what happened to our schedule?

My boys used to be on a great schedule of waking at 6:30-7, 3 naps a day, then bedtime at 7. For some reason, they've started waking up around 5:30-6 the last couple of days and are ready to go down for their first nap by 7:45 or 8. Their naps are only about an hour long. So all the naps are now shifting an hour earlier due to the early awakening. They wake up from their last nap at 3 and then are struggling to make it to bedtime. How do I get them to sleep a little longer again and go back to their happy schedule?

 

No expert on the nap thing here, but could you maybe squeeze in another nap to get them back on track? Like if they're up at 3, then put them back down around 4:30 or 5 for another hour and then give them a little later bed time like 7:30 or 8 until they're back to getting up a little later again?

 

Another thought, maybe you can put them down a little earlier at night.

 

I try squeezing in a nap around 4:30 but they absolutely refuse and just cry. And I've tried putting them down around 6 pm but I think it only perpetuates them waking up earlier.

 

Unfortunately the early waking was a long phase for us. They did it from about 9 months to 12 months. I tried everything and really only what worked was getting them to bed at 5:30-6pm that way I had the evening to myself and could go to bed early to combat the early waking. I think they just had to mature to sleep longer.

Once I realized that they didnt need to eat right away I started leaving them in the crib for a few minutes and worked my way to 6am and would not go to them until 6am and then it just got better from there. Good luck with your early risers. :hug99:

 

No advice-just that I am having the same problem. Nothing has really changed except for a while they were sleeping like angels until 7 am and as of the last few days they are wide awake and playing in their cribs at 6 am. I hope it is just a little phase! It isnt a huge deal on the week days as I am up at 5:30 but I would love to "sleep in" on the weekends and this just wont work!

 

Try putting them to bed earlier. I notice when I put mine down at 6pm they sleep until 6:30am the next morning, but if I put them down any later they are up before 6am. But, I don't go to them until 6am even if they are crying. I don't mind them getting up at 6am, but not any earlier.

 

We went thru an early awakening phase too. You can try to shift their naps a little later (like 5 minutes later a day) and see if that will help. No other advice.. nothing we did helped, we just had to wait it out. If the girls weren't crying, I let them play in their cribs before getting them up in the morning. I refused to start my day before 6 if they weren't crying. GL!

 

What I had to do with mine is set a wake up time and not go in their room before that time. Mine started waking earlier and earlier so I'd play with them. I set an alarm and I don't go into their room in the morning before the alarm goes off.