Chatterbox

[Millie2]

My five month old wakes early (between 5 and 6am) to talk!  She will lie there chatting away to herself for ages!  Sometimes she will drop back off to sleep but more often than not I eventually have to get her up as she gets grizzly.  How do I follow my four hourly routine if she is awake for say an hour before her feed?  She isn't a good day time napper - usually only sleeping for 45 minutes at a go before waking up and talking again - so our routine is already hard to stick to. 

Why can't I have the baby that slept from 7 to 7 back again?

[Katet]

Liam (3.5mo) does that too & I know it always happens on a day that he has had less stimulation the day before... ie spent more of his awake time in the pram, rather than on the floor, because we've been out & about. So my only suggestion is during her am awake times try & give her lots of tummy time, read books, change the place she is etc quiet often.
The last night sleep cycle is between 4 & 7am & it is the hardest one for babies/toddlers to actually pass through & thus you get lots of people complaining about the same thing, so you could say it is developmental too.
Re keeping in an EASY Cycle, well I just sort of go with the flow there, but our days tend to fit around toddler activities, so We rarely get a good EASY day.

[Deb_in_oz]

just to put a positive spin on your situation for you - it is a good sign that she will be great at independent play as she is older....  the fact that she can entertain herself in her cot and even go back to sleep sometimes is a good development! if she woke at 5 and needed your presence ever morning i would be in there trying to teach her to go back to sleep.  i woudl bet money that if she has not always been waking at 5 this is just a phase that will pass.

i think Kate's theory is a good one - try to build in more "active" time and also she is probably exploring her voice a bit and finds it entertaining (the toy you cannot take out of her crib KWIM)