does "early to bed late to rise" work for you?

[okinawama]

I have done the early to bed thing since my LO was 5 months, and for the most part it has held true. However, at 9 months it seems to have lost it's magic. My little guy has been getting up pogressively earlier and earlier. This morning we had the earliest wake up we've ever had, 4:50 ( I don't ever get him out of his crib until 6:30 regardless of wakeup time). I am incredibly discouraged (and tired) and not sure what to do.

what works for you (especially if you have a 9 month old!)

[SnuggleBuggles]

If they are super overtired then I find sleep to be bad no matter when. But, if they are getting enough sleep in a 24hr period then i find the amount of time spent sleeping at night to be consistent no matter when. Ds2 sleeps 11-12 hours at night and he sleeps pretty much between 9pm and 8-9am. That's been his schedule for a long time (he just turned 2). He did not sleep through the night until 17m, just an fyi.

Beth

[jren]

DS is 14 months, but this has been true since I can remember with him. REGARDLESS of what time we put him to bed, he's up at 6:15/6:30 tops. And he's not a napper (one 45 minute nap/day), so I tend to put him to bed early (6PMish) so he gets his sleep. If he starts waking earlier as he gets older, my plan is to slowly keep him up a little later, maybe until 7.

My DD is almost 6 and the same way. She has a set wake-up time regardless of when she goes to sleep.

[jren]

I have done the early to bed thing since my LO was 5 months, and for the most part it has held true. However, at 9 months it seems to have lost it's magic. My little guy has been getting up pogressively earlier and earlier. This morning we had the earliest wake up we've ever had, 4:50 ( I don't ever get him out of his crib until 6:30 regardless of wakeup time). I am incredibly discouraged (and tired) and not sure what to do.

what works for you (especially if you have a 9 month old!)

How are his naps? Is he napping too long during the day, maybe ready to cut from 3 to 2 naps, etc?

[okinawama]

He has always been a terrible napper! ALWAYS. I have tried and tried and tried to fix it. I have read every sleep book there is, and can't find the solution for naps my child. He's happy while awake and doesn't seem over tired. On average he was getting about 13-13.5 hours of sleep per day

His nights have been my saving grace because he has typically always slept at lease 11 hours . But it's all going to pot recently and I can't figure out why. I usually put him to bed around 6:45 and he'll usually sleep until 6 sometimes longer. However, we're getting more and more 10 hour nights, and I can't figure out why.

[jren]

Well, don't beat yourself up about the naps. I've tried everything with DS, too, and still just the one nap and some days none. And he's been like this since birth. I get so jealous when I hear of moms talking about their kids taking 3 hour naps. DS has never slept more than an hour, and that's rare, for a nap. But at least he's sleeping a good 12 hours at night, so that's his saving grace.

My DD was another story. Very inconsistent with naps and stopped napping altogether before her 2nd bday. She's never slept more than 10 hours a night either. Her ideal sleep times at 9 months were 10PM to 8AM. She's still (at age 6) best with this schedule, but school messes that up.

So hard to know what to do, but I'm with you on not wanting to get up earlier than 6:30. I'll often hear DS in there awake at 5AM, but usually he'll put himself back to sleep. (He's not crying, just gets on his knees and jumps up and down, so he's having fun at least!) I have a friend whose son has always been an early riser no matter what, and he's 5 and still is up at 5AM. That's just his natural wake up time. She's taught him to get his own breakfast and watch TV until the sun comes up before getting her up.