waking at around 4.30am

[patka]

Hello.
I’m the exhausted mother of a delightful 19 month old girl who has started consistently waking at 4.30am. She has always been an early riser, as am I, but this is getting ridiculous! I’d be happy with 6am or even 5.30 for that matter, but 4.30am is a just too early.

She has a very good sleep routine… goes to bed around 7pm and sleeps soundly all night. She has one day-time nap usually just after lunch for 2-3 hours. I know that she can sleep longer in the morning, because she does from time to time sleep until 5.30/6am. There isn’t anything I can think of that is waking her – she isn’t hungry, she isn’t thirsty, the room doesn’t seem cold or hot or too light, there isn’t any noise – she just seems ready to be awake! We have tried putting her to bed later and this makes absolutely no difference at all!

When she wakes early, I always put her back to bed and keep putting her back (she’ll stay in bed for about 20 minutes at a time during this hour) until 5.30am hoping she’ll get the message, but so far no good. I don’t want to start letting her into our bed, so if anyone has any other ideas please help!

[Shajbm]

Hi Patka,

I feel for you. My DS (almost 3) does the same thing at times. What I've done is give him some milk and let him know that it's way too early to be up and try to resettle him. He did do it for a few nights and then got the hint that I'm not getting him up.

The other thing you might want to try is to limit your DD's daytime naps. Perhaps she is needing less sleep.

You may just need to try a few things and see what works best for you guys.

Let us know how you get on?

Hope this helps...

[veve]

aw hon :hugs:

I haven't got a solution... but my beautifully sleeping DS has just started to do the same thing :thumbsdown: ... he wakes up at 4:30am - and whinges until someone gets up and sits with him - he will then eventually drop off to sleep in your arms- no amount of patting or dummy inserting will calm him - he ins't hungry (I've tried!!) - I'm hoping its a growth spurt and he will figure out that 4:30 isn't fun (I certainly know it isn't!!!)

I really really hope someone suggests something for you- I am hoping to try it myself!!!

in the mean time :hugs:

xxx

[Foxy]

Hi patka, not sure if your DD is still in a cot, but have you considered putting some special toys in there after she is asleep at night to quietly play with when she wakes up? I put 2 cloth books and a couple of small soft toys in DS's cot and when he wakes he will usually play with them for 30mins+, which means sometimes I don't wake up until 6:30am!

If she is already in a bed, could you leave a couple of things on the end of the bed, that she can only play with at this time only IYKWIM.

Hope you find a solution to getting her to sleep longer, but if not, hope this suggestion helps you get a bit extra! :)

[patka]

Thanks everyone who has replied... it's great to hear that other's are in the same boat.
My daughter is still in a cot, but we've taken the sides off, trying to get her used no sides for when she moves into a proper bed. She does have a couple of soft toys in bed with her and when the sides were still of the cot she used to play quietly with them a bit, but not anymore.
Maybe limiting her day-time nap might help, I'll give it a go over the next few days, although I must say it's nice to have that quiet time to myself!

[Shajbm]

I love it when my DS sleeps during the day but I seem to pay for it at night...

Good luck, I hope it all works out for you.

[Mother Duck]

Wow that is really early :eek:

I am really not a morning person and M has adapted her sleeping to this quite well - I am really lucky (and so I'm not going to mention actual times!)

She has however been waking in the night cold and we have got her into a nasty little habit by bringing her into bed with us - will be trying to nip this in the bud before bubba number two arrives!

One thing that I thought might help - hmmmm at risk of being labelled a bad mummy here - when M does get up way earlier than I would like to I just get her out of her cot and let her know "too early for mummy" - I have made her room, my room and the joining room a 'safe' zone, ie nothing that she can hurt herself on and I just go back to bed and let her play by herself - she is quite happy to rearrange without my supervision!

She often pulls stuff out of my draws etc, and I often end up with all sorts of things in bed with me - but its nothing unfixable and I am so much a better mummy with that little bit of extra sleep!

