3yo early waking

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10-10-2012
mmommy

3yo early waking

HELP! DD1 is 3 and has been waking up anywhere between 4:30-5:30 for the past week with the exception of 1 day (when she slept until 8).

At first I thought she was waking up because she needed to pee. Those first 2 nights she stayed dry because I took her right to the bathroom when she woke (she woke me up by turning on the light in her room) After those two nights I have made her go to the bathroom when she wakes, but her pullup is already wet. So, I'm not sure if peeing is what is waking her....

How do I get her back to sleep? When she wakes I turn on the hall light at her request, and I leave it on because she'll freak out if I turn it off during these early morning wakings. She has only fallen back to sleep once when she wakes up so early.

We had it so good - she was waking up close to 7 and knows to stay in her room until her Time to Wake clock turns green. Now that all seems to be out the window...DD2 is 4mo and I had them in the same room, but I took DD2 out again since DD1 was turning on her light when she woke.

She goes to bed around 7-7:30 and has been falling asleep really quickly since she has stopped napping, but does this mean she needs a later bedtime? Or earlier? I'm so tired!
10-12-2012
mmommy

Nobody has a kid who wakes up too early?
10-13-2012
hellokitty

Is she thirsty? Do you think that giving her a drink of water might help her go back to sleep? Ds3 is an early waker too, but has just recently gotten better due to the daylight being later than before. 5:30am was his normal waking time for two yrs, I often think this explains why I am flakier than usual. Ds2 was very similar, but not quite as early he was up by 6 am. Fwiw, when they are old enough to go play on their own, I let them do it. I have our light downstairs set to turn on by 5:30am for this very reason.
10-13-2012
hellokitty

Also, is she still napping? If it's messing up her bedtime maybe dropping her nap is the key. Ds3 is probably sleeping in until 6am now, because he rarely takes naps anymore.
10-13-2012
mmommy

She dropped her nap about 3-4 months ago, which is one reason I thought it strange she would already need a later bedtime. I'm hoping it being dark at 5:30 will get her to sleep later, but her room is always pretty dark, so I don't know if it'll make much difference. She's up now, woke at 5:45 today, and is sitting quietly on her bed playing with stuffed animals. Maybe that is the best I can hope for? I was worried the lack of sleep would make her a mess/terror at preschool, but apparently she had a good week...maybe I'm worried about nothing.
Eta: we do keep a small cup of water next o her bed, so that isn't he reason. I do think it might be potty related, but at she's not quite ready physically/mentally to night train...
10-13-2012
crl

Quote:

Originally Posted by mmommy

Nobody has a kid who wakes up too early?

Oh, I have got one. She's my second to be like this. I just haven't got any answers for you. I have tried changing bedtime, changing nap time, refusing to let them get up, no milk or food gradually moved later and later, sippy cup with water in bed, toys in bed, no toys in bed, special clock that lights up when it s time to get up. None of it really worked. I did manage to get ds to move from a 4:30 am wake up to a 5:30 to 6:00 wake-up, by a combination of no milk or food until later (changed this gradually) and refusing to let him get up. No success in budging dd at all. I'm lucky if I get to sleep until 6am.

If you find the magic trick, be sure to let me know! :wink2:

Catherine