5:30 Am Wake up Call

my daughter did that and I would try to let her talk herself back to sleep until a little later. It worked and she now wakes around 7am. She now goes to bed at 8pm and sleeps till around 7am. She sometimes wakes around midnight and babbles herself back to sleep. Also at 5 months, you can let her cry a little. I judge what the crying sounds like. If it is just the complaining cry, then I let her go for maybe 10 mins.

My younger son, now almost 22, always got up at 5 am! He also went to sleep at 7 pm, no matter where he was! This was his routine for a long time. It was quite different from my older son, he got up about 10 am and went to sleep about midnight or after! My grandson gets up between 7 & 8 am, and goes to bed between 7 & 8 pm. You can slowly adjust her times by about 15 to 30 minutes if needed.

I think its noraml. My kids did it and now they are 7 and 5 and still get up between 530-630 which is fine because they are in bed by 730 then.

My son use to sleep all nite aslo than started waking up early,so what I did was made sure he was not wet,gave him an warm bottle then put him back to sleep.

This is totally normal! Expect your baby's schedule to change often. Try feeding her and putting her back down. It might not work though. I usually laid mine back in bed with me and fell back to sleep with them. I had one that woke up at 5:00am everyday around that age. Now she's 11yrs old and I can't wake her up! She'd sleep till 10:00 if I let her! They go through so many different stages, just try to enjoy them as they come.

Our 5 1/2 month old DD usually wakes up 5-6 am. I think this has a lot to do with the time I wake her up during the week to feed her before I go to work. Here is our typical schedule.

9pm last feeding and put to bed
5:30-6am wake to feed and put back down
8am wake to leave the house
1pm nap

On the weekends or if DH doesn't go into work for a bit (he takes her with him) she will sleep until around 9am, waking up once around 6am.

Like most have said, each child is different. Our DD has been on this schedule, with minor variations, since she was 2 months old. Talk about lucking out.

Not only does each child have their own opinion on what time to get up in the morning, but it also depends on when you're putting her to bed. Try getting her down at around 8 or 9 at night if you're not already, but be careful not to stray too close to midnight or you may have the opposite problem occur (she won't go to bed until real late).

Honestly, her waking this early is perfectly normal. But, I'll also say to get ready.... Her sleep patterns will change as she grows older, when she is teething, when she's sick, when she's overtired or overstimulated, etc etc etc. Once you'll get used to one sleeping pattern she may very well change it on you. This is also completely normal.

As much as us moms would love to have things set and predictable, one thing I've learned being a parent is that many times it's "go with the flow"!

EVERYBODY has their own opinion on how much or little a baby should or will sleep. You MUST read "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Weissbluth...it was a Godsend that I came across when my first was 4 months old. It's never to late to pick it up. I used the ideas from birth with my second child and she sleeps like clockwork. Babybrain has led me to forget if it's a good idea to try to put them back down again. I think the book says that sleep scientists found it is natural for babies to wake between 5-7 a.m. You'd have to double-check this info. See if the library has the book...if not it is worth the purchase...you will refer to it often.

Perhaps try putting baby to bed a bit later and see if that helps. Maybe try tuning the radio to a static radio station to help sooth baby back to sleep. My girlfriend would turn on the radio when she put little one to bed, and it helped keep them asleep all night. Little one wasn't startled by sounds during the night.

Also... you mentioned you teach pilates and yoga. I have been looking to get back into yoga. Would you email me about when/where your class times are?

____@____.com

I would try to learn to be an early riser! This will serve your child well when she starts school, and in life in general! I have 2 boys who were the exact same way. (19 and 14 now, they tend to sleep in when they can, but still get up early and probably will once they get past the teen years). I got up very early when I was pregnant with both, and I think they pick up on that, and get in the habit in-utero!
By the way, Pilates and Yoga are great!! They offer a free combo class at my work twice a week through our local parks dept. and I love it!
Have a great day!

C. D

L.,

My son didn't sleep through the night until he was 6 1/2 months old and that was getting up between 5 and 6 for an early morning bottle. It is very normal and she will get on a more regular schedule in a few weeks. In fact when you need her to wake up, she will want to sleep!

It's very normal. My trio used to get up like clock work at 6am when they first started sleeping through the night. We would be up, diapers changed and bottles ready...then about 1-2 hours later it was nap time again. Ahhh...those were the days, when 2 to 3 naps a day was the norm. :)

Comcgrats on yor baby and sleeping through the night. What a wonderful thing that is. Mine is 18 months and has just begeun sleeping through the night in thelast month or so. That being said, I have two early risers(6am), which I am fine with because it kept them sleeping throught the night. I just crawl in bed earlier is all :)

I am 34, and a mother of three. 13yrs, (girl), 11yrs (boy),9yrs (boy), in a addition, I have babysat LOTS of children. I am sorry to say that it is my experience that this is very normal. She will probably be ready for a nap early morrning(8 or 9). All children are different though. Good luck and happy zzzzzzzzzz's

My son did this around this age. We found that his last "sleep cycle" was basically getting detached from his night's sleep and instead turning into a early-ish (like 8:30 AM) morning nap. The solution? Put him back to bed and try and push back his morning nap a little later. We progressively pushed back his nap along with ignoring him when he woke up (for up to 5-10 minutes - then we laid him back down). Within a week he was straightened out.

