Early Riser - San Diego, CA

Our sons were exactly the same.

When she wakes, bring her into your bed to nurse her, rather than getting up. Nurse her with both of you lying down. You'll both be able to get another hour or so of sleep that way.

BTW, our friends had kids who slept later, but they kept them awake later in the evening. But I don't recommend this. We always preferred to have the evenings to ourselves, and the boys are just early risers. I think it's a trade-off.

Good luck!

L.,

What you need to do is think about how much sleep your 14 month old needs and is getting. Often they nap really well during the day and then, wake up early because they are done sleeping.

If you combine this with teething, growth spurts and developmental changes this can be exhausting for toddlers at this age. If your little one is fussing and going back to sleep she may just be experiencing one of these changes and needs to work past these at her own pace. While she may seem tired to you, she's more than likely not and is okay with what she's got.

This link helped a lot. My son is an early riser and has been from the beginning. No amount of changing bedtimes and moving things around changed this for us.

http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-much-sleep-does-your-chil...

You are fortunate your baby has a great routine and is pretty stable in her sleeping for now.

MOST babies/kids wake up early.... then, as a human being gets older, they tend to sleep in later. Tis' the way it is.
I remember waking up even before 6:30, when I was a kid.

All my friends kids, and mine included, all have their own wake up time/cycle.... and it generally is at about 6:00-6:30 that they wake up. For me, if that is the time a child naturally wakes up, then let it be.
Then, about 9:00am, should be her nap time.
Babies/kids this young of an age, get tired about 2-3 hours after waking.

For my kids, they have a regular nap and bedtime time/schedule. BUT, sometimes they go to bed earlier or later... but no matter what, they ALWAYS seem to wake up at the same time in the morning. Like a clock. Its just the way they are. Making a child go to bed later... does NOT automatically mean the child will wake up later the next morning. Didn't happen with my kids. My kids still wake up at their regular time no matter what.

I would think long term... because right now, your baby seems to be a REAL good sleeper.... it is just that you don't like that she wakes up early. But what is 30-45 more minutes? Its not much.
Next, messing with a child's sleep schedule, can often just create more problems and then throw off their good sleep habits.

Next, she actually has a real great sleep pattern... and later, when she starts preschool she will naturally wake up at a good time, in order for you all to get to school/work/appointments on time.

It's up to you... but what a great sleeper she is already and she can self-soothe.... which is what all Moms hope for!
My son upon waking, is very good too... even though he is an early riser (6-6:30am), he can and will all on his own, just entertain himself quietly in his crib even up to an hour... or I take him out and he will lay next to me. And then later at mid-morning he takes his nap. So, your daughter is doing real great...

All the best,
Susan

God morning L., try moving her bed time back one hour, I 9:00 was always my tots bed times, rocking/bedtime story, sepending on the age. J.

My daughter (who is now 3) was an earlier riser, doing pretty much the same thing. I let her hang out in her crib with her toys and soft baby "books" until I was awake enough to go in. She eventually started going back to sleep, especially when she went from two naps to one during the day. It's okay for her to lay in bed and entertain herself. This skill will come in handy later.

L.,

What are her naps like? 1 or 2? If she is taking one nap a day- 12:30/1ish, then she should probably go to sleep earlier- maybe 6:30/7ish after a nice, simple bedtime routine. Even with two naps a day I would probably suggest the earlier bedtime. And then just leave her until 7- go and get her- the idea being that not going in until then will train her that 7 is when the day begins and she will just opt to go back to sleep.

Here is a post to check out on some sleep environment... tips: http://www.lullabyluna.com/2008/12/happy-new-year.html

C., mother of 3, sleep consultant, sleep blog writer www.lullabyluna.com

Hi L.,
I must admit, your post did make me laugh :)
Yes, it would be "dreamy" if our children's sleep patterns matched ours, wouldn't it?! Many children are early risers, and also go through early-rising phases, mine included. Just make sure she is getting 12-14 hours per day of sleep, which also includes naptime. Frankly, I don't know what else you could do to change this. Good luck!