Early Wake Up

Put some books in with him and explain that Mommy will come in after she has gotten up. Until then he can read quietly or play. Putting an alarm in his room to go off at 6 (or whatever time you chose) will help also. He will then know that not until the "bell" will you come in to get him. xo

With my daughter I would get up, change her, feed her and then put her back down and she would usually sleep until 8am. You just have to train yourself to go back to sleep. It is easy for me, but my husband can't go back to sleep once he is up. I know I couldn't sleep if I was in my bed hungry with and wet/dirty...nice and cozy and off to dreamland again!

My son is also 9 months and we have the EXACT same problem. It used to be 4/4:30 and it's improved to 5am with an occassional 6am. I've tried everything but like the others have said, his internal clock just seems to be set to this time. I definitely would not put him to bed later - I think that makes it worse. We are trying to give him time to learn how to fall back to sleep on his own.... I think you just have to continue to not go to him for a predetermined amount of time then be patient to give him time to learn. It's taking our guy awhile!!! But he's gone from crying to babbling to himself. Good luck and if you come up with anything that works, post it for the rest of us!!!

I'm having the same problem with my 20-month-old, and in addition, his early waking is causing his 4-year-old sister to wake as well :-(. It's driving me crazy. So thank you for posting this question. I'm hoping to find a solution to this, too.

If you can't change his schedule, you have to change yours. You go to bed earlier so you're rested enough o give proper care to baby without him crying for half an hour. When he naps during the day, you nap too.

Hi M.,

I wanted to share with you a sleep resource I used for my daughter. Have you heard of or read the book "On Becoming Baby Wise"? If not, it is EXCELLENT and has been VERY helpful for me, in getting her to sleep through the night and establish good sleep & eating habits. My daughter is 12 months old. She goes to bed between 7:30/8pm and wakes up between 6:30/7am. She takes 2 naps during the day about 90 minutes each. Sometimes she will wake early b/c of a Poopy diaper, but then there are mornings when I wake her up.
The book talks about the importance of establishing a routine and sticking with it b/c your child's eating habits will have a direct impact on his sleep patterns. If you have time check it out. You can go online to Amazon and read the reviews.

I think it is good your child is sleeping through the night. At his age he should be getting between 10-12 hrs of sleep, so he is doing good, but might be waking early b/c of hunger. I brought this book when my baby was 2 months old and I still refer to it today. It has proven to be a good reference book for both sleep & eating concerns. I hope this is helpful.

1st time mom of 1 who is 1.

My son goes to bed at 7:30pm and wakes up at 5am. I was told this is normal, as he is getting over 9 hours of sleep. (This is considered sleeping through the night)
I think putting the baby to bed later backfires, he would still wake up early and then he'd just be extra tired since he didn't get enough sleep. I try to go to bed earlier or trade off getting up with him on the weekends with my husband so one of us gets a little more sleep. Good luck!

My 10 year old daughter used to wake up between 5-5:30 every morning until about a year ago. It didn't matter what time she went to bed she woke up at the same time. I think her internal clock was set just a little differently than mine. When she turned 9 she suddenly went into a "teenager" sleep pattern: no matter how early she goes to bed she struggles to get up in the morning...... now that I'm on an early morning wake-up schedule.

You could try keeping him up even later - say 9pm or so. Otherwise I would suggest you go to bed with him so you're awake and refreshed at 5am!

put music on continous play all night long the same CD. You can buy a CD player that will do this.

Put a fan on also.

Make his room really dark - I suggest putting up black felt over the windows. Buy some felt that is at least 12 inches wider and taller then the window. Attach the scratchy part of some self adhesive velcro to the window frame. The felt will stick to this velcro really easily and you can take it down easily too.

I bet those three things will make the issue go away.

Also, for a child 9 hours a night, even if they are getting 2 naps during the day, that is not enough. The average child needs minimum 10 hours a night, most need closer to 12.

I agree with the room darkening shades. Also, see if your child is cold. The body's temperature is the lowest right before waking up in the morning. You could try flannel sheets or warm pajamas. Also, is it noisy in the room? These constant morning wind and rain storms are waking my kids up, but they are older. You could try some soft music all night. The same classical music or lullaby music every night can give a feeling of comfort and consistency.

Good luck

If he's going to bed around seven to expect him to sleep until 6 is a little much. That would be 11 hours of continuous sleep. My son is 15 months and he typically sleeps from 10-6or7. Sometimes he's very sleepy around 7pm. On those nights I go ahead and let him tak about an hour long nap and then wake him up for a tubby and cup (about and hour and half process). I think that a later bed time can be helpful. I'm guessing your little one takes a long morning nap, mine used to, maybe you should cut that out. I don't think at 8 monthes he can understand entertain yourslef so that Mommy can sleep. I also don't think that I'd be able to let my son cry for 1/2 an hour. Fuss is one thing, but there's no way I'd let him cry that long. If you can't reset his internal clock, maybe you should adjust your schedule. If he's asleep at 7, mabye you should go to bed at 9 to get your 8 hours in. What do you think will be easier/harder in the long run? I'm an adult I can adjust pretty easily, but it's hard to change things up on my little one.
Just my thoughts, every one out there probably thinks I cater to my child too much, but I knew when I got pregnant that my life would never be about me again, and I love focusing on my child.

My son is doing the early wake-up too. I've talked to many other parents who have said their child did this for a few months as well, and they eventually grew out of it. My son is almost 16 months, and we've been doing the early mornings since December. It used to be 4:30 every morning, but recently it's moved to 5 or 5:30 and sometimes even 6 or 6:30!!! Exciting, I know. I'm waiting for him to outgrow this stage too!

My little one will be 9 months in 1 week and he is getting up earlier and earlier. I think it is their internal clock. My only recomnedation would be to try and give a litte more food/creal at dinner time so he is not waking up hungry. Good luck.

My son did the same thing. He would go to be at 6:30, because he couldn't stay awake any longer. Then, he would be up anywhere from 4:30 and 5:30 am. I was so tired!! But, eventually he grew out of it. We also got him room darkening shades. That helped too. He's 13 months now and he goes to bed around 8 pm and gets up at 7 or 7:30 am. Much better now.