18 Month Old Waking at 4Am!

We go through this occasionally with my son. I think it is more likely to occur when they are overstimulated or going through a developmental change. With my son, it took a few weeks, but we'd stay in his room with him and let him know it is still "night, night" time. At first, he'd have a fit and I'd try to just stay calm with him, reassure him, pat his back, etc. After a few days of it, he fought us less. We had an easier time when our son was still in a crib, and it takes a little more work now that he is in a big boy bed.

We have also recently thought through what we do before bedtime and lengthened the routine. Our son loves to wrestle, but we started making sure we don't get too wild with him after 7:30. We spend more time reading books, doing puzzles, and playing calmly before bedtime. Also, we realized that with our transition to his big boy bed, we had taken out his night light and started leaving the door open since he was getting out of bed and playing with it. I think the extra light was too stimulating for him. We added back a dim light that was safe for him and only crack his bedroom door, so that overall it is darker.

After a few weeks, he's starting to sleep past 6:00 and often until 7:00. We had tried the later bedtime as well with no improvement, and after a week or so, we'd catch him falling asleep in the car, being a little more short-tempered and he was definitely not getting enough sleep. So, I'd stick with his normal bedtime and even moving it earlier as the other moms suggested.

Good luck! It will pass even though there is no consolation in that when you're sleep deprived.

You might try putting one of those toys in his crib he can turn on and it will make music or bubbles. My 18 month old wakes up anywhere from 4-7 am but he just turns his music on and usually he goes back to sleep. I never take him out before 7 and he never cries, since he's occupied by the music. On the other hand, since I hear it through the monitor it often keeps me awake too but you can always turn the monitor down a bit. Don't know if your son will like it but it's worth a try.

I agree with the previous mom's advice. Put him down around 7:30 or 8 for a few nights and see what happens. 8:30 or 9 sounds pretty late for an 18 month old. If nothing works, it is probably just a phase. You could let him watch a video in your room while you get a little more sleep. It might buy you 30-45 more minutes of sleep. Good luck!

What time does he go to bed normally? You said that you've pushed the time later, but what about earlier? It seems counter-intuitive to do that, but it's what worked for my daughter. She now goes to bed between 6 and 7 pm and will sleep until 6:30 a.m.