The early waking is killing us

Our boys are great sleepers! but lately (since they have gotten over RSV) they have been waking really early. they used to wake about 6-630 and now it's 4-430am! It's just throwing their day off!

It seems the later we put them to bed the earlier they get up. They have pretty much always gone to bed about 6pm, we have been trying to get them to stay up until 630 or 7 but they are just too exhusted!

A typical day"

Wake 6-630 (on their old schedule) 4-5 now...
nap 9-11ish (on old schedule) 8-1030 now..
afternoon nap 2-3ish bed at 6-630

Because of my work schedule I can't go to sleep until about 11:30pm so getting up at 4 stinks...and because of dh's work schedule he's usually out of the house by 6 (and getting things done prior to that)...
ugh!
any suggestions??

 

Oh no I'm sorry about the early risers!!! I would not push their bedtime back... Do you go in at 4:30? My youngest still wakes sometimes really early and we just ignore him. We won't go in earlier then 7, we just won't.
Are they taking good naps? If mine are off schedule at all they tend to wake early. I Hope they sleep in for you soon!

 

For now I would try them back on their old bedtime, 6pm and see if you can get their sleep schedule back on track. I know 4:30 wake up times would slay me. :hug: Hope their sleep returns to normal for you soon!

 

When mine wake early, I do not change the schedule because if I do, they'll get used to it.

For the past few days, my one son has been waking at 6:00 instead of their usual 7:00-7:30. I do not go in there before 7:00 and sometimes he'll go back to sleep and other times he won't. I just let him be for that hour.

 

We've been going through early wake times here too. Our normal wake time is between 7:30 and 8 but these past two weeks it's been one or the other waking at 6 am (one day it was even 5:30am :woah: ). I wasn't sure what to do either. They weren't crying or upset so I just left them until 7am. Now the past few days that's the time they've been getting up .. 7am. So guess I'll work with that for now! 4:30 is oh so early ... I wouldn't adjust the nighttime routine either. I've found that the later they go to bed the earlier they wake, weird. I would just leave them if they aren't upset and then get them at their normal wake time or a little before ... maybe they'll fall back asleep for a little snooze and then wake at their normal time. Hang in there ... I think it's a phase and it will pass soon!!! :hug:

 

I just wanted to add that you could go in before you go to sleep at 11 and put in a sippy of water or some books/toys to keep them occupied if you'd like. I've tried that before.
My girls go off schedule if they're sick because we'll go in whenever they cry if they're sick so even when they are well again it takes them a few days to realize we're not coming in every time they whine.

 

My 4 were all extremely early risers. A couple of thoughts.

1) If you're in the US, Daylight Savings Time is a great time to make an adjustment to schedules. The clock change direction is in your favor this time around. However, that is not always the case. (See my blog post on surviving time changes: http://bit.ly/2VAxJX)

2) Have you ever heard of or used the "Wake Up Light System"? In combination with "sleep rules", this system was a life saver for my family. It is a light that comes on when it is "okay" to get up. It can be used for young babies on up to early school age. Details on how to use it are here: http://bit.ly/b8rTrh

Hope this helps!

Kat
Mom to 2 sets of twins:
Fraternal Boys now 9
Identical Girls now 7

 

Oops. I forgot. I also wanted to mention "Healthy Sleep, Happy Child" by Marc Weisbluth (sp?) -- He also has a new book out about twins and sleep. Anyway, he advises putting them to bed earlier rather than later. Although it is contrary to what you would think... it really does help! He says they're over tired and therefore they don't sleep as well. We found that our kids would get up at the same time in the morning no matter what time we put them to bed. So, by putting them down earlier, we had our evenings free to enjoy each other (mom and dad). Then, the babies were happier in the day because they were more rested. That... in combination with the "Wake Up LIght System" did the trick.

Good Luck!

Kat

 

Coffee... all 3 of mine have been early risers since I started a 'normal' work schedule (7-4 instead of 10-7 or night shift) They wake up t 5 a.m. or earlier. We don't go to sleep until 10 or later, becuase we both take online classes and can't do anything until after they are inbed (7ish)

We got the goodnite lite for my 19 month old. He still doesn't get it but we try to enforce it (we won't go get him until it's 'time' to be awake, etc) Most nights he'll get up and rip it out of the wall. Hopefully soon he'll catch on to it. We're considering getting it for our 3 year olds as well, but haven't yet. They just get up at 5 a.m. every day. I've gotten to where I'll let them watch cartoons so I can get ready.


Sorry I don't have any advice for you - just sympathy. We've been dealing with it for 3 years now....

 

We left them in bed until 6.30am when it happened to us.

The good news is that this week end they should be back on schedule, as we're moving forward one hour.

 

Any time before 6:30 is way too early for us (we're night owls)! For the past few weeks our DS- the best sleeper- was getting up at 5:00 or 5:30, which is way too early. He usually sleeps until 7 or 7:30. We couldn't figure out what it was, so we checked everything that may be a factor. I checked the sheets on the crib to see if they were too uncomfortable to sleep on because they were freshly washed. We checked to see how bright it was in their room in the morning and also if his pajamas were in any way uncomfortable. I added a soft blanket to his crib and made sure the window was blacked out. I think one of the issues was teething and just general discomfort. Some nights I thought it was that he had not eaten enough and was just hungry or thirsty. There were so many variables that were checked and addressed, I now have no idea what was the one thing that may have fixed the issue, but he's back to 7:00. When either one wakes up, we just let them be until 6:30 or 7:00. I added some stuffed animals to their cribs so they can entertain themselves, which has surely helped us out. Good luck to you! It will all pass! We're here for you.