5am wake ups - is this just the norm for some babies?

[sunrise1471]

@eldersmith I joke that my kid is on my farming schedule. 7pm bedtime, 5am wakeup!

 

[lordfilth]

@sunrise1471 Same except I'm not a farmer. And she still wakes up during the night to eat

 

[merikes]

@eldersmith This is pretty much the same as my 7 month old. I just accept my fate and try to sleep early.

 

[mickeym]

@eldersmith It could still possibly change but my son also only sleeps about 9-10 hours so we pushed his bedtime back closer to 9pm when he was a bit older and he started sleeping longer. I think it was also around one years old that we went to one nap. Makes them a little more tired.

 

[v]

@eldersmith My boy is the same. They only time he was asleep at 5, is when he woke up at 3 and I don't want that happening again. He also used to sleep another half our after his first feeding and even though that's not long, it was so nice to have that time to change and have breakfast.

So yeah, same for us.

 

[penguinlover]

@eldersmith As the owner of a super early riser… this might just be your baby’s natural wake up time. Some kids are super early risers. My son woke at 4am from birth til about 2.5, then went closer to 5am. He’s now 3.5 and still wakes about 5am.

Overtiredness will make this worse, so beware pushing bed back too much. If you want to try it again, do it by about 15mins at a time and wait for a week or two before moving it back again. Personally, we just put him to bed earlier and then he gets more sleep and is happier, cos nothing consistently moved his wake time. I even saw a sleep clinic and they were like ‘yeh this is the hardest bit to change’.

 

[katrina2017]

@eldersmith Same. I wonder if it’s the 10 month regression which apparently can last up to 12 months

 

[eldersmith]

@katrina2017 Ugh maybe. Her 4 month sleep regression lasted two months and that was awful. Idk if I can survive another month of this.

 

[brotony]

@eldersmith My 11mo just started waking earlier as well. She used to sleep until 7-730 but now is up at 6. We've tried earlier/later bedtime, shorter naps, less/more daytime activities. Nothing has changed it so far either.

 

[zeyang]

@eldersmith Sound about right for that age. My son would wake up around 5:30-6. Now at 1.5 years he’ll sleep till 7:30 on the weekends and sometimes later if we let him.

 

[lwh]

@eldersmith Mine would wake up early because it would get cold in her room around that time. Changed the thermostat, and that helped a lot.

Darker curtains/blinds helped a bunch too! She regularly sleeps til 7-7:30 now.

 

[eldersmith]

@lwh Oooh maybe I’ll try a thicker sleep sack tonight.

 

[lwh]

@eldersmith Hope that helps! One big clue that she was chilly is that she would sleep super tucked up with her hands under her but otherwise tended to sprawl out while sleeping.

 

[mrwong]

@eldersmith My baby had unexplained 5 am wake ups from about 9-13 months and then it just stopped. Now it’s 6 am wakeups

 

[hakjohn]

@eldersmith I heard this is normal as you get closer to one nap. Your schedule seems decent for an 11 month old. I think once you go to one nap territory, your little one should sleep in a little later.

 

[cesarman]

@eldersmith Cut the am nap down to 30 minutes. And wake at 10 regardless of the amount they slept.

PM nap is 1-3, wake at 3

Bedtime is 6:30-7. (In bed, not starting routine)

Source - previous sleep consultant.

Edit - 5am wake up means the baby is over tired. Bedtime is too late, but in order to get a new bedtime the whole schedule needs to be adjusted.

Nap 9:30-10am
Nap 1-3pm
Bedtime 6:30/7

Give this schedule about 5-7 days to allow their body to acclimate

 

[sushiburger]

@cesarman This is the exact schedule we were on at that age

 

[sblair]

@eldersmith We were struggling with early wake-ups too, I bought a blackout curtain and that helped a little. The probably really resolved once we dropped a nap though. When we went from 3 to 2 naps he started sleeping until 7am again.

How is your baby with napping? Are they giving any signs that they are ready to drop a nap? Or is the room maybe too light in the morning?

 

[eldersmith]

@sblair Thanks for the suggestions! We have a blackout curtain and it’s pretty dark in the morning.

I don’t think she’s near ready to drop to one nap, she still struggles with making it the whole 4 hour wake window. And sometimes she’s cranky when her nap is only 45min instead of 1.5hrs.

 

[annem040359]

@eldersmith My baby has a preferred wake between 5-6am for 4 months now (he’s 8 months). We have tried all suggestions, all bedtimes, etc. he seems to just have a strong drive for waking early. Sending solidarity!