Cannot Break 5AM Wake-Up Time...

[Selby]

My boy is 11 months old. For the last three weeks my husband and I have been trying to wean him off his early morning wake-up time, which is around 5AM. We've been trying to push him to 5:30AM.

Of course, we'd eventually like to push him even further - 6AM would be nice!

No luck so far. He still wakes up around 5AM (it's like clockwork!) and either cries or just sits there in his crib until we come and get him at 5:30AM. This has been going on for three weeks now. We're seeing no progress whatsoever.

Additional facts: He goes to bed between 7-7:30PM and <I>usually</I> sleeps through the night. His naps are less predictable - sometimes he'll take one 2 hour nap, or two 1 hour naps.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Kaytee]

The only advise I can think of is when he wakes up at 5, pick him up right away. Don't wait till he is screaming for you, but then bring him to bed with you and let him lay with you for a few minutes. We do this with Nichole all the time. She usually wakes up at 7, but the times when she wakes up at 6 or 6:30, she comes in my room (in a twin now, before I would go get her) and lay her down next to me and say night night. She would always lay there and suck her thumb with me for anywhere from 10-30 minutes/ Occassionally she will fall back to sleep but that is rare!

You may also try moving his bedtime up to 8 and see if that helps. That did not work for my dd though, she gets up at the same time every day no matter what time she goes to bed!

Good luck and hope to see you post some more

 

[Lissa]

My boy is 11 months old. For the last three weeks my husband and I have been trying to wean him off his early morning wake-up time, which is around 5AM. We've been trying to push him to 5:30AM.

Of course, we'd eventually like to push him even further - 6AM would be nice!

No luck so far. He still wakes up around 5AM (it's like clockwork!) and either cries or just sits there in his crib until we come and get him at 5:30AM. This has been going on for three weeks now. We're seeing no progress whatsoever.

Additional facts: He goes to bed between 7-7:30PM and <I>usually</I> sleeps through the night. His naps are less predictable - sometimes he'll take one 2 hour nap, or two 1 hour naps.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!

This sounds exactly like my son. He used to do that. I was a mean mom. I ignored him and he always went back to sleep. He goes to bed at 7:00 p.m. and wakes up around 7:00 a.m. I have a rule that I don't answer him before 6:00. Of course, if he's screaming and crying I answer him but that usually isn't the case.

 

[musicmom]

You could try a few things. Make his naps earlier in the day. I would only give him ONE nap and that would be around noon. Put him to bed a bit later.
Some tricks to help him sleep later would be to put a box fan in his room (it doesn't have to be blowing on him, it's just for the sound). You can also make his room dark(put a blanket over his window)use a very dim night light. Children can NOT get a good nights sleep with a bright room, some night lights are to bright.
If he starts sleeping later then you want him to sleep make sure you start to get him up at a regular time.
His little body will start to work on it's own clock.
I would start out with the first few nights doing a different routine. Keep him awake by playing. Then around 7pm I would give him a warm bath and read him a book and cuddle, maybe rocking him, also children sleep better with food in their tummy so a healthy snack could help. Then I would lay him down in his room with the noise of the box fan. If he cries, let him get himself to sleep (a child will usually not cry past 20 minutes) You can go in there and kiss him but do not pick him up and walk out (don't talk to him). He will get used to this within a few days to a week.

If your worried about him touching the box fan you can put up a baby gate in his doorway and put the fan outside the gate (you only want the noise)
The only downfall to the box fan is if you travel you may have to bring one with you because they will get use to the calming noise. Good luck.
I did this with all three of mine and they slept from 7pm to 7am. When they started to wake too early I cut out naps completly but that was when they were two.

 

[jenilouise]

You may have an early riser. Isabella always has been but she'd lay in bed and play quietly (we co-slept) and now she just grabs a book and reads quietly.

 

[Kaytee]

I have one too!! 6:30 this morning but someone sent her a memo that it was national whine day!!! uhg!!

 

[fallon]

Logan is bearly sleeping at all right now...he was up at 2:30 this morning until 4...

 

[Kaytee]

is he teething again?

 

[fallon]

I think so...plus he has a stuffy nose so we just aren't getting much sleep here these days

 

[fallon]

right after I posted I changed him and saw his 5th tooth is just through the gums on the top

 

[Kaytee]

we have a winner!!! lol them pesky teeth

 

[musicmom]

Try giving him Motrin and not Tylonol. Motrin is an anti-inflamatory and Tylonol is not.

 

[fallon]

would you believe there's actually 2 there...poor baby, we may never sleep again
Debralyn has lost 3 in the last 2 weeks. He's growing them as she loses them...lol

 

[Kaytee]

I didn't feel comfortable with motrim until Nichole was closer to 9 or 10 months old, but then since then I prefer Motrim

 

[fallon]

motrin is great for teething although I've never given it to Logan...I think Debralyn was almost a yr old before I gave it to her just to be safe

 

[AnthonysDad]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but my son is now almost 8 and still wakes up at 5am. It doesn't matter if I let him stay up until midnight, he still gets up at 5am. I don't understand it, but gave up on trying to fight it. I hope you don't end up with the same problems. Although now that he is older, he just gets up and gets himself cereal, takes a shower, brushes his teeth, gets dressed, then sits down and watches animal planet. When my alarm goes of, there he is, ready for school.

 

[Kaytee]

well that is great that he has learned to get himself ready so that you can sleep in to a normal hour!!

 

[FooserX]

Great for you Anthony!

Hopefully my son can do what yours did.

I just now got him to stay in his room when he wakes up at 5.

Before, he'd just come and stand by our bed and look at us while we slept. It was so creepy!

 

[Lissa]

Before, he'd just come and stand by our bed and look at us while we slept. It was so creepy!

That would be creepy. lol

 

[musicmom]

My daughter did that to me ONE time and it scared the living S**T out of me. It was like a horror movie. For a moment I didn't know if I was dreaming or if she was seriously just standing there looking at me!