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Join our Sleep forum for tips on creating a sleep routine for your baby or toddler.

Join our Sleep forum for tips on creating a sleep routine for your baby or toddler.

Sleep

How did you crack the 5am wake up?

21 replies

PickledLily · 30/01/2013 05:44

That's it really.

DD (10m) wakes at 5 Every. Bloody. Morning. Which, frankly, after if I am lucky 2 wakeups during the night is taking the piss. I am ready to strangle her, but figure there has to be another solution. Surely?

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ceebeegeebies · 30/01/2013 05:59

google the 'wake to sleep' method

basically you gently rouse the baby an hour before they would normally wake (so that would be 4am). This disturbs their sleeping pattern.

do it for a few consecutive nights and it should solve the problem.

it is hard though when the alarm goes off at ridiculous o'clock and you have to get out of your cosy bed...but it works!!

CarpeJugulum · 30/01/2013 06:18

I tried rouse to sleep... it worked for one day, then he bloody woke up at the "wake" time. I've been up since 4.30am...

Will try again tonight, as he has nursery today so should be suitable knackered! but there's an odds on chance I will be too!

Fairylea · 30/01/2013 06:40

Sorry no answers but I have had two 5am risers and I've never ever been able to crack it! However (sorry for this) once dd started nursery she gradually got later and later... but now even aged 9 the latest she will ever get up is 6.30, even on a weekend and going to bed at 9.30!

Ds is 7 months and lo and behold he is up everyday at 5am... lovely. Not.

I feel your pain I really do.

Iggly · 30/01/2013 06:45

Feed them back to sleep

Put to bed earlier (usually takes a few days to work) as early waking can mean over tired

Make sure the heating is on and they're not cold

Sit and cuddle them while dozing

Fiddle with naps so first morning one isn't too early to shift their body clock.

I've tried all! Dd will go back to sleep easily at 5am whereas ds never did ubless I stopped him waking early in the first place. I think dd is better because of her nap times.

PickledLily · 30/01/2013 10:52

Hmm. I've tried wake to sleep on other occasions without success. She is also often awake at 4 :(

Her bedtimes are already early - she's asleep by 6 at the latest. I've tried makingit later too but she just loses the plot, then can't sleep and still wakes at 5.

Naps are totally random. I've tried creating a routine but without much luck. She starts screaming as soon as I take her to her room.

Am wondering whether a bit of CC might help, at least if she's not waking in the night I might find 5am more bearable.

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SamSmalaidh · 30/01/2013 11:00

At this age I would say:

Routine - if she screams when going into her room then let her nap in your arms or pram etc at first. Once you have a solid nap routine then you can work on the cot.

First nap - not too early or too long. First nap should be at least 2 hours after you want her to wake, and an hour at most. I'd aim for 9.30am for the first nap, and up by 10.30am. Second nap at about 1.30pm, up at 3.30pm/4pm latest.

Bedtime - if she goes to bed at 6pm, then 5am is a very reasonable wake-up! If she gets up from her last nap at 3.30pm, make bedtime 7.30pm so she's asleep by 8pm. At this age my DS went to bed at 9pm because he would only sleep 10.5 hours at night and 7.30am was the earliest I could bear starting the day.

SamSmalaidh · 30/01/2013 11:02

To get the routine in place do whatever you have to or whatever works to get her to sleep at "nap time" - dummy, feeding to sleep, pram, sling, car, take her to bed with you. Once her body clock is set to sleep at those times then aim for self-settling in a cot. Don't try to do too much at once.

PickledLily · 30/01/2013 13:13

How long do you reckon it takes to get them into a routine?
She won't sleep anywhere else except the car (where she is asleep at the moment) too many interesting things going on. Naps are often 30mins, sometimes an hour but never more than an hour and a quarter.
How do I keep her awake from 5am till 9.30? That's a long time.

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PickledLily · 30/01/2013 13:14

Oh bugger. She's just woken up.

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Iggly · 30/01/2013 14:42

Do you cuddle her for naps? I'd try naps at 9 and 1. Set up a little routine - read story in her room, light show, sleep bag and milk. Then rock or cuddle her. Your aim is to get her relaxed and asleep.

