Questiona About Sleeping

My grandmother always said that an overtired baby doesn't sleep well. It does seem to be true that if you put them to bed earlier, they sleep better and later.

Read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child

I know how frustrating it is when they wake up so early. My kids will go through stretches where they are waking up really early and then they return to their normal schedules. And babies and children do not sleep like adults, their patterns and sleep cycles are quite different so while it may seem illogical that putting them to bed early will help them sleep later, there is some truth to it. When my girls are waking up early it's usually because we've had some disruptions in our schedules. When children don't get the sleep they require they get deliriously giddy, usually misinterpreted as them not being tired at all, and then when they do sleep it's not as restful and they can't stay asleep as long. I don't know what time your kids usually go to bed, but I would aim for 8pm. If it's later than that, move it up by 15 minutes each day. If they go to bed around that time now and are waking up early, I would just keep them on the same routine. This too shall pass!

all i know was that at that age, if i put him to bed later, he woke up earlier. When i put him to bed at 7, he woke up at 7 or 8. If we let him stay up later, he definitely woke up earlier.

Good luck!

I swear it is true, the later my little one gets to bed the earlier he wakes up. The earlier (getting him to bed on time @ 7) he sleeps in later. He usually sleeps about 12 hours a night. I would not recommend keeping him up later to get him to sleep in, I did try that and it did not work and he ended needed two naps a day to make up for the lack of sleep. Good luck, but keep in mind this little bit of advice in mind (i received it from another mom on here and it worked). My guy was waking up early for a while it was like a little phase he went through but I was told not to go in his room and get him, to just let him babble and play and not to provide an "audience" he went back to bed and fell asleep and now he no longer wakes up too early. Good luck.

My sister told me a long time ago that "the more they sleep, the better they sleep" and I definitely agree with that!

It is true for my son. He just turned 2 last month. He normally goes to bed around 7:30 pm and sleeps until 7-7:30 am. If he does wake up in the middle of the night it is just for a drink and he goes right back to sleep. If he is up later...like 9:30 pm then he usually gets up around 6:00 am. It does seem to defy logic but for my son it is true.

Hi B.,
My daughter is an early riser. She always got up early. She has just recently been sleeping a little longer in the morning. I think they all go through stages of sleep. I think the theory of going to bed earlier is, your deepest sleep is in the beginning of the night, and if you get good rest during this period you sleep better.
I have always put my kids to bed early and with early risers, at least you know if they are going to get up early, than at least they got to bed early.
Good luck.

The theroy behind earlier to bed the better they sleep is that once a baby shows they are tired, they are too tired to allow themselves to go to sleep. If you get them in bed just before they get tired, they will go to sleep on their own and sleep better.
My son made a very nice schedule for himself so I don't know how true it is. I can say when he got overly tired he did sleep much worse than if we stuck to the routine.

B., my son, who is now 17...from the time he was about 18 or 19 months....I stopped needing an alarm clock. 5:30 a.m. on the nose...no matter when he went to bed. He is still a morning person! ha! I'm thinking some kids just get up early.

When he was older (3 or so) he continued but he was old enough that he would play with toys or come get in bed with me...I had some toys that I would keep...so he could be in bed with me (awake) and play with toys while I slept....not saying I am lazy....but there were some Saturday mornings that sleeping til 7 was nice...and having him right there...I wouldn't be in a "deep" sleep but cat-napped enough to feel like I was more rested while still having him close by me....

But get used to it....sometimes my son still wakes up before me (I wake up at 6) because that is just his personality.

Good Luck!

When my son was having difficulty I tried putting him down earlier and he started sleeping better. He was still pretty young though. I don't know if it works for older kids. Maybe start with 15 or 30 minutes earlier and see if anything changes. I have also let my son cry for up to an hour. It's the hardest thing to do but sleep is SOOO important for everyone in the house! Another trick to break the cycle that we used for awhile was waking HIM up. I usually put him down about 7. Before I would go to bed about 10 or 11, I'd wake him up, change him and give him some water. He was so tired he'd fall right back to sleep. I know it sounds strange, but the advice (I got on here) was that kids get into a habit of waking up after 2 or 3 times. The goal is to break the habit for them. It worked for us.
K.

When is he going to bed, waking up, and napping?

There are alot of really good books about getting your child to be a good sleeper. My advice, get one, read it, come up with your "plan of attack" and stick with it. The only way to get a child to be a good sleeper is consistency. Children live for it!!!

B.,

It does seem to defy logic, but it works. I asked this exact question three months ago about my then 10 month old waking up so early. It was suggested to me to try getting him to go to bed earlier. I had nothing else to lose but more sleep, so we tried it. We moved his bed time up 10 minutes a day for a week until he was going to bed an hour earlier than he had been. It was amazing how it worked. He now sleeps in until 7:30 and he had been getting up between 6:15 and 6:30. If for some reason we are unable to get him to bed on time he is up earlier. So yes it does work.

Good Luck
K.