Help with an ealry riser!

[christic]

I'm looking for any and all advice regarding an 18 mo old who regularly wakes up at 5 am.

In all other ways my daughter is a wonderful sleeper, goes to bed happily, usually sleeps through but can be quickly soothed if she does wake, takes regular 2-3hr afternoon naps, and seems well rested most of the time.

The only problem is that she starts her day between 5-6 am (or earlier!), regardless of bedtime. We had decided that this was just her wakeup time, but more and more she seems just as unhappy as we are to be awake, even leaning away to get back into her crib when we go to pick her up. But once in her crib again she cries.

Here's what we've tried!:

Sometimes I can change her and put her back to bed and she'll get a bit more sleep. But this is 50/50 at best and more crying than I'm feeling comfortable with.

Earlier and later bedtimes seem to have no effect.

She cries harder if we try to bring her into our bed.

There's NO light here at 5am so it's not solved with heavier shades.

We have a little routine for nightwakings or if she's having trouble settling at bedtime we call the "re-tuck". It's foolproof 99% of the time but useless after about 4:30 am.

Usually one of us will get up and just start the day with breakfast. She'll eat her cheerios very sullenly and sometimes go back to sleep with my husband on the couch for up to an hour. It's this going back to sleep that makes me think she doesn't really want to be up.


Any other ideas??? or any thoughts on what's waking her? (I was thinking of trying a larger size diaper for bed if it's the wetness bothering her.) Would she wake up this cranky if 5 am is her natural wake up time? She's probably averaging 13 hours total night/day sleep and otherwise seems to be a very happy well rested little girl.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks,
Christi

[luvbeinmama]

Since she's been sleeping all night, try a bottle/nursing/sippy with warm milk quietly w/ very little light and then back to bed. DD will NOT go back to sleep w/o a bottle at that time of the morning. The hunger may keep her from going back to sleep, and cheerios are just too much work for going right back to sleep.

[christic]

Thanks for the tip, I'd been considering that too and even dug out a bottle two nights ago in preparation for the 5 am call. I had also put a larger size sample diaper that had come in the mail on her. I'm not sure if the diaper did it or what but she slept straight through until 6:30, a few whimpers before then but when I would go check she was still laying down. Last night she was back in her normal size diapers and seemed more restless in the early morning but slept til 7!

So, not sure if posting on this board is just good luck or what? But I bought her some Huggies Overnites and she's asleep in one of those now...hoping we'll get close to 7 again.

[egoldber]

Another thing to try is a bedtime snack. I find that a snack before bed can help my DD tide over a little later in the morning. If she's waking up hungry and then going back to sleep, it may help.

HTH,