CinnabarRed · 30/01/2013 14:50

Not sure whether this will work for a 10m old, but what cracked it for my 2.6 year old was reintroducing milk before bedtime. Turned out that hunger was waking him, which I would never have guessed because he seemed perfectly happy pottering around noisily in his room or downstairs with me. But it was suggested to me by a sleep consultant, and has worked.

omama · 30/01/2013 16:07

Agree if she's been regularly napping before 9.30am you need to push the nap later. If you think its too much to keep her up from 5-9.30 in one go, push the nap 15mins later per week, that way you are working towards your goal & she is less likely to get ovrrtired. Hth.x

omama · 30/01/2013 16:07

Agree if she's been regularly napping before 9.30am you need to push the nap later. If you think its too much to keep her up from 5-9.30 in one go, push the nap 15mins later per week, that way you are working towards your goal & she is less likely to get ovrrtired. Hth.x

SamSmalaidh · 30/01/2013 18:40

If she won't nap anywhere but the car, then can't you just not take her in the car from 5am-9.30am? Do lots of interesting things at home, offer finger food if she looks sleepy. Agree with pushing the nap back 15-30 minutes at a time if that seems tough though. What time does she normally have her first nap?

Hopefully after being awake and busy from 5am, she might settle in your arms with warm milk at 9.30am - or take her out for a drive then. So long as she sleeps 30+ minutes in the morning, keep her up til 1pm, then repeat.

I'd say it'll take a week of working on nap times to get into a routine.

LillianGish · 30/01/2013 19:04

I had early risers and like a previous poster ds still considers 7.30am a lie in at the age of nine! I'm not sure that there is an easy way of resetting the clock - one one obvious question - is there anything that triggers the 5am wake up (heating coming on or something??) I found the only solution was for me to get to bed a bit earlier in preparation!! At least if she's in bed by 6 you can have a bit of an evening and then an early night. Sorry - not much help am I?!!

Fairylea · 30/01/2013 19:58

Ermm sorry to be the bearer of bad news but with ds I tried everything. Literally everything. And nothing has made any difference.

I've tried more naps, less naps, more bottles, more food, more clothes in bed, less clothes in bed, no heating, heating, delaying bedtime till 7.30 even 8 and still wake up is 5 am :)

Sigh.

I just cope with it by trying not to get too stressed about it and going to bed at 9.30 every night.

At the moment ds sleeps 2 40 minute naps and sleeps 12 hours when he does sleep so it could be worse!

He is determined 5pm is bedtime. He gets extremely miserable left later than this forbed ... I've learnt to enjoy the fact I have every evening to myself (and older dd gets time with me too).

It is hard. I'm sure some of the suggestions work for some babies. But I do think some are just genuinely programmed differently !

pettyprudence · 30/01/2013 20:29

I tried everything with my ds, and for 6 months over the cold dark winter he got up at 5am EVERY day. I tried bringing the heating on earlier in case his room was cold, bf back to sleep (this seemed to give him more energy - woohoo!), bringing him in my bed, back to his bed etc.... nothing worked until... summer mornings came and he started sleeping in until 7.30/8 [shocked] I thought we had cracked it and it felt sooooo good. Anyway, this winter he has decided he cannot possibly sleep past 6.45am which isn't too bad but still a bit urgh... roll on spring!

I cope/d by making dh get up with him on alternate days and then he hands him over to me just before he goes to work at 8am

PickledLily · 30/01/2013 20:43

Ok, so I will try to delay the first nap tomorrow. It can't be the heating waking her as we don't have it on (hardcore, us ). I'm fortunate that DH helps out and often does the 5am shift so I'll have to issue strict instructions not to send DD back to bed but it's such a killer.

Early bedtimes - I'm looking at the clock now thinking I'm late to bed.

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SamSmalaidh · 30/01/2013 21:37

Just don't expect results straight away. Good luck tomorrow.

Iggly · 30/01/2013 21:47

No heating could mean she is cold as it gets really cold from 2-3am onwards. So by 5am she's freezing...?? What temp is her room? Too cold isn't great for respiratory functions.

PickledLily · 31/01/2013 13:20

No central heating, but she has a little heater in her room, which is above the Aga in the kitchen. So not as cold as it sounds , it's usually 18-20C.

So it would seem merely posting on MN is enough to get an improvement. I'll forgive her the 5am wakeup this morning as she only woke once last night Unheard of! Only managed to keep her awake until 7, but she slept for an hour and a half and is asleep again now. I'm hoping this keeps going .

We'll try stretching the bedtime later and morning nap later again tomorrow.

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