Early Riser - Inver Grove Heights,MN

Why is he going to bed at 6-6:30? Push back his bed time and maybe he will sleep later. He doesn't need as much sleep as he used to. My 13 month old goes to bed at 8 and sleeps til 7:15.... That is music to my tired ears.

I think he needs to go to bed later. That sounds pretty early. My 2 yr old goes to bed at 930 and is up at 8

While I agree with others that he might need to go to bed later (my 1 was sleeping 8:30-6:30 or so...and not through the night at all...that was waking 2-3 times most nights), be aware that it might take a while to move that bedtime. My kids take almost a month of being tired to finally start sleeping in in teh morning. They are very aware of movement around the house, and they also appear to have very strong internal clocks--and once those clocks are set, they're hard to change (when my kids were up at 4:30, it took a month + to change then back to 5:30.

If he goes back to sleep til 6 or 7 most nights, AND takes a 2 hour nap, I'm amazed he's sleeping that much! You might be able to get him to sleep 6-7 at night IF he regularly goes back to bed, but to me, and in my house, that would be WAY more than I could expect my kids to sleep in one night.

Shari is right on the mark with her statement- when he cries and eventually gets fed, its teaching him that eventually he will get fed when he cries.

I too have a 13mo old that wakes up exactly at that same time (and I put him to bed at 8pm). We hated last night to let him cry it out- but after an hour of water and regular check-ins (and saying "no baba") he went back to sleep and slept until 6:30pm. We expect to train him for a week, and by next weekend he should be sleeping well. We did this same thing with our first, who is now 2, and didn't have the issue since.

It is NOT selfish to want a proper night's sleep. It's healthier for you and your child to get a full nights' rest, uninterrupted. Unless a child is sick or teething, they are developmentally able to get through a 10-11 hour stretch at night without waking.

Best of luck!

For a 1 year old he is going to bed pretty early. Slowly (15 minutes every week) move his bedtime back about a hour. It will take a little time, but eventually he should get used to the new schedule. Don't forget daylight savings is coming up in a couple weeks...that may make the transition a little harder.
Good luck!

I am not sure what you mean by "the only reason I get up with him is so I can go back to sleep". It sounds like a really good reason to get up. If you are getting an entire night except for 1 interruption to bottle him and get him back to sleep, you are the envy of many moms. I do wonder, though, if you have the potential to manipulate his schedule so that he doesn't go to sleep at 6/6:30. He is sleeping a perfect 9 hours through. It would be so great if that all started at 8 or 9.
Also, are you sure he needs to wean from a bottle just now? While it might be nearly time, he may not be quite ready if he is still needing one in the night. It may help to make sure he gets plenty during the day. I have had several children and none were completely weaned from breast or bottle until a few months past their first birthday.
About holding him until he goes back to sleep: In a busy house with children who are never babies nearly long enough I have come to love those middle-of-the-night moments when it is just baby and me more than almost any other moment of the day. It is almost reverent. This child so entirely wants me (not always true about my teens or even toddlers), I can totally comfort him, and nobody is breaking in to steal away my moment. I have found that the more I let go of my fixation on recovering my right to sleep through the night, the more I can concentrate on who my children are, what they want and need, and what special gifts they offer me every day. And the more that happens, the more beautiful every day becomes.

As you are discovering, letting him cry isn't solving your problem. My kids were night-wakers, and it sounds like your son is too. Letting him cry for 30 minutes probably just makes it harder for you to eventually settle him back down.

If he will go back to sleep with you holding him and stay asleep for a few more hours, I would definitely do that. Try going to him right away when he stirs instead of waiting until he has screamed for a long time. His and your sleep are likely to be less disrupted that way.

If he is getting molars or on the verge of learning to walk, you need to understand that night-waking is very normal when babies are in those phases. He doesn't know how to tell time, and when he wakes up he has no idea what time it is, so he's not going to "learn" that 3:30 am isn't wake-up time.

If molars seem to be the problem, you might throw a few clean, wet washcloths in the freezer and let him chew on one while you hold him in the middle of the night. But if he is really hungry, he may need a little snack to get back to sleep.

You have trained him to cry until you get up to give him a bottle. You would probably get more sleep if you get up right away and give him a sippy cup of water and let him get a drink then go back to bed and not get up with him again or if you do just offer water. After a few nights with nothing but water in a sippy cup, he will realize he isn't getting milk and go back to sleep on his own. If there is a dresser or something he can reach you could sit the no spill sippy on it and tell him if he wakes up he can get his own drink.. but this is for after he is use to only water at night.

