Son Is Waking up Very Early in the AM

I know this will sound backwards, but have you tried putting him to bed earlier? Many times an early wake time is a sign the child is over tired. Even if you just move it back by 20 min it may make a difference. When my kids miss their bed time (7pm) by even 15 min they are up much earlier without fail. Also, sometimes they wake up earlier at this age because they are becoming more social. I would try not going to him until 6am. If you just let him fuss for a while he might go back to sleep and he will also realize their is no gain from waking up so early. It is really hard at this age. I would try earlier bed time first. My 9 month old goes to bed at 6:30 and sleeps until 6:30. It sounds early, I know, but at this age it seems their circadian rhythm is set to an early time. Good luck!

A.

Hi J.,
I'm the mother of 4 and three of them are boys. I was wondering what is happening with his nap time. If you're working I'm guessing he's in daycare. Do you have any control over how long and what time he naps? Sleep diprivation is so hard. I had two in diapers only 17 months apart and also owned my own business. I feel your pain. Something that I noticed with one of my boys was that his sleep patterns changed right about the time he was getting sick. I'd love to hear how it works out.
-T.

uh, you may also just have an early bird. My nephew did this as a baby and now as an almost 10 year old still gets up early no matter how late he goes to sleep. Just like us they have their programing to be up early or up late. Oh, what joy when it's the opposite of us. I think my sister just used more naps to counter the being up early, and even now as he's home schooled he has to take a rest when his siblings do. Not that he is expected to fall asleep or anything just have a little quite time.

Our second one did this and we had to go in, every morning, and tell him it was time to sleep and goodnight. We never picked him up, just continually laid him down until he returned to sleep.

With our first, we let him watch hockey for an hour and that helped him be happy for the hour and still sleep in later. (Totally not a proponate of TV, but I was desperate! I think he watched more TV then than he does now at 4 1/2.)

If he's waking up really angry, he does need more sleep, either evening or morning. GL

If he is angry he is still tired. I remember reading when I had babies that if they wake up crying or grumpy they didn't get enough sleep. He may just be hungry. He will change his sleep habits many more times over the next year with growth spurts and teething. If he isn't hungry try some tylenol as he could be teething and get him to go back to sleep.

I definitely wouldn't try keeping him awake later... That only promotes cranky babies. Try to get him to take an extra nap during the day, that way he will, on his own, stay up later. Maybe you should also try a little massage before bedtime, start at his feet (only about 5 minutes a foot, no more than that), and work your way up. Or a lavender scented candle... burn it if he wakes up, with dimmed lights, might put him back to sleep... good luck.

You may not need to do anything because daylight savings time (spring ahead) is this weekend, and if he keeps his pattern, he'll be waking up at what will be 6:00-6:30 a.m. Maybe he's just adjusted to the time change early! <LOL>

Seriously, maybe he's just going through a growth spurt or teething or something else that makes him wake up unhappy. Maybe he's hungry. Maybe he just wants mommy. So many things change during baby's first couple of years, and he will go through many more adjustments in his sleeping and other routines. Just listen to your mommy voice and love your little guy before he's all grown up.