5 a.m. Waking

OK, a 4yr old should definitely NOT be getting a bottle anymore whether she is adopted or not. There are definitely cups that can work in the middle of the night. My 7yr has always gone to bed with some sort of cup with water with a spill proof lid. NEVER a bottle. By one, bye bye bottle!!! Since she is just about 4 or might be 4 by now she could definitely be sleeping in her own room by now that could be part of the problem.

You could also try one of the clocks that shows nighttime and daytime but the parents can set the time when the daytime scene will appear. that way you train your little one it's not time to get up until they see the sun on the clock.

I have a 4 1/2 year old who likes to wake up early as well. I've never been an early riser but it's been even worse since we had our second child and I'm up through the night. I set guidelines with my daughter like you can come wake me up when the sun is up. She plays quietly in her room until that time. Plus daddy doesn't leave for work until 6:30am. Anyway, I think a child is capable to play for a little while alone. I do have a question about feeding her a bottle, isn't she a little too old?? We have to be consistant with our kids, so if you want her to be a "big girl" playing on her own then maybe a bottle isn't a good idea!

With respect to the bottle - you could always leave something in the fridge she can get in the morning. She's old enough to be able to open the fridge and grab it out. That's what my 4 year old does. I leave a straw cup with milk in it for him in the fridge and he just opens the fridge and grabs it out.

No, not if the room is very child proof.........where is the TV? You want to make sure that she can't pull it down on her.........if she tries to climb, or whatever, kids have been killed by having TV's fall on them............

Have you tried to let her go to be a bit later than normal? Is she being active after supper until about an hour before bedtime?

If she does nap, how long do you let her nap? Since it is summer, let her play outside most of the day, skip the nap, and keep her up until her scheduled bedtime and see if that makes a difference.........'

Good luck and take care.

I kind of agree with Donna...Maybe you need to elaborate little more with us to understand the co sleeping still and a bottle still at four years old?(all though it is truly your business but when you ask a question sometimes question are asked back just to clarify) and I she should be fine if she knows how to play on her own during the middle of the day... she is four and not 4 months right? (not trying to be smart either just checking you typed age right)

I think she is old enough to play in her room til you get up. my daughter just turned two and she has been playing in her room and/or watching tv til i wake up. I do have a gate up in her room, but your 4 year old may be able to scale a gate,. Although a 4 year old won't get into stuff like a 2 year old would.

All people, as they move toward their wake-up time, start to sleep more lightly, and maybe there is something that is waking her at this time.

That being said, at age 4, she should not be getting a bottle. A cup of water is okay, but bottles are bad for teeth formation and the general rule is to eliminate bottles after the baby turns 1 year.

10 to 12 hours is the norm for 5-year-olds; some 5yo will need more and some might need less. If you want her to sleep past 5 am, you might want to move the bed time back an hour or so.

I've heard of moms and dads using a special light on a timer--when the light goes on, that means it's time to get up. If it's off, it means its night time. If the room she plays in is thoroughly safety-checked, and you set rules on what she can do, I would think that might work. Make sure that all other areas are blocked off though - bathrooms, other rooms, and the stairs. I, myself, would be worried about the mischief our little one would get into regardless, so I think I would opt for moving the bed time back and make sure she plays outside a lot (to get her good and tired).

This isn't directly to the point, but at age 4, even though she gave up a nap, in place of a nap, she can do quiet time instead. You'll have to get her started on an activity (drawing or reading, or some other "quiet play") and start out with only a few minutes of QT and gradually work up to 20-30 minutes or whatever.

I have to say, I was really surprised at how judgmental one or two of the responses were....If you're happy with co-sleeping, and your daughter is, that's fine. And frankly I think only early morning people like getting up at 5 am generally....

Hi, L.:

Is there some reason you all have kept her co-dependent?

Is there some reason that you don't get up with her and start your
day?
Just want to know. What you wrote sounds strange to me.
D.

Well I am not a morning person and when I was pregnant with my son, my then 2 year old daughter would get up and play in the living room and I would have a sippy of something in the fridge for her. I would also leave a bowl of cereal out for her, dry of course. Now she is 5 and my son is 2 and now they get up and play in the morning. My 2 yo is usually up first and helps himself to a sippy of milk in the fridge. I also leave the TV on a kid friendly channel before I go to bed so that if one of them turns it on, they have something okay to watch. They also both know how to put a dvd on and that happens occasionally. I coslept with my daughter until my son was born, and would have longer if he had not come along. I doubt that has anything to do with this, but I would worry about the bottle of milk. They have sippy cups with a soft spout you can transition to, and I would show her where it is in the fridge and tell her when she wakes to go get it. I still use foogo straw cups for my 5 yo because of spilling but she drinks from a regular cup at meals. I would use a sippy of some sort as opposed to a bottle, so she doesn't spill it when you are still sleeping but she still gets her milk. My son has a spout sippy of water in bed with him and a staw cup for when he wakes. Good luck!

Yes, my daughter is 4. When I need to sleep a little more, she takes her little brother down to the kitchen, pours their sippy cups (hates if I prep them the night before because SHE wants to pour them..., and turns on PBS. Today I came down and they had built an entire barbie city out of DVD cases (guess they were up a while...Papa's gonna be pissed, so much for alphabetical order...but I neeeeeeed my sleep....) It saves my sanity some days. Yes, she's old enough!

My oldest is 6 and I still make sure to get up with him because he is now entering a new phase of "i can do it" whether that is cook breakfast (yikes!) pour milk (all over the floor) or work the TV (who left that on HBO last night?) LOL!
Only to say adjusting bedtime might help her to sleep a bit longer or she may just get up that early (my 3 yo gets up at 6 am no matter what time we put him to bed).
I just had a thought though. . . does she have a space of her own a room/play room? You could set a routine/rules that if she wants to set out some books, games, colors (you may end up with wall art though) she can get up and play in the designated area until you are up. . . that could help eliminate some of the "trouble" she could get into on her own.

I am assuming that you put her down around 7. Can you try to go as late as 9? She will sleep longer in the morning.

I am not trying to be mean, but i never heard of a four year old with a bottle. She is way to old. She will be in kindergarten next year. She needs to be a big girl.