Hello All,
My 14 month old daughter used to sleep from 6:30pm until 6:30-7:00 am until last week when she suddenly won't sleep past 5AM! Needless to say my husband and I are exhausted! We have tried moving her bedtime later (as late as 8:30)and skipping the afternoon nap but no matter what we can't get her to sleep any later. Her wake up time seems to be completely independednt of what time she went to bed or how much or how little sleep she got the day before. Previously we had found that sleep begets sleep and were able to get her to sleep longer by ensuring htat she napped well during the day but that doesn't seem to do the trick this times ( nor does skipping naps).
We don't go in and get her when she walkes up, we try and wait until at least 6 so she doesn't train herself to wake up any earlier but that doesn't seem to encouraging her to stay asleep. We have also tried going in and rocking her back to sleep, but she is always wide awake at 5, then grumpy thoughout the day. BTW we do have dark heavy curtains that block most of the light, her room is very dark when we go in ( but thank you to those who suggested it!)
Please Help!
I had one son who did this and nothing I tried ever changed it. We gave him toys in his crib and he learned to amuse himself until we got up at 6:30. He got up early all the time until he was a pre-teen. Then we couldn't drag him out of bed. LOL
My son's been doing this all summer, despite the heavy shades in his room. He somehow KNOWS when the sun comes up!!! Also, at her age, you might want to make sure it's not teething? You could try a little motrin before bed--we did last night, and he slept past 7am!
Hi M.
Just thought I would share our story.
By the time our son was 5 months old he could shimmy out one side of the crib and the down the other, so there was no way to keep him in. Next, by the time he was a year old, he had no naps. By 14 months he was only sleeping 2 hours in 24. I took him to MD because I needed more rest. MD said he was healthy growing and nothing wrong. OK so what happened. Today he is a lawyer for the US gov. on foreign soil. He presented us with our first grandchild, a 9'5" baby boy last Tuesday. M., he is a great adult and his wife simply says she wishes he slept more. When I said "2 hours in 24?" She said "how did you know?" I laughed and said I kept him in his bed as an elementary student by making sure there were enough books to read in the bed that he had not read. Guess what 2 hours he slept. 8-10 PM and there was no more sleeping til 8 the next night.
Hope my story makes your daughter sound like an angel. That was my intent. My son was an angel too, but he didn't sleep.
God bless you
K. -- SAHM married 38 years. 4 children 37, 32 and twins that are 18years. Because I am probably old enough to be your mom, I say talk to your mom, she may have some great stories to tell about the crazy sleep hours you kept.
M.,
I laughed when I read your request because I am in the exact same boat with my 17 month old!! He started waking at 5 about a month ago and we can't do anything to change this new schedule! I totally agree that good sleep begets good sleep, but nothing is working. I wish I had some good advice for you, but I'm just writing to let you know that you are not alone. I can't wait to see if you are getting any useful advice. Good luck! :)
I saw that someone else had mentioned maybe she is going through a growth spurt and needs something to eat or drink. My son wakes up around 5 and he gets some milk then goes back to sleep for a couple hours. Maybe try that? Good luck!
Is it possible that she is waking up hungry? Perhaps she is having a growth spurt or using so much energy during the day that she needs something extra in the early morning. My DD always needed a little something around that time and then would go back to sleep for an hour or two. My son, 15 mo, also needs some milk around 4:30 or 5am and then goes back to sleep for as much a 2 or 3 hours.
She has reached that age. My son was the same way. Up and ready to go. One thing you can try is keep her room dark longer by using room darkening blinds or curtains. This will help some. Also, don't go in and get her. This is a great chance for her to learn how to entertain herself. Give her toys and things the night before and let her play in her crib until 6:30. My son learned to do that, it helped. Also, is she only napping once a day or twice. She's at about the age when they give up one nap and only take one a day. How long are her day naps and is she struggling to fall asleep? If so think about cutting the napping down to once a day. My son cut out one before 18 mos on his own. Maybe it's that time for her. But cut out the morning one, not the afternoon.
Hi! My son has been waking up around 530 since he was 5 months old for the day - and he is now 2:( I have tried everything too, sometimes its just whattheir bodies want, not anything that you are doing wrong. Hopefully our kids grow out of this one@
Hi M..
I have the same problem with my 3 year old. He is just an early bird. When he was younger, I left him in his crib as long as he wasn't crying. Now he just comes in my room and snuggles. He wakes me up but at least I still lie in bed for a while before starting the day.
I have had to adjust my sleep schedule around him. I just try to get to bed by 10pm, knowing that I have to get up with the birds.
One more thought: Maybe there is some kind of noise that is waking her up (the garbage men, a neighbor's car, etc)? You could try a white noise machine in her room to drown that out.
I wish I had better advice. Good luck!
My daughter did the same thing at that age and it almost killed me! Nothing seemed to help. The good new is that it did not last forever, and hopefully yours wont either. For us it was 2 or 3 months. Good luck!
My son went through this and it took us 2 weeks to realize that the sun was shining right on him - so we covered his window with a blanket and were sleeping later by the next morning. Is there a chance this is the issue? It probably isn't, but I thought I'd mention it.
Good luck.
hi M..
We travel a lot back and forth the countries with the time difference of 7-8 hours. So, we do that all the time - getting used to a new routine. The good thing is that she already slept before about 12 hours in a row, and you know the period of time she sleeps at night. So, you need just move that to later. Do that really slowly: keep her later, lets say, half an hour, every two nights. (if you just keep her till 9 one night, even if she's exhausted, it won't do anything). So, the transition takes time, be persistent. And never try to skip the day nap - it'll make it worse. Good luck.
We are having the same problem with our 19 month old son. And not for a week, but since mid-March. Black-out curtains, water and snack in the crib, snack right before bedtime, early bedtime, later bedtime, playing hard before bed, etc. He naps once a day, he is in daycare so very stimulated all day, he is in bed between 6 and 7pm each night, we NEVER get him before 6 (this obviously isn't working to teach him an appropriate wake up time), we can't figure it out! I'm watching this thread so I can learn something too. Bedtime makes absolutely NO difference. He needs 11 hours of sleep and he's not getting it. But you're not alone in this misery. And I've seen some threads where people complain because their kids get up early - at 7:30 or 8 a.m. All I'm asking for is 6am. 6!!! :)
Did I mention we have a 5 month old who gets up twice to eat during the night? I shouldn't complain. I love my children with all my heart. But I'm so tired.
