Toddlers Waking up TOO Early

Hello,
My daughter, Samantha, is 20 months old. She usually sleeps it through the night and takes naps. She stopped taking long naps and she started waking up at about the same time, 5:30. I think that she grew and then had a bunch of energy keeping her awake. All I did was for about 2-3 days I didn't let her take a nap and then she started taking her naps again. I also kept her up later and made her play harder. It worked. Hope this helps.

It could be the development milestone of getting out of the crib has disrupted the sleep patterns. I would wait a few more days and see how it goes. She might go back to sleeping longer. That being said, would she sleep a bit longer if you brought her in with you?

Hi A., kids go through may sleep habits, so here's whay you do, set an alarm, play the alarm so the twins will know what it5 sounds like, make sure they understan that until they here the bell, they can not come out of their room, this has worked for many people whoi have small children and like to sleep in a little on the weekends. J.

If you think getting them out of the crib would help the situation, or stop them from possibly getting hurt, take a rail off or put the mattresses on the floor. If they start getting out before going to sleep, stand by the door and EVERY time they get up go put them back in bed. The first time, remind them it's bedtime. After that, doen't say a word to them, just pick them up and put them back in bed. They will get it figured out.

As for the mornings, their sleep deprivation will catch up to them or their escape method will get old. Keep on!

If your twins are waking up naturally and aren't fussy or cranky during the day, I wouldn't worry about them not sleeping the "required" number of hours.
Perhaps you can put some books in their crib for them to "read" quietly when they wake up so they are not disturbing anyone else in the house.

My toddler too has been waking up way too early. Sometimes 5:15am even. My advice goes against what you would think, but an earlier bedtime has worked for us. This advice comes from 'Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child'. It sounds crazy, but when we were strict on getting her to bed earlier (6pm vs. 7pm) she eventually started sleeping later. And her naps got better. May be that sleep begets sleep. That book was recommended to me by multiple moms who only use that book and I have found it to be very helpful. He recommends moving bedtime up even just a half hour. Good luck!

I don't know if this will help with the early waking, but I know places like Babies R Us and Toys R Us (maybe Target/Walmart too) sell crib tents that won't allow them to climb out of the crib. At least that might help with one issue! I haven't had to try one yet, so I'm not sure how effective they are or if your kids will respond well to them.

I would get crib tents. They're little mesh "tents" that you can put over the top of the crib so they can't climb out. If they figure out that there's nowhere to go, I bet they'll start sleeping again. Good luck! :)

My daughter is only 9 months but I can tell you that 5:30 a.m. doesn't work for me now, and it won't ever in the future. I would rather keep her up late than get up that early. My guess is you could keep them up later and while it might take awhile- perhaps as long as it would if you moved/traveled and experienced a time change, it would be worth it not to deal with those early hours. Also, are they getting as much activity during the day? Just a thought. Good luck and I'm sorry you received that response- happened to me once too!

Our kids share a room and do that/did that. I think they are excited about their newfound abilities. Sometimes they still do it. Just keep taking them back to bed, and hopefully they will get the sleep they need and figure it out.

Good luck,
T. Cota
Local Childcare Coordinator
Cultural Care Au Pair
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I have had the EXACT same problem... except that my daughter (just a month or so younger than yours) just transitioned into her big girl (toddler) bed, and while she used to sleep until 8, she started getting up earlier each day, and this morning she got up at 6, and I was like "no way." However, I tried this with her a few months ago and the same thing happened, so I was prepared this time. I think that, once they figure out they can get up on their own, their desire for freedom trumps their need for sleep. Izzy was also napping either not at all (she would get up and play in her room) or much shorter. I basically have had a no tolerance policy towards it- for the time being, at naps and at bedtime, I leave her door open about 5 inches and sit outside her door (I don't plan on doing this long, just until she gets used to the idea that I am watching and she can't get away with it) where she can't see me but I can hear/see enough to know if she is in bed or not. If she gets up I put her back without saying anything to her. And when she gets up too early in the morning I tell her "it's still time for sleeping" and walk her right back to her bed, then I go back to bed. The first few mornings I didn't get much sleep and she kept getting up, but I kept doing it- I also wasn't as strict in the mornings, if she got up and played in her room I didn't go in unless she was being loud. But this morning when she got up at 6 I put her back to bed and we both went back to sleep until 8. It was great! While I don't think an earlier bedtime will help, I do think it is related to lack of sleep because they start getting up earlier, then they would rather play than nap, and it becomes cummulative. That was why I decided to be such a nazi about bed and nap time for the time being, so I know she's getting the sleep she needs and hopefully is getting in the habit of staying in her bed. You may also want to try a later bed time, but it probably won't help much.