Remember no matter what, this too shall pass and soon you won't get sleep because of him being a teenager and you will miss this time..lol.

B. , have you tried putting him down to bed a little later an hour later might make it easier for him to sleep throught the night. Also does he nap during the day? If he naps 2 times a day and goes to bed that early he may just need to have the amount of time he sleeps adjusted. Good Luck

Have you tried putting him to bed later than 6/630? I am guessing that he must nap at least in the afternoon, and because he's only 1, he probably skips his morning nap. If he is napping more than once during the day, that would be the problem. I don't think it's ever a good idea to make a little one cry it out so I never suggest that. It seems to me that you should try to keep him up an hour later than you currently are and see what happens then. 6/630 is a tad early I think, and you are soooo fortunate that he sleeps for such a long stretch anyhow at that age!

What about moving his bedtime back slowly, by 15 minute increments so that he sleeps later also? Then it wouldn't be a middle of the night feeding, it would be breakfast.

My son is an early riser too. We used to joke (although not so funny) that he loved to be awake at his birth minute. 4:28am.

We ended up becoming a co-sleeping family. He sleeps in later if he comes into bed with us. We have a big enough bed and I was just too exhausted to be getting up anymore. Now we enjoy it even though it felt as if we were giving in at the time.

I read somewhere that "whatever sleeping arrangement is safe and gives everyone in the family the best rest is what you should go with". That sticks with me whenever I question our decision to co-sleep.

I hope you find some arrangement that works for you and you can get some sleep in the early morning. I know how hard it is to be awake that early...every day.

Having an early riser myself, I absolutely understand. I agree with the others that 6/6:30pm may be a bit early for bed. Try pushing it back by 1/2 hour and see if that helps any. But it sounds like the morning nap is still a good idea because he is going back to sleep for a while. Maybe just cut naps back to 1 - 1 1/2 hours each (morning & afternoon). I believe our son didn't transition to one mid-day nap until at least 18 months.

The biggest suggestion is just have patients. If he goes down fine at night then in the morning it won't hurt for you to get up with him --- he'll eventually get it. It wasn't until about 6 months ago (2 1/2 yrs old) that our son started to understand needing to stay in his bed. What helped is that I bought a GOODNITE night light (can be purchased online). It was a little pricey but SUPER great for sleep training. Our son still gets up early (5:30/6am), but NEVER before than. Even if he is awake he stays in his bed.

My son is 16 months and goes to bed at 7:00 and wakes up at anywhere from 5 - 6 for a change and sippy cup of milk. There's nothing wrong with that - think of the time-span he's actually sleeping...12 hours is a long time to expect him to sleep without eating at all!

I would put him in bed later. I would start putting him in bed between 7:30 and 8 and see how that goes.

Have you thought about pushing his bedtime back an hour or so? 6 is early...I'm not bashing, I'm just wondering. I was having the same issues with my son, and I pushed his bedtime back to 9 and he sleeps now til 8.

B. -

My suggestions may or may not work for him. One is to try putting him to bed a little later (start with 15 - 30 minutes) also monitor how much he is sleeping during the day. If his naps are too long or he is doing more than one try to minimize that to maybe 1 2-3 hours nap a day. This may help. Also, make sure he is getting all of the oz. of milk he needs to, this too will help. Other than that, yes, let him cry for a while and see if he will go back to sleep.

Good Luck!

I would definitely try putting him to bed a bit later and see if that helps. Can you avoid changing him? For my son changing him made him REALLY wake up.
Also, can your husband go in instead of you? It always seems like my sons expect food when I go in, but not when Daddy does. I was breastfeeding, so I'm sure that's part of it, but even now my 3 year old behaves differently for his father than for me.
Letting him cry for hours is only going to make it tougher for him to go back to sleep.
Good luck!

I think you need to put him to bed a bit later. Try pushing it back 15 min per week until you get to about 7:00 or 7:30. That should help him sleep later in the morning.

Hi B.,

I think the problem may be that he is getting enough sleep at that point. Try putting him to bed a little later each night so that his bedtime isn't until 7:30/8pm. If he continues to sleep 9 hours, that would put his wake up time around 6am which is much more managable than 3:30/4am.

This process may take awhile. Hang in there. It will be worth the extra sleep.

C.