2 Yr Old Keeps Waking up Very Early

my daughter just turned two... regarding the molars, you'd likely notice him also putting his hands in his mouth more often, etc. anyways... the other advice is good...but no one mentioned the idea of "talking with him about it." i don't think he's too young for this though you may have to do it over a couple days/mornings and with patience/calm approach. when he does this, climb into bed with him (or lay with him if possible) and talk with him about "why did you wake up?" maybe you "recount" his day, ask if he had a dream? was he too warm? did he hear a noise? is he hungry? and so on... in an attempt to see if you & he can solve this together. it will also give you a chance to let him know that "you've woke up too early" "everyone is still sleeping" "it's still nigh-nigh time." ask if he understands this? tell him the impact this has on the family (i.e. Mommy/ Daddy have to go to work & we all need our sleep) if he does understand then leave the room and let him drift back to sleep/ self soothe to sleep (i.e. CIO)... or give him something "low key" to play with til he drifts off...nothing to stimulate him or that feels like a reward for being up. Just another angle/ approach to consider.

Does he make much noise when he is up at this time?

My little one was doing this. I just left him alone. Yes, he did cry but that stopped. He also talked to himself as well but not to loud.

I also found if I leave a book, toy or something he can play with he is much less noisy.

Have you tried going over your nightime routune? That might work.

I would make sure that he can't get out of his room and has toys that he can play with. Use the light on a timer trick, it really does work. The first few nights, go in and tell him that his light isn't on, it's not morning yet so he has to stay in his room... he will probably be mad and throw a terrible two tamtrum, but just give him a toy or put him in his bed and leave the room shutting his door behind him. It will take a couple of days of this and then he will stop throwing the tamtrum (as long as you stick to it and don't go back in his room until his light comes on). You might not be able to go back to sleep, but it will only be a fews days, hang in there.

Of course, you first need to make sure there isn't something else going on... if he has a cold, it could just be that he is uncomfortable and waking himself up. It usually takes 2 weeks for schedule changes to become "normal". So, if you try shorter naps or anything else, make sure that you do it for a straight 2 weeks. You won't know if it works otherwise.

Good luck!

Does he have any food allergies, intolerances or reflux? My daughter always wakes up at the same time also. She has reflux/asthma issues. We are still trying to resolve the cause of her reflux. Anyway, she has been on prevacid for over a month now and after two weeks she is now sleeping through the night.

Does he have his two-year molars yet? If not, they might be coming in and bothering him. See if you can feel them, and if so give him a little children's motrin or orajel.

I agree with making him stay in his room (hopefully---eventually---faling back to sleep until it is morning/light comes on/sun shines in/etc.). It's kind of like revisiting the "cry it out method" but for a toddler. If you stick with it, it should work. Start on a Friday night so that you have the whole weekend to hopefully make some impact.

One more thought...could his molars be coming in? The only time my 17 month old wakes in the middle of the night 'like clockwork' is when she has a tooth coming in. It often lasts for a week or two. If memory serves (though it was six years ago with my other kids), aren't the two-year molars pretty big/painful? They may take a while longer to come in and be more painful. If that is a possibility, try some children's motrin one night and see if that throws his wake-schedule into a different (better) pattern.

Good luck!

Plug a lamp in his room to a timer, and tell him it's not time to wake up until his light comes on (you get to choose the time;). This worked SO WELL for us -- and when his light came on, often he would play quietly in his room until I came downstairs. Good Luck!!! :)