Ideas?? toddler waking too early in the morning

by **TurtleBaby1** » Fri May 11, 2022 7:31 am

Hi Girls,

I'm looking for your suggestions to try and get my ds to sleep a little longer in the mornings. Every day he wakes at about 5, I can usually get him to sleep for another 30-45 min but after that we are up for the day. I'm only looking to get him to about 6:30-7. He goes to bed at 7 in the evening and has done so for months. He is almost 21 months and he gets an hour sleep every day. I have to wake him every day after an hour to get him up. My plan was to reduce his day time nap again but a 40 min nap seems short for at 21 month old - or am I wrong? I like putting him down at 7 because it gives me time to get my dinner, do the jobs and get to bed early for the early start.

Have you any suggestions for me?

Thanks

by **babyblabber** » Fri May 11, 2022 7:44 am

i think he would still need an hour nap at that age, that's what our DS gets and he's a bit older. we put him down at 7 and he wakes between 6.30-7.15 but he did got through a phase of about 4 months of waking at 5.30 and was up for the day. nothing i tried worked, he just grew out of it. he was younger though, at that age have you tried a sleep training clock? we have the gro clock and although it's not a magic cure, i do think it helps. might be worth a shot.

by **TurtleBaby1** » Fri May 11, 2022 8:01 am

Thanks babyblabber I'll get one over the weekend. Did you make your little one stay in their cot until the clock changed colour? If thats the case would it be best to start at about 6:15 and then move it out by 15 min when he gets the trick?

Ohnoshedidnt · by **Ohnoshedidnt** » Fri May 11, 2022 8:46 am

Maybe hes waking from hunger? What time does he have his dinner?
My dd used to wake at about 5 every morning and when i said it to a friend she was like "well shes probably starving" She used to have dinner at 4.30/5, which is a long time to go without eating for little bellys, especially if they are not having milk going to bed anymore.

by **babyblabber** » Fri May 11, 2022 8:52 am

TB we only got it when we moved him to a bed but he has a gate on the door. to be honest i'm a bit soft so if he wakes before the sun comes (usually only 15 mins or so) i leave him for as long as possible and then go in and say "we'll have a chat til the sun comes coz we can't get out of bed yet".

i think starting it at 6.15 and moving it out is a good idea, you have to make it achievable or it'll never work. does he have toys in the cot? DS often wakes now and we can hear him playing for a while before he calls us.

by **TurtleBaby1** » Fri May 11, 2022 10:25 am

Ohnoshedidnt that is also a good suggestion. I'm having trouble getting dinner into him in the evenings, he gets a snack in creche at 3-3:30 but I find it difficult to get food into him in the evenings, i'm starting to feed him at about 5:45 and its always a struggle! He does still get 8oz at bedtime though!

If he wasnt getting the 8oz at bedtime would he eat more dinner?

by **brightlight** » Fri May 11, 2022 10:48 am

DS2 was like this for about 4 months- so tiring. It was a phase, nothing we did made any difference, tried all the usual methods of trying to make a baby sleep longer.

However, what I noticed from your post is that you waken him after an hour? He is sill very young and may need more sleep than this.I would try leaving him to get his full daytime nap and see if this improves his night time sleep. Contrary to popular belief it seems to be the babies who sleep more / better during the day, sleep sounder and better at night. This is definitely true of my DS2!

by **wouldntseemeinameringue** » Fri May 11, 2022 1:59 pm

Hi,
I definitely agree with brightlight, try letting him sleep longer during his daytime nap. My LO has just turned 2 and has a 2 hour nap every day from 1.30 - 3.30 followed by a snack, then dinner at 6.30 and up to the bath at 7.30 to be down for the night at 8. Sleeps til 7.30 or 8 the next morning then.
The days she's minded by my MIL she won't go down for her daytime nap at all and I notice that she doesn't sleep as well then those nights. Worth a try with your LO anyway I'd say.

by **Excited Mum2b** » Fri May 11, 2022 7:57 pm

We tried everything, more food, longer nap, shorter nap, staying up late, etc. The only thing that worked was the gro clock. We started by setting it at 6.30am, bit by bit it's now at 6.55am. Right from the first night I let DS see me set the clock and I explained that he was not leaving the room until the sun came up in the clock in the morning. I think maybe he didn't know when the morning was and now he does, that's my theory anyway.
Hope you find a solution.

by **TurtleBaby1** » Sat May 12, 2022 9:32 am

Girls thanks so much for the advise, I'm going to try it all. Just regarding the bedtime bottle should I cut that back? It's 8oz and it's the only bottle that he gets?

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