Help with an Early Bird!

It may change a little but you pretty much have an early riser on your hands.

I feel your pain...my almost 1year old is also an early riser. He wakes up around 5:45 - 6:00am and he's ready to play and begin his day. He even wakes his sister up with all his yelling and baby talk (who is an early riser but will sleep until 7:00-7:30) and she comes into our bedroom. Then it's a family affair in our bed(which is not a king) No extra sleep for us not even on the weekends.

My son has always been an early riser - 5:00 - 6:00. He's going to be 5 in March, occasionally he might sleep until 6:30 - 7:00 on weekends, but this morning he was up when at 5:15 laying in my bed when i got out of the shower - and he goes to sleep between 8:00 - 8:30. He has always averaged about 9 hours of sleep a night since I can remember. Good Luck - hopefully she grows out of it.

She has a perfect bedtime, good for you. Please don't keep her up later trying to get her to sleep in. It doesn't work and it's not in her best interest. Anyway, what I would do (and have done at various early rising phases in my son's life) is pick a time that you feel should be the earliest wake up time. For my son it was 11.5 hours after going to sleep because I knew he needed this much. But it may be based on what time you need her up for daycare or what time just seems sane (I would say none before 6am.) Pick that time and then I simply would not go to her before then. Leave a sippy cup of water in her crib and her favorite stuffed toy. If she wakes at 5:30 she can sip water and talk/play if she really doesn't want to sleep. Or she may eventually fall back asleep. Do not go to her before your defined time and when you do, be very dramatic about "okay, now it's morning time, good morning!" Chances are good that after a week or so, you will re-program her body to not waking at this time. She's simply used to it.

My son ALWAYS wakes around 5:30, talks for a few minutes and then back to sleep for another hour. We had to do the above mentioned method a few times so far when ever he would attempt to make that his new wake up time.

Also, make sure you are working on good daytime naps. If she is overtired, she will wake up early. Hopefully with only 10 hours of sleep at night, she is sleeping around 3 hours during the day.

Good luck!

have you tried going to bed later or making early am not so fun, J. quiet and books and cuddle time? thats what i always did first thing. In a few years atleast you can have her play for a little before you get up. If yo leave books with her will she read in the am ad let you sleep?

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have you tried going to bed later or making early am not so fun, J. quiet and books and cuddle time? thats what i always did first thing. In a few years atleast you can have her play for a little before you get up. If yo leave books with her will she read in the am ad let you sleep?

Sorry. Both of mine are early birds too. 3 and almost 5 now. I can tell you that it was 0430 and now it is generally 0530 to 0545 so it is a bit later. They do wake each other up, and that isn't helpful, but we are starting to get to an age where they entertain themselves a little (that would be my focus if I were you, not changing bed times etc...it's like trying to make a noctural animal not be notcural (I tried to make my gerbils sleep at night and stay up during the day :) Encourage playing in the room quietly and resist the urge to turn on the TV or start a movie...I did THAT mistake, unwittingly rewarding the early rising thus making them (encouraging them to wake even earlier!) Or teach her to cook breakfast as soon as she can and you have something to look foward to in 6-7 years! I know, not helpful, smiling 'cause I'm in the same boat :)

My 7 year old still gets up pre-dawn. At least as they get older they can entertain themselves, and we don't have to get up quite as early as they do. Our 7 year old is usually building lego masterpieces when I get up an hour or so after he does. :)

Sorry I don't have better news for you.