10 Month Old Waking Early, Help!

My son started doing the same thing around this time. He used to get up at 5:30 after going to bed at 7 and I would then nurse him and he would go back down until 8:30, which was awesome. He just turned a year old and he now gets up at the crack of dawn. He usually goes to bed at 6:30 or 7 and gets up anywhere in between 5:15 and 6:45 a.m. Even on the few occasions that we keep him out late, he still gets up early. We had his birthday party yesterday so he stayed up until 9:30 and he still got up at six. I think some kids are just rigged to get up early no matter what. Just make sure you go to bed early enough to keep up with them.

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just for clarification - he WAS going to bed around 9pm and getting up at 7-7:30am (so sleeping about 10 hours). NOW he's going to bed around 8pm and getting up at 6-6:30am -- so still sleeping about 10 hours. in that case, it sounds like he only needs 10 hours, and if you want him to sleep in, so to speak, he'll have to go to bed LATER.
it could also be that he's getting older and dooesn't need as much sleep during the night anymore.
that said, my almost-two year old is getting up a little earlier because of the sun. maybe half an hour. the bigger difference is that she won't stay in bed nursing or snuggling, but wants to get up right away because it's so light.

Hi E.,

I think you should put your son to bed later as you did before. The later you put him to sleep at night, the later he'll wake up the next morning. Does he still take naps?

My 7 mo old has also been waking earlier and I am attributing it to the sun. But, what I have found also to be true - especially the first year - just when you think you've got their schedule (feedings, naps, likes etc) figured out, it changes. I think it is because they are growing and learning things so quickly. You'll work it out, and getting up earlier gets (a bit) easier. Maybe you can put the little one in a play yard with some fun toys so you can wake more slowly. I too have trouble going from 0-60 in the morning :}

I think your answer actually depends on what his day time naps look like. I would assume he was on 2 naps stil. This is normal for 10-11 month olds to start waking early as they need less day sleep. It is actually the very very beginning of the road from moving to 2 naps to one nap. Not sure if you ever tracked total day sleep as compared to night sleep, but generally the time shifts from one to the other. What worked for me is I woke up my daughter earlier from her afternoon nap. I know other moms who woke their child earlier from the morning nap. Just depends on your child. If you could tell me what the rest of his day looks like, I could help you through what to adjust.

Although I think the early sun can contribute if your little one doesn't have a dark enough room, our daughter has awoken occaissionally earlier than her normal 8:00 wake up. But we've also been able to get her to go back to bed because she's still tired. I can definitely appreciate though if his room is too bright, he may have a harder time sleeping in those earlier hours. I would suggest getting heavy room darkening shades. This also helps naps last longer as well.

HTH!

6am was the normal wake up time for 3/4 kids. Then they would nap at 9-1030am. Once he is a year old and gives up his am nap you may find he sleeps a little later, otherwise there is always coffee!

Ha ha, indeed, that's not really early for a little one, it is totally normal (especially with the sun coming up earlier). My son and all his buddies all pretty much wake up between 6-7am...anything later, and you should consider it a bit of a luxury! 9pm does seem very late for a 10 month old, so its good that you're trying for earlier. When my son was that age he went to bed NO LATER THAN 7pm. How are his naps?!? Is he getting enough total rest (I believe its 14 hours for that age...). My son was never a good napper before about 18 months, but managed to get a few short ones in during the day (so slept at night from 6:30ish until 6am...with about 1-2 hours of nap during the day, making for a total of about 14). I can't recommend Dr. Marc Weissbluth's book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" strongly enough - it really helped me through the first year!!

I hate to tell you this but it's real normal for babies and toddlers to wake up early. (yeah when the sun comes up) My little one was a total early riser no matter what time he went to bed. I learned I just had to get him to bed early enough so that he would get enough sleep. He was that way until he got into double digits agewise. I know alot of people these days let their kids stay up late in the hopes they will sleep in. I find that really hard to deal with once they start school. At any rate, I was not a morning person AT ALL but I just adjusted.

Both of my kids were sleeping until 8-8:30 then the sun started comming up early.... Well then it was 6-6:30, so what we did is put thicker blankets over their windows to block the sun light, and now they are back to sleeping until 8-8:30, sometimes even 9. and there bed time is 8:30. so just a thought try darkening his room.

It's pretty normal for their sleep habits to change at that age...teething could be an issue.

Plus with growth spurts they can change sleep habits.