5am wakings - can't decide wether to embrace them or fix them?

[rinajack]

Hi

My DD usually wakes between 5am and 6am each day.  It used to be more often 6am, now it is mostly 5am.  DH and I start our day at 5am 5 days of the week (either one or both of us do anyway).  I think she hears us and wakes, plus the birds outside etc.  She already has the fan for white noise. Rarely in these wakings (or any for that matter) does she need our attention for at least 1/2 an hour - she has a teddy in the cot and she happily talks to it, and practices rolling and putting her dummy in and out.

3 days per week I leave the house with Zara at 6am to drop her at daycare before I go to work - I work 10hrs on those days, and pick her up again at 5pm.  The other 4 days she is home.

We live in a very hot climate - the temps each day are already mid 30's (which is 100F ish) and as we approach summer we will have weeks on end of 40ish (110ish).  The sun at that time will rise just after 4am.  As will the birds.  Early morning is going to be the coolest time of day (and still hot at that).

So, I am considering embracing the early wakeups and using it as a time to go for a walk with the stroller and the dogs.  She doesn't eat breakfast until abotu 6:30.  On the other hand, I absolutely do not want her waking earlier than 5am.

Would I be creating a monster, and a rod for my own back if I allow her day to start at 5am or should I work on getting her to sleep later?

We have already worked out that no matter what her wakeup time in the morning, her magic bedtime is 6:30pm.  So maybe she is just an early rise early to bed kind of person - both DH and I are like that anyway. So after work, I struggle to do any exercise or play with the dogs or walk them cause I am busy with her dinner and bed time routine.

What does everyone think?  Is there a reason from traceys book why not? Something I don't remember (a friend has my book at the moment).

[mummy_bec]

My lo wakes around 5:30 - 6:00 each day also. He used to wake at 7:00, during winter, but as it got towards spring he started waking earlier. At first dh and I thought that it was our neighbours being loud that was waking him but now realise that it is probably the light. I changed his easy from 7-7 to 6-6, and now that he's 6 months have changed it to 6 - 6:30-7. Some days he wakes at 5:30 and somedays at 6. We get up at 6am for work and so it works really well because I can do the first feed when I wake up and dh has a shower and then while I shower dh takes our lo. We have adapted to work around him and the best thing is that he's in bed early at night to make up for the early rise. For us it works well so the only advice I can give is to say that if it works with your day and routine then go with it.