1 Yr Old Waking up at 4:30Am for the Day!

We went about month waking up at 4am on the dot! Ugh, it sucked. 5am I can handle, but 4am is rough.

I would just keep doing what you are doing, minus the crying....personally I don't believe in cry it out.

This too shall pass I promise. 1 year olds are just at a great phase of life. Things are happening so quickly to them. Walking, learning, teething that the world is a great place to be awake.

Can you put him in bed with you and doze? Can you put a mattress in his room and doze with him or doze while he is doing his own thing?

It really won't last long. Just hang in!

He may be going through a growth spurt and is waking up because he can't wait to get the day started. He loves standing walking looking and learning. He does not want to miss out on anything.

Maybe today see if you can push his nap an hour later. then tonight his bedtime 45 minutes later.

The other thing to remember is that he needs way more physical activity now than he used to . He is stretching and growing and has extra energy. Get him outside for a longer play time in the morning and again this afternoon. I know it is hot in the afternoons so consider going to the pool or letting him play in a small pool.. Have him carry buckets of water back and forth. Have him search for his toy in a spot further from him.. Wear him out... He will sleep even better and will be growing right before your eyes..

Hi J.,
My son was going through the same thing not long ago. He's 15 months. He was already on one nap and I couldn't figure out what was going on. Could he be teething? Dreaming? Both my sons went through this around this age and my older one (4 1/2 yrs. old) is still a dreamer (and screams out in the night...scares the daylights out of me sometimes LOL). Anyway, the little one must have been going through a growth spurt because he was eating an insane amount of food and a couple times (during these 5 am wake up calls) would go back to sleep around 9:30am and after 1 1/2 - 2 hours, he'd be up for the day!!! I also noticed that he wasn't fully awake when I went in. I tried not to pick him up. If he reached for me I'd lay him back down and rub his back (and his sound machine). If he really started ramping up, I'd pick him up, but more often than not, he would just lay back down. It was clear something was waking him and that he didn't want to be awake anymore than I didn't want him to be awake. I never really found out what it was. It took a few weeks but then it just stopped! Maybe another momma can help you more than I could. Just wanted you to know you're not alone. Good luck.

Wow, I never gave my girls at that age more than one nap. Also I never put them down to be before 8:00 pm. Sounds to me like he is getting way to much sleep during the day and going to bed way to early at night. Stop one of the day naps and try putting him down at 8:00 and see how that works. He should sleep in longer if you do this.

Just because he's awake doesn't mean he needs to be up. Just learn to live with the crying. You can learn to even sleep through it once you know he's safe and dry. I believe you should change him and offer safe toys, a night-light, white noise, etc. Beyond that, stay in your room and DON'T get him out of the bed. I lean over the cribs and change them where they are at. I change them only by the light of the night-light and I don't talk at all. Any night-light is tiny and puts out VERY LITTLE light. My kiddos play quiet, talk to themselves, etc. They learn that I will come and check their pants. But that's it. At first he'll cry a lot. Once he figures out what the routine is and that you can't be manipulated, he'll get with the program.

Oh my God. That was the worst phase. The "Hi mom, I'm awake and want to play/cuddle/nibble on food/play/PLAY" at 5 am phase. Ugh. I am not a morning person.
Both my boys went through this. They are now 5 and 3. We just kept up the same routine at night as far as bedtimes and didn't mess with the naps. My DH or I would take one for the team and get up with them to sit quietly with as little stimulation as possible. Eventually it evened out. My 5 year old is still an early bird and up by 6:30. My 3 year old generally sleeps until 7.
Just wait it out. Try not to show him it is fun to get up and that you aren't going to play. Good luck!

you put him to bed awfully early for a child that takes two naps during the day. A 1 to 2 year old only requires 10-13 hours of sleep total including naps so if your child is going to bed is sleeping 7-430 that is 9.5 hrs then add in his naps and he is getting what he needs for sleep. If you want him to sleep more you need to cut out one nap or shorten the ones he is already taking. My youngest stopped napping altogether at 18 months because when he napped he would wake up around 4 am maybe its just me but I'd rather have a child sleep 7pm-7am and be a little cranky in the afternoon then put a cranky child down for a nap and have to be up at 4 am. You are expecting your child to sleep too much.

I'm looking into the past here when my 3rd son, (4th child), did this exact same thing. How I look at it now is that I treasure those wonderful hours where I was able to sit in the rocking chair with him while we were both 1/2 asleep and gently come awake into the day. This is my most treasured memory of his babyhood/childhood. He is 29 now and I still get that warm, fuzzy feeling when I remember this special time. Just another way of looking at this issue.

Hey J., my son started this same exact exercise about a month ago. His nap schedule sounds exactly the same as yours and his bedtime is the exact same. He started waking up at 5am instead of 6am and it was exhausting for both of us. We tried a whole ton of things but ultimately what worked was leaving him alone until 6am in his crib. When he woke up I would go in and make sure all was okay. Give him his pacifier, put a blanket on him and then leave the room. He would cry and then calm and then repeat the cycle. After about 5-6 days he started sleeping about 15 minutes later in the morning and then about every 2 days or so he would sleep another 15 minutes later. We are now back to a 6am wake up. Not sure if this will work for you guys but I definitely think it is just a phase that they go through. Good luck and I hope he starts sleeping a bit later for you!

I would either shorten his naps or only let him have one. I would first try shortening his naps, if he sleeps two hours each nap, only let him sleep for one hour each nap. Sounds like he's getting too much sleep during the day.

There is a great book...in paperback...red cover...How to Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems. I found it to be a great help through many time periods in parenting. Good luck!

Both of my kids took two naps a day until they were 18 months old. They were in bed by 7:30-8pm and slept until 6:30-7am. I think your little one still needs to have two naps, but perhaps go to bed later. If I remember correctly, my kids napped at 9:30-11am and again from 2-3:30pm and then in bed for the night around 8pm. That schedule seemed to work very well. They are now 3 and 5 and are still in bed by 8pm sharp. Plus, they both still nap for me, which is great!!! Hope this helps some and best of luck!! :)