no sleep!!

[loobylou28]

Please help, My 15 month old is having a spell of waking at 5.30am. He usually goes to sleep at 6.30pm but I have tried him at a hour and sometimes two hours later but still the same waking hour..... Please, please help! My sanity depends upon it!! Many Thanks. xxx

[Kgrayz]

Hi,, I have been having the same dilemma as you these last few weeks!! My daughter is 14 months old and can not stay awake later than 7pm at night, we have tried keeping her up longer tried bathing her later, cutting her sleep out during the day (which was even worse as she wanted to go to bed at 10 to 6 pm!) tried most things really but she just cries and cries for her cot & as soon as we lay her in there she goes to sleep straight away,, she wakes up every morning at 5:10 a.m, I have to get up straight away as she disturbs my 3 year old son, most mornings she wakes him up & were all up by 5:15 a.m seems such a long day ahead. Do you get up with him at 5:30 or does he go back to sleep??

[aims1202]

If my boy has ever woken up before 7am i have been the same as if it was the middle of the night. When he was very young i put black out lining on his curtains so the light didnt wake him and it was still night time in his bedroom. I would just put him back to bed saying its still night time a little cuddle then leave. If he cries then leave it a bit and then go back to reassure him. if he still keeps crying do the same but leave it a bit longer each time. it might or might not take a while but it will be worth it! Now my boy is 4 and he usually sleeps until about 8am but if he does wake early i just take him back to bed and he either stays in there awake or goes back to sleep. I never found that putting them to bed later meant they got up later or stopping daytime sleeps. For some reason lots of sleep means even more sleep!

[ethanryan]

hi my 18 month started waking up around 5 30 too. i tried all sorts with him but nothing worked so now if he wont get back to sleep i take him down stairs so he dosnt wake his brother up and lie him in his pushchair and either rock him for a while or put the radio or tele on. i know its not ideal but if he wont go back to sleep and you do take him down let him know its not play time, i did this every morning with mine for about a week, then he suddenly started sleeping till about 6 30, still early i know but it was progress. once my son realised he couldnt play, he used to either go back to sleep in his pushchair or stayed in his bed longer.he now sleeps till around 7 when his brother gets up.

[redcrx]

you have my sympathy, my son has gone through stages where he wakes a lot but its usually teething and he goes back off after a while.

a few things to check or try.

does you heating switch on at that time of morning at all? radiators do knock sometimes and wake a child

do you have a neighbour whos going to work at that time and perhaps waking your son with an engine running or something? milkman maybe?

have you tried blackout blinds in case its light waking him (usually wouldnt be affected in winter)

does he want anything? is he thirsty or hungry? perhaps a later dinner would help or a snack before bed and a drink for the night

Sometimes babies get stuck in a routine and cant break the habit. Ive heard that it can sometimes be possible to wake the child, not fully just slightly, a little while before they time theyd normall wake. Then allow them to drift off again, thus breaking the cycle.

[mumof3angels]

Hi
You probably don't want to hear this but my 3 yr old has done the same thing since being one. He usually goes to bed at 6.45 but even if he goes to bed 2 hours later he still gets up at 5.15 on the dot. My other son shares a room with him so I have to get up otherwise he'd be awake as well. If I don't get up he shouts and shouts really loud until everyone is awake-there's just no quietening him. Unfortunately some kids end up not needing much sleep. I hope yours is just going through a phase as I constantly walk around with matchsticks in my eyes. LOL. Many Many sympathies!!!!! x

[allanmabel]

so who is the boss here?I have two boys who did exactly the same thing since birth but they were never removed from the bedroom , I would tend to their every need but only in the room.They soon learned that mum or dad was there but no point in playing up cos was still staying in bed.if you cant manage to teach them boundaries at 14 months what chance at 14 years.by the way one of my sons is a lawyer and the other is a doctor

[allanmabel]

wasn't bragging there by the way,just making a point that bounderies don't harm

[mumof3angels]

I think every child has their own sleeping pattern-hey 2 out of 3 ain't bad Meatloaf said.I think every parent does what they think is the (easy ) solution to the problem. Its really nice that one of your sons is a doctor and one is a lawyer allanmabel but I really don't see what that has to sdo with sleeping at 18 months. 2 of my kids were fanatastic sleepers and my youngest has been crap. But all are really clever and top of their class.

[allanmabel]

just making a point that bounderies dont do any harm and i think children need them to feel safe.they learn from a very early age how far to push

[mumof3angels]

Sorry didn't mean to look as though having a go- Probably tired through lack of sleep LOL. Nothing personal allanmabel.

[allanmabel]

fair enough.kiss to your 3angels xxx

[mumof3angels]

Thnx -not such angels all the time- bless their cotton socks,