HELP!
My son is 21 months old and was always a bad sleeper early on due to reflux, but really for the past year it hasn't been too bad with the exception of teething and illness time. This time, I cannot figure it out, and I am at my wit's end. I have spent hours reading this board in hopes of not duplicating something, but so far, no luck.
About 1 1/2 months ago, he started waking at 5 am when he used to wake at 6:30 am (6 am at the earliest). The change that could have been the culprit initially was a move to the toddler room at daycare, when his nap was moved from 12 or 12:30 pm to 1 pm. However, he's been doing this 5 am thing for so long, now I think his clock is all off!
Here is his weekday schedule now:
5 am wakes - BOO!
5-6 am try and get him back to sleep UNSUCCESSFULLY
6 am Prevacid dose
6:30 am breakfast
7 or 7:30 am arrive daycare
9:30 am snack
12 pm lunch
12:15 pm Prevacid dose
12:45 down for nap
1-3 pm nap
3:30 pm snack
5-5:30 pm dinner
6:15 pm bath
6:30 pm Prevacid dose
6:50 pm rice milk and fig newton or animal crackers
7 pm in bed
7:15 - 8 pm falls asleep, on his own
12:15 am Prevacid dose (in his sleep)
We have good luck in that the night wakings he used to have were eliminated when we adjusted his Prevacid dose. As you can see, on the weekdays he is at daycare, and he cannot do a later or earlier nap. So that is out.
We've tried to put him back to sleep at 5 am as if it were 1 am, but he just cries until 6 am when we need to start getting ready for work and school for our daughter. He usually has a big poo in his diaper by 6 or 6:15 am anyway, and then it's all over.
I think I only have a couple of options - deal with it (NO!), earlier bedtime, later bedtime, wake to sleep (Don't know how to do this or what it entails specifically - willing to try) and messing with length of nap.
Since I cannot mess with the nap time, does anyone think an earlier bedtime might help? A later bedtime does not work, since he still gets up at 5 am and then he is really over tired.
What about wake to sleep?
Shorten nap? The daycare person and I had a chat, and both she and the other lead teacher in the room have tried to wake him early and he just goes back to sleep. On days when he has had a 1.5 hour nap, he sometimes sleeps better at night and sometimes not.
Any thoughts are appreciated... we are desperate.