13 Mo Old Waking up at 5 Am -- Help!

Lay him down for the night later. My son is 15 months and goes down at roughly 8:30 and awakes at 6:30. I usually let him tell me when he is tired. I'd prefer he go down even later just so he sleeps longer in the morning. But he is uaully in bed with my other two by 9pm and my alarm goes off at 6:30, so if I can get a shower before he wakes up...it's a good morning.

N....

Around 12 months is when most children don't need 2 naps per day. Maybe he is getting too much sleep during the day and doesn't need as much at night. Try changing his daily routine to include 1 nap somewhere in between when he would take his 2 naps. My daughter sleeps 12-13 hours at night and also takes a 1 1/2 hour nap during the day. I started her on this schedule around 12 months and she will be 2 next month. Hope this helps!

He might be over-tired. If you are trying to extend his bedtime, plus he is walking (which can be tiring), he might be over-tired and just waking early because of that. Try and keep his bedtime the same for now, and if he seems tired earlier, put him to bed then. Sometimes putting them to bed earlier will help them sleep later! I don't thing he is ready to get up at 5 in the morning. When my daughter wakes up at that time, I just go in the room and sooth her a little, help her find her pacifier, sometimes give her a little drink of water or milk, and she goes right back to sleep. Try not to get him out of bed at this time. Rub his back or sometime and let him know that it's still nighttime and he needs to sleep a little longer. Then leave the room. Don't go back in unless he's really crying or something. You can also try to make his room darker by hanging darker curtains or something. It could be something outside that wakes him at that time. But try just helping him lay down again and see if that resolves things. But it's pretty normal about this age to start waking in the middle of the night again for a little while. New skills, new teeth, new situations, all make sleeping a little more difficult. Hope this helps! I know how frustrating it is when your kids wake up before you are ready.

If keeping your son up later doesn't seem to help him sleep in longer, I wouldn't do it. It'll just lead to less sleep. My 14 mo. old son was waking up at 6:00-6:30 am every morning regardless of bedtime. Rather than keeping him up through his cranky time, we put him to bed around 6pm and he is much happier. I agree with the previous poster that less sleep leads to an overtired baby that for some bizarre reason leads to even less sleep... a terrible cycle. My son will often wake around 4:45 - 5:15, he wines for about 5-10 minutes and then goes back to sleep for an hour. We have decided that we won't go in to get him before 6am regardless of what time he wakes. Good luck.

I think you are on the right track. My 15 month old does this from time to time, but usually he wakes up, doesn't cry but I can hear him babbling to himself- sometimes a good 20 min and then he'll go back to sleep until his usual wake up time. So, if he is not crying, try to let him go back to sleep and do your best not to go in and get him- I think that will just encourage him to keep getting up to see you. I do think walking might be contributing some. I'd also go back and look at his nap routine and just reexamine if that schedule is still working; for example, does he seem ready for a nap sooner than usual? later than usual? Do the naps need to be spaced differently? We've had to adjust nap times before around the time a motor milestone is achieved- I think when he learns something new, he wears himself out practicing, gets tired a little sooner and it's easy for him to get overtired and not sleep as well. We even reached a point at one time shortly after he started walking that he had to go back down for a nap like 70 minutes after waking up in the morning and he'd sleep for 3 hours, wake up for 2 and then take another 2 hour nap! It seemed like a ton of sleep but I guess he needed it. Good Luck!

I will tell you that we had the same issue! My daughter would go to sleep around 5:15 at night and get up at 5am. We tried to make her stay up later, but it was just unbearable and it was apparent she wanted to go to bed--she would grab her blanket and crawl or walk to her bedroom and sit by her bed. We just went by her schedule and put her to bed around that time, and eventually she adjusted it to 6:30 at night and would wake up at 6am. The early rising at 5 wasn't really a big deal b/c I get up at 5:30 for work anyway, but now that it is around 6 or 6:30 am, it has gotten better. My daughter is now 2 and she just started going to daycare, so she was cut from 2 naps during the day to 1 nap, and she still wants to go to bed very early--around 5:30 or 6 every night and sleeps a full 12 hours. I think she is just a sleeper like her father was when he was little. My best advise is to not strech uot the bedtime, b/c it will not make him sleep longer--at least in my situation--she just kept getting up at the same time! Eventually he will probably make his bedtime later as he gets older and probably sleep a little later--at least that is what my daughter did!

Hi there! I just wanted to let you know that there is a book that has helped with every sleep problem we have had in the last 21 months since my daughter was born. It's called "healthy sleep habits, happy child". The book does mention that OVERtired children tend to wake up in the night or early morning, so putting them to bed earlier usually helps.

I have not read the other posts yet, and I know this may sound counter-intuitive, but actually putting your child to sleep EARLIER and not later can sometimes work to have them sleep longer in the morning. Truly! It worked for us when our daughter was about that age. This goes along with some who theorize that you should not wait until your child is cranky - aka overtired - but put them down just before that time, if you can. Good luck! R.

Hi N.,
My kids both went through a phase like this. I put a book or 2 in their crib before bed so that when they would wake that early they could entertain themselves for awile. Most of the time they would go back to sleep. Sometimes they would cry but I never got my kids before 6. Also, putting him to bed later isn't going to help as you are noticing. My boys go to bed at 7 and 7:30. They are 22 months and 4 so I think that bedtime is good for him. Good luck.
Chris

Hi~
I didnt read the other posts but I would first try leaving him in bed. As long as he is not all out screaming and playing peacefully, there is a good chance that he'll go back to sleep. TONS of babies wake up early and then go back to sleep for a few more hours. Both of my youngest boys did this...and then usually slept til 830 or 900!! It takes a while for these little guys to perfect their sleeping skills so they need our guidance on when it is/isnt time to get up.
~L.

My daughter did this too, right around the time daylight savings was about to start. As soon as we switched, she thankfully started sleeping in later. It lasted about a month. Anyway, here's a link to my request for the same issue and the responses: http://www.mamasource.com/request/5912610386774851585

We tried quite a few of the suggestions, but maybe it was the time change or she was just ready to finally get some sleep. Who knows, but it did eventually stop. Hope you all get some sleep soon!

Most kids need 10 to 12 hours of sleep. I know that's early. My oldest wouldn't go to bed until 11-1am and was up at five. We found out later he had ADHD and other emotional disorders. I'm not saying that is what is going on with your child, I'm just using my son as an example. I would try to wait it out. It may be a phase. It also sounded like he still has two naps a day. Cut one of them out. The food thing may be the key and I think the idea of letting him put himself back to sleep is a good thing. Good luck.

Have you thought about eliminating the second nap? I think at about 1 year is when our daughter switched from 2 per day to 1 per day at noon.