2 Year Old Waking up WAAAY to Early- Need Help, NOW

Why can't you get to bed before midnight? Is there any way you can get to bed any earlier?

It's most likely a phase. My DD has always been an early riser, and it doesn't matter what I do, that's how she is. She did go through getting up at 5, 5:30, and has now finally settled between 6 & 6:30. Have you tried a white noise machine, darkening the room, etc? What about an earlier bedtime & working towards dropping the nap? Maybe she's getting too much sleep. I would NOT put her to bed later, that never worked with my DD, she would actually wake up earlier.

I think that at 2 they go through weird sleep stages. I'm betting this is most likely a phase and will he will probably/hopefully move past it in a few weeks. I would also start telling him that you will not be getting him up until 7 (or whatever time) so even if he wakes up he will have to just sit in his crib. I started teaching my daughter her numbers about then b/c we had the same problem (she was in a big girl bed and would just leave her room) so we instituted the 7 o'clock rule and showed her which number had to be a seven and it worked really well. Sometimes she would get up and play in her room and eventually she just started sleeping longer again. Even now at 3.5 she still has that rule and there are no battles if she gets up early. You could also put his nightlight on a timer and tell him that when it goes off he's allowed to get up and if he wakes up and it's on then he'll have to sit quietly in his crib or sleep. I know that he's only 2 and some of this may be lost on him, but I bet he'll pick up on it quickly. Hang in there, but also be prepared for more weird sleep issues during 2-3!

My SIL had great success with black out curtains and a special alarm clock (when it's green she can get up, when it's red stay in bed). I tried similar tricks and had no success. My kids are early risers. They just always have been. It's not what you want to hear I know, but we just kind of suck it up. On weekends or time off we try to trade off sleeping in. Often the hubby just doesn't hear the kids in the mornings, so on the days he's on duty and doesn't hear them I get a nap later that day while he watches the kiddos. And I know it's not ideal, but don't underestimate the power of cartoons. On mornings I really need some shut eye, the cartoons go on so I can doze a bit while the kiddos watch cartoons. I can't crash out, but I can rest a little and snuggle while they watch tv. Some days that helps, and sometimes I have to take what I can get. Nap when he naps, if that's a possibility. The other possibility is to just let him cry for a while and see if he goes back to sleep, crying will not hurt him. Maybe sneak a few toys at the foot of his crib to play with when he wakes up?? It's worth a shot. I don't know if a toddler bed is the solution, you'll still have to get up to keep him out of things. But it may end him waking up screaming and make for an easier transition.

Try having him play outside in the sunlight as much as possible in the afternoons. Sunlight helps people w/their sleep patterns.

You're going to need to either keep him up in the afternoons or up a little later at night. Sounds like he's going through a transitional phase & if taking a nap when he does in the afternoon isn't a possiblity for you, you're going to need to find another work-around.

My son did the same thing around that age. We put up new curtains in his room that would block out the light. Then we put his nightlight on a timer. When the nightlight turned on, it was bedtime. When the light turned off, it was morning and he was allowed to get up. It took several days for him to get used to it, but he eventually did.

Perhaps his nap is too late in the day or he's ready to give it up? Also, it is getting light out so early and the birds are singing. The past two weekends, I've been up at 6 a.m. both days myself and surprised to find that it wasn't an hour later! I'd try blackout shades and maybe a white noise machine.

You don't mention why your husband can't get up with the baby.

We bought this clock for my daughter and I am pretty sure it has magical powers!

http://www.leapsandbounds.com/catalog/product.jsp?product...

We had to transition my daughter into a toddler bed from a crib while we were visiting my mom in NC (we live in Switzerland). So, not only did we have jetlag issues, but she could walk out of bed at 4am! It was awful! In desperation I purchased this clock and it was AMAZING! There are directions on getting your kid to sleep later. It's a concrete image that they can look at to know when it is ok to get out of bed. The company is also wonderful. They sent me a plug so we could use it when we got back home to Switzerland! Good luck and I hope that you get more sleep soon!

It might have to do with the fact that the sun is getting up earlier - is his room bright at 5am?? If so, either buy room darkening shades for the Teach Me Time alarm clock, which has a nightlight you can program to change colors when you want it to. We had the same situation with our daughter around that age, and we bought the clock and programmed the nightlight to turn green at 7am - at age 4, she still knows not to come out of her room until her alarm clock is green.

Have you tried feeding him and putting him back to bed? OR feeding him something "heavy" right before bed? OR tylenol? ((2yo molars due?))

What has screwed with my son's sleep the most over the years are growth spurts and teething. 99 times out of 100 if I feed him or give him tylenol he conks right out.

When our daughter turned 2 she started waking really early. We bought black out curtains and a GoodNite Lite. It took a couple of weeks but we finally got her to a regular wake time at 7 am. Now we can set our clock by her waking at 7! www.goodnitelite.com

just answered a question similar to this: as little ones mature, they require less sleep. Anytime you can get a minimum of 8 hours out of a child who's taking good naps (or conversely, if you have a child who does not require naps such as yours)....you are still achieving success!

As a parent, I know that 8 hours is not enough....but for some kids it's all they need to reboot. Your son is still sleeping 9+ hours. The odds are he's hungry when he's waking...all of that 2yo energy....requires feeding.

If you truly cannot change your own schedule, then it's time to change his. Many, many parents have difficulty adjusting to these time changes as their child matures....but it is a fact of life. Your 2yo is no longer a "baby" & may have different needs now! Peace.

Does he go back to sleep after he wakes up? Try putting him to bed layer if he naps so he'll sleep that extra hour or two.