When your little one wakes up too early, it is often the start of an awful day, right? We understand you love your kids but we bet that when you hear the little ones call out to you before 5 am, you are ready to cry. After all, a mama needs her sleep.
We have some suggestions that can help shift the schedule when your little one doesn’t know-how.
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR BABY WAKES UP TOO EARLY
Many new parents have their eyes and mind fixed on one clear goal: sleeping through the night. That’s understandable; after months of almost sleepless nights, a full night’s sleep sounds just as good as winning the lottery!
But as parents with young ones who let us sleep through the night can attest, sleep problems don’t miraculously disappear. Your toddler can master sleeping through the night, only for another sleep issue to rear its head.
Then you have parents say things like “My baby is sleeping through the night just fine, but now he/she is waking way too early! Help!”
Fortunately, we are here to help!
FIRST THINGS FIRST, DO YOU ACTUALLY HAVE AN EARLY-RISING PROBLEM
Please have in mind that ‘early’ is a relative term – for some parents (particularly ones with a 9-5), a 5:30 wake-up time is ideal, while for others, anything before 8:00 a.m. is considered “too early”! So before you start looking for a solution, take a good look at your child’s wake-up time – is it after 6 a.m.?
Another important thing to take note of is how your child wakes up – are they happy and energized? If your toddler is waking at or after 6 a.m. and seems refreshed and ready to tackle the day, then (as much as it may break your heart to hear this!) you probably don’t have a problem.
Developmentally, a wake-up time of 6:00 a.m. or later is normal for most toddlers, provided they are getting adequate night-time and naptime sleep. However, if your child is waking earlier than 6 a.m., and/or if he or she quickly wears out after morning wake-up and is tired and cranky, then you most likely have an early-rising issue on your hands.
GET TO THE ROOT AND ADDRESS THE CAUSE THE EARLY-RISING PROBLEM
Lots of things can influence intermittent/occasional early rising such as illness, teething symptoms, developmental leaps, growth spurts, life transitions (e.g the birth of a new sibling, or changing houses), potty training, transitioning from crib to a bigger kid bed…all of these can result in a few days or weeks of early-morning wake-up calls.
However, if your child is regularly waking up too early, and if it has been happening for weeks/months on end, then you may indeed have a scheduling problem on your hands.
FIXING THE SCHEDULE PROBLEM
There are three scheduling issues you need to address to resolve the issue:
INCONSISTENT NAP TIME SLEEP
If your little one isn’t getting enough nap sleep, then he/she is likely over-tired by the time it’s bedtime, and an overtired child is more likely to wake too early than a well-rested child (considering the ”sleep begets sleep concept). However, do note that too much nap sleep can also be a problem.
The total amount of sleep a baby/toddler gets in a day is relatively constant, but they will shift sleep from nights to naps, and vice versa. So a child who naps too much during the day may sleep less at night, and wake too early. This can become a pattern if you don’t do anything.
THE TIMING OF NAPS IS OFF
While total nap time matters; so does the timing of said naps. Pay close attention to the window of time between your toddler’s last nap of the day and bedtime. If that duration is too long, your toddler may be overly-tired at bedtime, which in turn can lead to early rising.
TOO EARLY/TOO LATE BEDTIME
While this may seem counterintuitive, but it’s true – keeping your baby up late will not always lead to a later wake-up time! Instead, it can lead to over-tiredness, which in turn, leads to even earlier wake-up times.
While trying to avoid late bedtimes, you’ll also want to be careful to not put your little ones to bed too early. Generally, it is advised no bedtime before 6 p.m., and older babies and toddlers often do well with bedtimes between 7-8 p.m.
HOW TO SHIFT YOUR EARLY RISER’S SCHEDULE
One way to solve the early rising problem is to start treating your baby’s little early-morning wake-ups as night wakings. The key is – if you continue to allow your child to be up for the day at 5 a.m., you are reinforcing that 5 a.m. is the ideal time to wake up!
So instead, when your child wakes up too early, do your best to re-settle him/her. Give reassuring pats and kisses, say things like “It’s still sleepy time”, or “see you in the morning” while trying to remain as quiet and boring as possible.
You want to stay away from anything that will engage or excite your child – you are using your words and your actions, to reaffirm that it’s still time for sleep.
Then, when it is the proper time to wake up, put up a big, dramatic wake-up routine. Open the curtains, turn the lights on, stretch and yawn– you get the idea! Doing this consistently will go a long way towards adjusting your child’s wake-up time.
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