? Who knows!

[Haribo2012]

Sounds like a good plan, sometimes a little push is all that's needed.

[Helentracey]

So I thought we were getting somewhere as I pushed the nap a little on Friday and he slept from 7.20-6.50, which is great. However, last night he took a while to go down so it was 7.40pm, and was awake between 12.15-3.20, wide awake, singing, clapping, talking, occasionally upset but not apparently in pain. He did wake with a big cry but was then generally fidgety when I tried to settle him rather than constantly crying. I didn't feel like holding his hand in the cot/having my hand on his back was actually helping and eventually i took him out of the cot, and that didn't really help either and it took another 2 plus hours for him to go to sleep. Today, he resisted his nap for 40 minutes - i can't remember the last time that happened. He was okay until we left the room then he was crying, and this cycle repeated itself until about 1.30pm. I think he was probably OT due to last night but I really am not convinced that what we are doing to try and get him back to sleep in the night in particular is helping (and worse I am wondering whether it is actually reinforcing it). I suspect this is the SR, however it feels like it has been going on forever and whilst it is tough i feel as though i would be in a better place if I had a plan (Which at the moment I don't think I do...).

[Haribo2012]

Trouble with SR is that plans don't often work out....best thing really is try to be consistent. If he refuses the nap maybe go run an errand or something that involves a buggy walk or car ride.

Could you just get a mattress and lay next to the cot, or try walk in walk out?