Hi, L.!

It's very norma that your 6 month old is up that early. My little girl 7 mos old is like that. You just feed her and she will fall back to sleep.

Enjoy the baby's moments and good luck!
thuy

My son, 6 months old, does this as well. We give him a small feeding and put him back to bed. He will sleep about another one or two hours. We are planning on weaning him off of this so it does not become a habit and hope that he will eventually sleep until 7am all on his own.

For me the 5:00am call happened with all 3 of my kids. They were up for the day at that time, but would be down again by 9:00 for their morning nap. The good news is they grew out of it. The bad news is it took about 6 months. Good Luck!
Kathleen

Sleepng thru the night doesn't tell us how many hours the child is sleeping or what time you lay the baby down. If child is sleeping 7 hours or more if lucky, that's normal. I would change the baby, feed baby and put back down if you need a little more rest. Jeanne, Elk Grove Village, Il

Welcome to a short stage that only lasts about 5-6 years! No really, Your baby should be sleeping 11-12 hours a night. So, if you are putting her down around 6:30 pm, you are right on shedule. This is a good goal. It is easier to put a baby to bed earlier than to make her sleep later. Good luck!

Dear L., It depends on the child - I used to put my little boy back down to sleep afterwards and give him less naps in the day to train him into a full nights sleep. Sometimes he'd just play in his crib for another couple of hours but mostly he'd go back to sleep. However, a lot of mothers deal with it in a different way. They keep their children up and give them a 2 hour nap in the afternoon. I preferred to train my little one to sleep the hours that we did and maybe just give him a 1 hour nap in the afternoon. I'm expecting another baby now and I'm sure next time it will be different - as they say - there is no 'text book' baby. Good luck!

my little girl is also 6 months. She goes down about 8 pm, gets up at 5 am to eat (I breastfeed) then sleeps again until 8 am. She is up only for a half hour or so at 5 and I don't even turn on the lights. Don't know if this is normal or the way it's supposed to be done but it works great for us. (of course as I write this she'll probably wake up every two hours tonight :) ) I think you have to take everyone's experiences then find the system that works best for you.
Good luck and congrats!

In my experience, that is very normal. You are actually pretty fortunate to get a sleep pattern like that at such a young age. She is likely then ready for a nap at 9am and another at 1. It is best to go to bed when the baby does, so you get your uninterrupted stretch as well. Patterns change frequently the first 2 years, so sleep when you can get it and forget the to do list at night. You might be able to shift things an hour or so by keeping her up a little later with a bath or play in the evening.

It is perfectly normal for a little one to get up that early in the morning. You can try to put her back down after a bottle and diaper change, but she might not want to go back down. When she goes down for a nap you should try to nap too and get the rest you need as well. Sometimes it depends on what time you put her down too. I used to put my kids down at 9p.m. and when they slept through the night they slept until 7 or 8 in the morning. Try different bed times and see what happens.

Yes, unfortunately this is normal! Have you ever wondered how the Moms are always the first ones to the stores in the morning? This may have something to do with it! :) My son is 7 monnths and gets up around the same time. However, I am still nursing and do sneak a few extra minutes in until my daughter gets up at 7:00AM. I bring him into bed with my husband and I and nurse him lying down and usually get another 30 min to an extra hour in. (He falls asleep between my husband and I so I dont have to worry about him rolling out of bed.) If you are not nursing, try making a bottle before you go to bed at night so that it is ready for your early wake up call. You may have the same luck I do. Hope this helps!

B.

My dd Kierstan was the same way when she was an infant. Even though she was sleeping 6 hours through the night, it wasn't enough for me when she would wake up at 5:30 - 6am! I have discovered that she is just a morning person. The only suggestions I have are to put heavy covers or curtains over her windows in her room when you put her down for the night, and don't take them off untill you are ready to for the day. Also, when you check on her that early in the morning, don't turn all the lights on if you can help it. Try to keep every light close to her room off or as dim as possible. The less light finding it's way into her the more apt she will be to possibly nap just a little bit longer. As she gets older, and she starts to become more indipendant she will start to learn that when it is dark, it is time to sleep. I still fight this battle with my dd and she is now 2! Good luck, and I just hope that you are also kind of a morning person as well.

Maybe that is her morning feeding time right now.
I would just keep the lights off as much as possible, feed her without talking, and see if she goes back to sleep for another hour or two.
There is always the possibility that her sleep schedule will change....get better or worse for a time.....so just go with the flow.
At the "worst" times it is imperative that you go to bed earlier so that you can get the sleep you need.
You napping when she is napping is a good way to refresh yourself.

Hi L.- My LO did this too and I just got up fed her in our dark bedroom, or hers and then put her back down and she would stay down til 9 am...she still is on this schedlue and will be 6 months on Feb 28th.