Hi A.
A good friend of mine had the same problem with her son so she bought a "net" that goes across the top of the crib. I don't know if you've seen these but they sort of look like a mesh tent. It zips closed so they can still see out they just can't get out. He actually loves it now and every night before bed and before naps he says "shut please" so he knows it's supposed to be zipped up.

About the shorter naps, my son did the same thing and I think it's probably a growth spurt. I play ambient noise in his room and play it on the loud side, it has helped with his sleeping a little longer each day. I think as they get older they just don't want to miss anything and they know they are missing out of something when they are sleeping.

I totally understand. My 2.5 year old works like clockwork but gets up between 6 and 6:30, but he started waking up at 5 one day...too early for me yes, but my concern was the same, NOT enough sleep. My husband starting taking his pillow and laying on the floor in his room and telling him that he had to stay there. It took about a week but it eventually worked for us. I don't know if that will work but stick to your guns--they definitely need a lot of sleep! :)

I also saw that some people said "put them down later". Be weary of this--at least you need to know your own children--because mine, if I put them to bed late and they're overtired they will wake up EARLIER than normal. Some kids will sleep longer if they are tired, but mine don't! My two year old goes to bed early (7-7:30) and wake up about 11-12 hours later...If I stick him in bed at 9 or 10, still 6-6:30 wake up time IF NOT EARLIER. ;) So,just watch your own kids--you know when they're overtired, or doing well! :)

Good luck!

My 27 month old went thru the same sleep pattern, all of a sudden she started waking before the sun came up and the nap was reduced to an hour. All I can say is my daughter is ok and she goes to bed about 8pm. Not sure you can make them sleep any longer, maybe give them something safe in the crib to play with if they wake up so they dont get out of the crib to early. My daughter now sometimes sleeps longer, might just be the idea of them having choices on when to wake. If they are thriving and doing well I wouldnt worry about getting 10 instead of 13 hours of sleep a day. I would olve to turn back time to the days she slept FOREVER, but things change to often with little ones...as you know.

My 19 month old twins are pretty early risers. The one who actually sleeps through the night (yipee!) only sleeps 9 1/2 hours. STrangely enough once he started sleeping through the night his naps went from 45 minutes (ugh!) to 1 1/2 hours and now are almost always closer to 2 hours. Our pedi says if he is not cranky from the lesser than normal sleep (but he is still normal - just on the low end) than it is enough sleep for him.

P.

Hi A.,
Try crib tents that fit over the top of the crib so your toddlers can't climb out. You can buy them at The Right Start Stores or online at www.onestepahead.com

Good luck,
E.

I just want you to know that you are not alone. I have tried everything with my little guy. The time change realy messed with him.
I do have a bed time and nap time routine that now makes it a bit easier to put him to bed, but it does nothing for keeping him there.
Sorry i'm no help.
Take care

A., I'm so sorry you recieved such unconstructive critisim! Please don't stop posting questions! At ages 2-3, most toddlers need from 9 to 12 hours total sleep, according to what I've read, with one nap in there somewhere. Yours might just be moving to the lesser end as they transition. If 5:30 doesn't work for you, and it wouldn't for my family either, then you might try a later bedtime. A few of my friends went through this, and had to make the decision to either go to bed earlier and enjoy the sunrise or to gently adjust the kids bedtimes to a bit later and get more evening playtime and less mommy/daddy time. However, some people's natural time clock is set for a certain wake up time, and you might just have a pair that are set early. In that case, trying to adjust their bedtime may not work. Be sure to use your kid's pedatrician as a resource, they might have some ideas also!

A.,

Not all doctors know what is best for YOUR children. Your children will have their own sleeping habits. Children know how much sleep they want or need. One thing you might try is not give them a nap in the afternoon. My children stopped taking naps at 18 months. They sleep all night.

If they get cranky, just let them sleep for 45 min in the afternoon. I also have one that will not sleep. He is 13 yrs old and gets only 3-5 hours a sleep at night.

You know your children better than anyone else. See what happens when they don't have a nap. That is probably all they need.