How to Make DS Wake Up Later

[mommylamb]

So, this morning DS woke up at 4:30... sometimes it's as late as 5:30, but usually closer to 5 am, and often earlier. Any advice about how I can get him to sleep a little later? I'm not asking much... if he would sleep till 6 am (even on weekends), I'd be thrilled. DS is 16 months old. Bedtime varies between 7:15 and 8:15 depending on how much he napped and the mood he's in in the evening, but is usually around 7:30-7:45 pm. This early wake up thing is really difficult because both DH and I work full time. We're up at 5:30 during the week anyway, but that last hour is sooo precious, and it would be great if DS would sleep till 6 so that we could shower before he gets up. And sleeping till 6 on the weekends would just be paradise.

I read Ferber a while ago, but it seemed to be more focused on how to get baby to bed at night... maybe I need to re-read it. DS is really easy to get to bed, so that's a plus, but I just can't take this 4:30 in the morning thing. HELP!

[elephantmeg]

we basically ignored DS if he woke up before a certain time. Not if he was screaming but if he was just jumping around his crib, talking etc we did. I work 3-11 so it's often 1ish before I get to bed. I don't tolerate getting up at 6:30 very well!

[scrooks]

My DD has done the same thing a couple of weeks ago. We usually just ignore her (as long as she wasn't screaming)and it seems to have passed...
I agree 4:30 is too early. A couple of times I would wait until 5-5:30 then give her some milk and she would fall back a sleep for 1-2 more hours. I'm sure I shouldn't have been doing that but I would keep pushing the time a half hour later. Until it was 6-6:30 when I was up for work. Our schedule varies a lot but lately she has been pretty good to sleep until at least 7, sometimes 8. If we are up and trying to get ready for work (between 7-8), and she is up we will turn on the light in her room, give her her am milk and a book and turn on the radio. She rests and looks at her book until we leave for the sitters. She goes to bed around the same time as your son. 8 at the latest.

[lizajane]

i was SO hoping for an answer, too! but my son is 3.5, so i can't ignore him. he just walks into my room. (can't lock him in his room even if i wanted to, his brother shares with him and can't be locked in or he has panic attacks.) i know that it helps a little to:

make sure he gets rest during the day
make sure he goes to bed ON TIME, not after he gets too tired
make sure he goes to bed at the SAME TIME every night

dylan is up between 5:45 and 6:15 every day. DH is up for work at 6, but he hasn't been feeling well, so he has slept until 7 a lot lately. or even 8 when he needed it to get well! i don't have to leave the house until 8:30 to get the kids to school, so waking up at 5:45am is NOT PRETTY. i am a terrible sleeper and missing out on the 5:45am to 7am sleep is drastic for me.

[wendibird22]

DD's typical wake up time is 5:30am M-Sun. If she wakes before then DH or I take her into the guest room and lay down with her there (we have a toddler rail on the bed). That usually buys us at least another 30 mins sometimes more.

[nfowife]

Some kids are just early wakers. But 4:30 is still the middle of the night for most!
I would try to move up his bedtime to a little earlier....and give it a few weeks to see a change. I believe that is what both Ferber and Weissbluth recommend for too-early wakings.
FWIW, and every kid is different, my 20 month old goes to bed at 6:45 and wakes up between 7 and 8 every morning. He also naps for 2-3 hours a day (between 12:30 and 3). I never let him nap past 3 so he will be able to go to bed on time. And usually he isn't showing signs of sleepiness or crankiness when it's bedtime- if he was, then I would have already missed the "window of opportunity". So, if your DS is getting cranky and then you put him down, I'd try 30 minutes before that for bedtime, and keep moving forward until you hit the "sweet spot".

[Wife_and_mommy]

I use the "it's still the middle of the night" routine anytime before 7. I don't esp. mind 6:30 but that doesn't happen often. I offer a drink, lovey etc. as if it was 2am.

Also, when my DD gets out of bed continuously, I put her back in without talking after the first couple times of "It's bedtime/nighttime. Stay in bed". She went through that at age 3 mostly.

It might take a week or two of the routine before DC gets it since your DS has been waking so early but it does work well.

[niccig]

16 months could be too young, we got DS to wake at 7am from 2 onwards. We put a lamp on a timer set for his normal wake up time. We told him that if the light was off it was sleep time, and if it was on it was time to get up. We went in when the light went on and made a big deal about the light being on. After a few days, we set the timer for 15 mins later, he woke at normal time and I went in and said "shhhh it's still sleep time, the light is off". It had to be me as DH usually got him out of the crib in the morning. Even if it was 5 mins before the light went on, we would still say it was too early. As soon as the light went on, we made a big deal about being awake. We kept moving the time back until we got to our preferred time. 2 years later and now in a big bed, DS still waits for the light to go on. I think this method works best when they're still in the crib, they can't go anywhere until you go in. DS transitioned to normal bed at 3yo, and he never gets up before the light goes on. We love our electronic timer!

[hillview]

Honestly at this age it is just hard. Both boys are early risers (go to sleep great). For the 3 year old we put a clock in his room and give him 3 animal crackers if he stays in bed til 6 am. With DS #2 we get up between 4:45 and 6 am every am. They have always been that way and no matter what we try (earlier bed times, no nap etc) nothing works.
GOOD LUCK! It does get better!!
/hillary

[bluestarfish18]

We had the exact same problem. But try reading Ferber again. He devoted quite a few chapter on sleep phases, which are the times your child sleeps, and how to alter them.

My DS is 6 mo and we were able to switch his sleep phase in a month. Basically, you push everything back (slowly) and end up making his day later and later. He eventually goes to bed a little later and gets up later. DS now goes to bed at 9pm and gets up at 7am...perfect for me!

[wolverine2]

So Ferber advocates putting them to bed later, and Weissbluth earlier?

We've tried everything, but my DS is older- almost 4. He routinely gets up about 3 minutes before I am scheduled to get up, which is 6:00 (except on weekends, when he continues to get up at 6 even though I NEED sleep)!
We tried the light on a timer, which worked for a few days, and also the clock. He just wants to be with me when I get up, which makes it difficult to get anything done. We tried earlier bed, and later, and it just doesn't make a difference.

I'm convinced that some kids are just early risers. It's a problem though when he's tired by 8:30 when preschool is just starting.

4:30 is definitely a different league than 6. At that age, I would just ignore him...

[mommylamb]

This morning he made it until 5... However, we have one of those infant toddler rockers in our room and one of the toys on it plays Old MacDonald when you pull on it... well, the ghost of Old MacDonald came to visit at 4:15 when the thing went off on its own (cats were not in the room) and then again at 4:30. We just can't win. I've gotten to the point where I'm conditioned that when I wake up sometime in the 4 am hour, that it's time to get up and now I have a really hard time getting back to sleep.