[zactyl]

Jessie, why do you think you're being a bad mummy? What you've done is perfect! :yelclap:
patka, what I'd do in that situation is hop into bed with bub and go back to sleep! :D Give her a bottle if she's hungry, lie with your back to her and sleep, she's got you there where she can see you, but you're being boring and sleeping and she'll likely do the same. If she tries to engage you in play or wakes you just gently tell her it's time for sleeping and go back to sleep! Worked for me :)

[Mother Duck]

Hi Z

I'm a thinkin' bad mummy coz I let her do her own thing in the lounge and those two rooms while I am sound asleep - not very good supervision!

I do welcome her to be in bed with me but if she is playful I encourage her to play - without me!!

As I said - I do make it a safe zone and shut any other doors - still I feel like I should be watching her!

[Kim2008]

I couldn't believe it when reading these posts this morning. I am having exactly the same problem.

My DS is 18 weeks old and has three good sleeps of 1.5 - 2hrs during the day. He has been wrapped for sleep since birth.

Up until 4 weeks ago he had been sleeping through from his dream feed to 5:30am or 6:30am. In the last few weeks he has woken at 4:30am every morning. It's like clockwork. Its getting to the stage where I naturally wake at 4:20am and lo and behold I can hear him starting to stir. When I go in, I find that he's got both of his arms unwrapped. All I need to do is re-wrap him and he will go back off to sleep until 6am.

It seems to be happening because he is unwrapping himself. I was told to wrap him until his startle reflex goes at 6 months. I think that if he was used to sleeping unwrapped he may just go back to sleep, but I"m worried that doing this will mean none of us get any sleep.

The only other explanation I've heard was in the Baby Whisperer book which says that babies can get into a habit of waking at a certain time.

I'm really not sure whether its just a habit or whether its caused by the wrapping. What do I do ? :detective:

Kim

[Audrey]

Hi,

I just put my little boy into bed with me and then roll over and go back to sleep. He either plays with his dummy or goes back to sleep himself. The only problem is that he is still doing it and he is nearly 3yo.

Audrey

[SilverStarfish]

What is so special about 4:30am :confused: It seems like all babies are naturally programmed to wake up at that ungodly hour!

[Priscilla]

My 6mth DS has just started the 4.30am wakes! AARRGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! OMG it's driving me up the wall!

He's not cold, hot or hungry. I'm still co-sleeping so If I've managed to get to him whilst he's still stirring I'll put him my boob in the hope that the sucking action will keep him from getting too awake. Sometimes, he'll fall back asleep. Other times, he won't so I'll have to just either let him rolling around on the bed and wait till he's tired again (which isn't until sunrise!) or just pick him up and rock him to back to sleep.

The trouble is that MOSTof the time, no amount of rocking/swaying/bouncing/patting/humming/singing/shushing or changing the carrying position will put him back into a sleep deep enough for me to put him down. For example this morning, I ended up carrying him and trying the rocking/humming/shushing etc until 7.30!!!! Everytime I tried to put him down, he would wake. There was a few times when I managed to sit down (I've now put a chair in my room) WITHOUT waking him but as I started to nod off with him on my shoulder, he'd wake again!!!

Yesterday morning, he was on my boob and I feel asleep again. But I woke again a little after 5am as he kicked me, and he was STILL on my boob wide-eyed, sucking away!!!!

Please, is there anyone out there who's little one actually STOPPED the 4.30am wakes?!?!?!!??

[rynosmum]

I find that my DS wakes with the sunlight. On rainy or overcast days, I get an extra half hour, otherwise it's pretty much 5:30 on the dot.

A darkened room with heavy curtains seems to help although our house has a huge skylight in bubba's room so I just have to dream of more rainy days !:D

[Rell]

I am in the same boat with my 17mth old DS but its not 4.30 its 4am:eek: He has been like this since birth so I am slowly getting use to it. At 12mths when he started drinking milk from a sipper cup I would go in at 4am when he woke give him his cup of milk and put toys in the cot to play with. This would keep him happy till about 5.30am. Unfortunatly the last week he has decided that he wants up at 4am and chucks a big tantrum when you give him his milk and not get him up. I have tried putting him in our bed but he finds it funny to climb all over us and stick his finger up my nose.
So now he chucks his tantrum for 10 - 15min then gives in and lies down and drinks his milk. I do get him reminding me that he wants to get up every 10 mins but at least I get to lie in bed and rest to 5.30.
Sorry I have no idea of how to get kids to sleep longer, if you find the secret be sure to tell me