Any Advice Welcome - He gets up at 4:30am every morning

[jacandbelly]

Hi

I am in desperate need of any advice possible. My DS who is 3 in 3 weeks gets up at 4:30am on the dot every morning. He has been doing it for about a month. It is totally play time at 4:30.

I have tried everything we can think of. Putting him back to bed over and over, Yelling, putting him in front of telly, trying to get him to read a book in telly, putting him to bed later. I can not think of any thing else. He just does not sit still and then by 10am he grumpy and tired and will fall asleep anywhere.

Please help me before I totally :hair:

Please any advice or ideas or even recommendations of places that may be able to give me advice.

[mumofcuties]

hi, :hugs: its so stress full when they start to do this, my ds is two next month and has decided that he doesnt want to sleep threw anymore so im up and down all night, have you tried puting his faviourite toys in his room, would he just sit in there and play with them for a while just so you get abit more sleep, when he wakes up does he want something to eat? or does he just want to get up

[jacandbelly]

No does not want any thing special food toilet just to play and with us he does cheecky things. Nothing has changed since it has happenned ie going back to work or any thing...

[heymamma]

So you havnt just changed times for DLS?? cause when we use to live in nsw i know that was our problem. Other than that i would just tell him "No way 4:30am is to early, If you want to get up this early then you will be sitting up all on your own!"

[2Pink4Me]

Hi there

That would be really hard! I would say that keeping things as boring and quiet as possible is a good idea. No lights, tv, playing, talking or anything. I think if you yell (which is so hard not to!) it would wake him further and that's not what you want.

Maybe you could also offer him some warm milk to help re-settle him.

Also would it help to have some sort of clock or something to try to teach him that it's not time to get up until the clock says 6:30 (or whatever it is) or he look out his window and the sun is up.

At night time I have found a poster with photos of DD doing things (reading a book, having a bath etc) helps her to understand her routine. Maybe you could try a similar thing but with pics of "appropriate" morning activites (iykwim).

Hope it gets better for you soon!

[subaruforestermum]

Hey, DS is 3 in July....he gets up at 5am most mornings. Then has a sleep at 9am.

Most of the time I can go back to sleep, or rest some more until around 7am. During which time DS usually lies there quietly and watches sunrise, or plays with his cars, reads....he knows he has to be quiet, or he is given the opportunity to come and rest some warm with me, and usually when he snuggles under the blanket with me, because its so warm, he goes back to sleep.....

I'm not much help I guess, but you're not alone...

[MoonstoneMumma]

im with you. my nealry 2 year old has been getting up at 5am on the dot. but he doesn't go back to bed until about 12 or 1 for his nap. today, i am going to cut his nap out and see if that helps. i'll let u know

[lotti]

If he's still napping then I would look at making sure it wasn't to late or even see how cutting the nap every other day went.
If my kids get up early they have to lay quietly with me until its light. I tell them its still night and to go to sleep.
:yes:

[BoyCrazy]

ouch. i know what early mornings are like. my 2 and a half yr old ds wakes at 5:30am. Ive tried everything, extending his bed time, blinds, blackouts, foil, nothing works lol. I think his body clock is just set for it!
he doesnt day nap either, so by bedtime he is ready for sleep. He goes to bed at 6pm. Ive just taken a different aproach and take advantage of my quiet long evenings with dp! :D

[Miss_Vicki]

What time do you put him to bed ? mine goes to bed about 8.30 to a bad nite 11 , sleeps till 7.30 on a school day an 8-8.30 on a weekend :)

[tobmac]

my kids were the same until 1 MONTH AGO!!! i bought them black out curtains ages ago and they gave me an extra half hour but now i have changed my tune.....our day goes like this.......

wake up 630ish-

play brekkie school runetc.........

1100am queit time normally the fairies or wagz is on tv so we sit quietly and watch that and have a little snack

1130/1145 time for bed sleep anywhere from 1hr-2hr on a good day

wake eat lunch -they dont want to eat too much before sleep

other stuff school run etc
430-bath/play dh is home

530pm dinner- they like to eat early
play etc
630 quiet time --books or watch tv or play on floor
sometimes they get grumpy around 7 as they are tired but i try and keep them awake by brushing teeth getting ready for bed and reading
730----- BEDTIME!! most of the time they are asleep by 745pm

I have found putting them to bed at 730 they dont wake to early and you still get time with dh and any older kids............ dont forget that you wont change them in a week it takes weeks to change a body clock so dont expect big changes ASAP!!
there is also a book out that gives you hints and a routine ill see if i can find the name of my friend but it is a very rigged routine and i personally dont like it as i go with the flow to a certain extent.

[MoonstoneMumma]

cutting his nap didn't work for me :sleeping: little buggers! lol

[lotti]

cutting his nap didn't work for me :sleeping: little buggers! lol

Yeah, you know (even though it was one of my suggestions) sometimes cutting the nap seems to make it worse and its better just to shorten it or to make sure its earlier.

[MountainGirl]

I have just come to accept that my day starts with DS at 5am! I actually quite like the time with him,... we wander around and have brekkie, make Scarletts lunch for preschool,.have a cup of tea,..play with the dogs etc,.. then DH gets up at 6am and Scarlett wakes at 7:30! It means that he is really ready for a sleep at midday,..and then again really ready for bed at 6:30pm,.... You win some...you lose some!:)

[tobmac]

the book that some of my friends swear by to get there kids into routines and sleep more is called SAVE OUR SLEEP................again it is very rigged (sp?) to military for me but i dont like to much structure in my life but it orks for others

[PinkBinkie]

DD1 will be 3 in June. A few mths ago I cut out her daytime nap so she wasn't up til 9-10 at night! If she goes to bed at 7-7.30 she'll sleep through til 7. If she does wake up before 6 I tell her she can play in her room quitely or sit on my bed and read books. I roll over and "pretend" to be asleep, even through the tantrums. She usually goes back to sleep in bed with me, sometimes until 8. She's only done this a few times thankfully! I hope your nearly 3 year old lets you have some more sleep :fingerscrossed:

[soon2Bmamaof3]

My DD is the same, but she has always done it. We put her in a bed at 14 months and a baby gate on the door so she couldn't go wandering while everyone was alseep. At that stage she got up twice a night usually at 1am and between 3-4am. She is almost 3 and still wakes up about 4am every night. Although there is no longer a gate on the door she doesn't come out she sings and pretends to talk and read to her bears. She falls back alseep an hour later and gets up between 6-7:30am. At one stage for a week she came down to us for attention but I keep telling her it was not time to get up and mum would tell her when it is. Having your child start this being older I not sure if the gate would work, as he could probably climb over it. DD use to stick her head in the door way make sure no when was have fun without her than go back to playing and fall asleep. Cutting out the day time sleeps has never worked for us. Changing bedtimes never made a difference. They wake up thinking they are ready to start the day and really they need a couple more hours. Sorry I can't suggest anything else, because its hard on you not getting enough sleep either.