Does it CIO/CC ever work for early morning waking

[1500mmania]

Posting in here as people who have been successful at resolving early morning waking may not venture over to the sleep section.

I am at the end of my tether. Since my DS rountine was messed up at xmas he has been waking early and it keeps just getting earlier - 4.50am for the last two days.

Last week we did have a bit of respite as we tried to push his nap later but then he revert again to 5am which makes him exhausted by 8-9am and it becomes a vicious cycle.

He is not a nice child at 5am - crying and tantrums. He is still tired and completely unable to settle. he wants to play and thats it (and even when he's playing he isn't happy).

I'm tired, DH is tired, we are shouting at each other and I'm 6 weeks pregnant working full time and can barely function.

Help.

Will CIO/CC help? - we did it for his bedtime rountine at around 5-6 months and it worked a treat but i'm not so sure it will work first thing. We also have lovely neighbours that bang on the floor who I am going to write an email later. I was thinking of suggesting they move room for the weekend whilst we try CIO/CC - but it would be nice to know if its been successful for anyone.

Help.

[QTPie]

How old is DS? How much and when does he sleep/nap? What do you do to resettle him when he wakes early?

Like most things, CIO/CC works on some kids, but may not work on all.

QT

[Tolly81]

My dd goes through phases of this I tried leaving her to cry a couple of times and she just started banging her head against the cot or getting worked up and gagging (and we didn't leave her for long). But I haven't ever done cc with her at any other time so maybe you would have more success. Some people have success with wake to sleep and I'd say it's worth a try - you can google it or search for previous threads in here. I found an earlier bedtime made her slightly better (5:45ish rather than 5:00ish) whereas a later one made her much worse, so I'd also try moving bedtime earlier by 5-10 minutes every night (unless ds already has a very early bedtime, I don't think there's much point going earlier than 6:30pm). But I have to admit I had limited success and when she's had a run if it illness or teething usually intervene (as she wakes UN the night anyway and sleeps later as a result). I haven't really found anyone with a full on success story, and have posted on this myself in the past, sorry I'll keep watching to see if you get one though!

[Tolly81]

Sorry a bit confusing - with an earlier bedtime she slept till 5:45ish rather than 5am!

[ZuleikaD]

Counter-intuitively, pushing a nap later will usually make them wake earlier. Make his nap earlier - I wouldn't let him sleep later than 2pm - and you may well find that his nights are better.

But no, CC/CIO probably wouldn't work for morning waking. A 5.30 wakeup is perfectly normal and healthy for a toddler, though, as long as they're getting some sleep during the day.

[Eskarina]

We treat anything before 6 as a night waking, so we ignore for a minute or two (depending on levels of distress of course), then go in and cuddle or ssh pat until dd settles. 6-6.30 is a grey area when she may come into our bed, and 6.30 is getting up time.
Depends on how old your lo is. From about 11 months (ie when dd would settle herself to sleep at night and sleep through) we started leaving interesting but safe toys in her cot and we now often find that she wakes up and plays happily. We know when we need to change the toys over (every couple of weeks) because she suddenly has a morning when she screams from 5 instead of playing then drifting off. She's 18mo now though so getting slightly better at plotting destruction amusing herself.

[Artigene]

It worked for us. We got rid of 5.30am wakings my totally blacking out DD's room (not a ray could penetrate), adding an extra blanket (you hit your coldest about that time but if the heating went in it woke her) and then treating 5.30am like 2am: go in once, check nothing genuinely wrong, whisper "it's night time, sleepy time" and leave. It took longer than CC did for bedtimes but consistency is the key. Good luck!

[Iggly]

What happens if you feed at that wake up?

Is the room warm enough?

[WillSingForCake]

Worked for us too, and now my 17 month old DD sleeps from 7pm-8am without waking. I do agree with the poster above who says 5.30am is a healthy time for a toddler to wake, but only if they're waking up refreshed and happy.

[1500mmania]

Hi folks thanks for the responses DS is 17 months. Has 1-2hrs sleep in the day. If he gets up early he needs an early nap (sometimes falls asleep on the way to the childminder at 8am - grrr), if he wakes later he will nap about 10.30ish.

Today he has been with dad and had 30mins in the pram at 9 and then an 1hr 20 in the afternoon at 2pm so we will see how that goes. Usually he just has one nap though & somedays it can be as little as 45mins - which I think makes him worse.

He is impossible to settle (esp in the am) - in fact I have never been able to settle him it just seems to make him worse, angrier - more upset. That's why I am considering CIO - so he will just realise that it is NOT time to get up.

Not sure if I can inflict it in the neighbours though x

[1500mmania]

Oh and stopped bf at 13 month - but how I wish I could just feed him back to sleep.

[desertbaby]

I think the best thing you could do us push to one nap in middle of day and up by 2pm. Morning nap could be the culprit plus the later pm nap too.

[1500mmania]

Willsingforcake & artgene - how long did it take?

[1500mmania]

Thanks desertbaby - that is what we had been doing. he usually has just one morning nap which we have been trying to push later. Today was a definite one off on Daddy day!

[Iggly]

I'd give one morning nap at around 12/12.30 and for a couple of hours. Sleep begets sleep and all that. Don't rule out a morning power nap if need be. It'll take a week or so to make a change.

[WillSingForCake]

Just a few days. I would go in a shush, say its still nighttime, she would cry but soon got the message. It was great - she went from being a wingey tired little girl to a happy rested baby.

[Tolly81]

Obviously your baby is not getting enough sleep but I agree with Zuleika - on the nights that my 9mo sleeps through she sleeps till 5:30am - and she's done. She's already standing up in her cot (with her sleeping bag on) singing and blowing raspberries. If we tell her its still sleepy time she thinks its a really funny joke. She's done it all through winter and there still isn't any change in the light at 5:30am yet. Left the heating on all night, no difference. However, if she's crying in the morning that is because she's still tired, so I agree it depends how he is and clearly your ds is miserable. Not allowing a late nap helped my dd get to sleep so it stopped the early evening wakings but it didn't get her to sleep any later. I would only say be realistic in your aim 5:30 or 6 might be his natural wake-up time, 7-8 might be unrealistic. I think early waking is really difficult as they're just not that tired but agree be consistent, make sure the temperature, noise level and light aren't changing and treat it as a night waking. Good luck.

[1500mmania]

Thanks ladies - he slept until 5.35 this morning which is a great relief for me (and helped by the fact that I was in bed at 9pm myself!) I feel much brighter today just for the extra hour of sleep.

I think we do have to resign ourselves to the fact that he is an early riser - but 6am is just so much more civilized than 5am. I'm really looking forward to the teenager years when I won't be able to drag him out of bed!

It is another Dad day today so god knows what is going to happen with the nap. I've told DH to try and push him later and he is still awake at the moment - so fingers crossed.

[ZuleikaD]

Yes, I've got two larks and literally nothing has ever worked to get the to sleep past 5.45, so I'm resigned to being asleep by 9.30 pm for the forseeable future...

[Tolly81]

Yep, I start the nightly ritual of persuading dh it's time to go to bed at 9pm every night, we usually get there for 9:30 or 10. She's never ever slept beyond 7 except when she's poorly and she doesn't normally get anywhere near that - I almost whoop if she manages past 6am! But hope you sort out the ridiculously early starts.

[ZuleikaD]

DH and I often go to bed at different times - I get up early with the cubs because what with DC3 about to arrive I'm often awake from 4.30 anyway. I figure he'll do all the going out and getting them at midnight when they're teenagers.