I weaned my 17 month old about 3 weeks ago. She use to wake up at 4 am, nurse and go back to bed until 7 am. After weaning, she now sleeps through until 6 am, but is ready to start her day and I am not. I have tried putting her down later than her usual time of 7:30 pm, but she still wakes up at 6 am on the dot.
Can you recommend a gradual way to change her wake up time especially since the time change will happen soon? Or any suggestions on keeping her occupied in her crib. I have put books and her baby dolls, but she just wants out and screams until she's out.
Thanks,
A very tired mommy
Thank you all for your encouragement. I think I really just need to hear that other moms are going through it too. I have a 4 year old who wakes up at night sometimes, and on those nights, I am just exhausted when 6 am rolls around. I am not a night owl by any means, and try my best to get to bed around 10:30 or 11. Both my kids are morning larks and me and daddy are not. I know I need to roll with it, but I just wanted to see if anyone did something that worked to get their kids to sleep in. I wish I could wake up at 5 am so that I am a happy mom when baby wakes up, but that one hour of sleep is too precious to me. I guess it's just hard when all your friends' kids all sleep in :) Because baby does wake up so early now, she is back to two naps which I guess is a good thing, because I can get some down time. Unfortunately, my 4 year old is done with naps, so I cannot nap. Best to you all.
Just because she wakes up 6 am does not mean she has to get up at 6 am. At 17 months old I would not give her what she wants by screaming in doing so you are teaching her to scream to get what she wants. J.
You could try to go to bed a little earlier then 1030/11 if you went to bed at 930/10 and you get up at 6 you would then be getting 8 hrs of sleep. You could also try to maybe shorten the afternoon nap a little bit since she still takes two. She only needs about 12 hrs of sleep total at 1.5 yr and she is getting 9 of them at night.
None of my friends or family have kids that sleep in in the moring so you aren't alone :)
Sorry to say but Mommy is the one that has to make the adjustment.
If I were you I'd get up at 5 and have a nice quiet hour to yourself and be happily awake when daughter shuffles out of bed. I was not a morning person either, but kids change that for you. When they grow up, you can sleep in again and love it.
Solution: Go to bed an hour earlier Mom.
Sorry, sounds like your wake-up time is now 6am. Both of my kids still get up by 7am, they are 9 & 12, luckily I don't have to get up with them anymore :) I also tried to adjust there bedtime when they were babies so they would sleep later - did not work at all! She is screaming b/c she's ready to get up, its not like she can get her self out of the crib. Imagine if you were ready to do something and couldn't do it yourself, you would be upset too. Remember, this is only temporary in the 'big picture', you will eventually get to sleep in, it just may not be for a few years. I know that's not what you want to here, but you just need to adjust your sleep schedule to match hers.
good luck...some babes r just early birds
i wouldnt bother until after the time change and see what happens with how she adjusts. Same thing happens to my daughter. I suspect she is waking up because she is hungry. May be easier to change your schedule as with most kids there clock is there clock and there is nothing you can do
I would ask "what time does MOMMY go to bed?"... If you know munchkin is gonna get up at 6 am (which could just be HER wake up time... with no way to change it) do you still stay up till all hours of the night/ morning? Just something to think about... Perhaps if you move YOUR schedule up then you'll be happier in the morning...
I also am a mommy that WISHES that the kid could just sleep later... Our 1st would sleep from 9 till 9!!! Our second, 9 till 8 (and wake sister up)... Our third, 9 till 7 (and wake up both siblings)... Our 4th sleeps till about 5 am and wakes to nurse then sleeps till 7... I would like to sleep later... But I also have to get the oldest 2 up and around for school and get the day started with potty training... Hubby goes to work at 4:30 am and doesn't return till 6 pm usually... So we put the kids to bed at 8 and mommy and daddy are usually in bed by 8:30- 9... Gotta do what we gotta do to stay sane and rested!
:-)
If she is your only one then perhaps putting her in bed with you for a bit will let you doze for a bit... OR she could just sneak out and trash the house trying to get herself breakfast...
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At 17 mos, this might be more difficult than if she were 6 mos. After he started walking, my son was never content just being in the crib unless he was sleeping. I just learned to go to bed early. Probably not what you want to hear, but it makes 6AM a little more bearable. Eventually, she will probably sleep a little later as she gets older.
For a couple days in a row, put her to sleep like usual, then let her sleep a little then wake her.Then put her back down. It might be annoying for you but worth a try. And...
This is assuming that you stay up a little later than her and that is why you need to sleep later.You are lucky she sleeps so long! At any rate, she will gradually come to expect to be wakened up and if you don't your chances will be great that she will continue to sleep later now because you aren't waking her and she is in a different schedule..Because definitely once the time changes, you will have even harder of a time! Good luck! And don't worry, there will be other times in life when you don't sleep in case this gets too cosey. Think about when they are in highschool...
Hi V., I can personally guarantee you will not be sleep deprived for the rest of your life (least not because of babies :))
Eventually even if she ALWAYS wakes up at six, she will be able to amuse herself. Really! It's true!
I'm sorry, I REMEMBER what it's like to be nearly hallucinating, or dozing off while flipping pancakes over the stove, or screaming wildly at my poor husband for stepping on a squeaky floor board, etc....
Course hindsight is a beautiful thing and since they're now 18, 16, and 13, over all it was a very BRIEF period of parenting, sigh, alas the period where you actually need the MOST amount of sleep.
Only suggestion is learn to NAP!
My deepest sympathies, I REMEMBER!
Sleeping past 6:30 is unheard of in my house. My little guy just turned 4 and no matter what time he goes to bed he is up very early. I understand that you want to sleep in of a morning but they are usually set on their time schedules.
Depending on her size, you could try moving her to a toddler bed that she can get out of on her own. Then she can learn to get up when she wakes up, and play in her room until Mommy comes to get her.
How about a sippy cup or bottle of milk? That is what I would try I think. Maybe give it to her and lay her down with it and see if she will relax and then occupy herself in the crib a little longer, maybe the sucking will relax her. If nothing else, it might give you time to start a pot of coffee!!!
With the time change, she should sleep until 7 a.m. I think it starts next weekend. By the way, putting them to bed later is actually worse, they just get less sleep. I'd cut back on the afternoon nap, or not let it go past 4 p.m. I have a friend who likes to sleep until 8 a.m. and she just told her little ones that mommy would come get them out of bed when it was time to get up. And the kids learned not to wake mommy up. I was always amazed by that. I also have friends who use a timer on the lights or music so the child knows when it is time to get out of bed. I'm also not a morning person, so I just let my daughter come snuggle with me for a bit until I can wake up.
Do everything you can to get to sleep earlier. If we talk about not being a morning person, then we will not become one. If we keep thinking that 6am is a bad time to get up, it will continue to be a bad time to get up. You will start your day on a negative note. It's all in the mindset. When we have a time change in the spring, we change our schedule to go to bed earlier and we can adjust to the "earlier" hour fairly easily. Plan your evening to end an hour earlier. Do the more urgent things earlier and don't see that last hour as being very valuable for anything other than sleep. It will take you awhile to believe it, but you have to for your sanity and for the sanity of those around you. Having more sleep will help you see that 6am isn't so bad and you will be a better mother an wife. Just tell yourself you are living on the east coast and it is really 7am.
Also, start your day with being thankful. When your daughter wakes up, go in and hug her as if you haven't seen her in days. Thank God for a healthy little girl. Put on the most cheerful voice and tell her how happy you are to see her. The more cheerful you talk, the more cheerful you will feel.
Then someday, your kids will grow up and move away and you can sleep all you want. (But you will miss those early morning hugs!)
