22 Month Old Waking Early

S.:
Is he in a big boy bed? If not, and he is still in the crib here is my advice: You do need to be totally consistent with bedtimes as much as you possibly can....it is usually a myth that if you put them to bed later they will sleep later...in my experience with 2 kids they still get up at the same time no matter what time you put them to bed. I would not even go in his room until a decent hour (you said 6:30a.m. was o.k.)and let him cry....he will either fall back asleep (my son did) or he will learn to play with his toys or books in his crib until Mommy comes and gets him....you can try explaining this...that Mommy will come and get him when it is time to get up. Also remember there was a time change....so perhaps he is still getting used to it? In any case, it takes 3-7 days to break his new habit....you have to stick to it and be cosistent or your life will be....well you know! And you have a newborn you are dealing with.....! Good luck...I've been there!

Few thoughts here - is your son getting a good amount of outdoor playtime (exercise and fresh air?) That always helps tire my son out and in return, keeps him sleeping a little later. Is there something going on in your neighborhood at 5 or 5:30? (My neighbor has a motorcycle and would leave at 4:30 every day one week - and as a result, my son was up at 4:30 every day that week.)

Depending on how long his naps are, maybe he's getting enough sleep and can be put to bed a little later so he'll sleep a little later.

Lastly, (and this is the most difficult to accept) his sleep patterns may have changed and there isn't much you can do. If he's in a big-boy bed, put a few toys in his room after he goes to sleep so that when he wakes up, he has something to play with. Occasionally the toy trick has worked for us - at least to buy us an extra 30 minutes of sleep which can, as you know, be priceless!

Is he still taking nap. if so you might want to consider doing away with the nap. Our son stopped taking naps before he was 2 years of age. Just one day he decided he did not need a nap any more.
The other thing is to try keeping him up a little later. I am a late sleeper and our son always stayed up till around 9pm when he was close to 2 years old. He would sleep 10 to 12 hours without any problems.

S.

S.
I have experienced the same problem with my daughter. The only thing that I have found that helps is to move the afternoon nap time a bit later. Example: If he usually goes down for a nap at 1pm, move the time to 1:30 or 2pm. I don't know why it works but it does. Good luck. I know those early am wake ups can be painful.