Is there anything i can do?

Question

My 8mth olds new wake up time in the morning is changed 2 very early at 4:30am, He will wake up tired and will fight me 2 put him back 2 sleep. He will work himself up till he just keeps crying so i will give up. Then he will want 2 go in the lounge room 2 play for 1-2hrs till he is begins to feel hungry. then after his bottle he will go back 2 sleep. for a morning nap. I have tried putting him to sleep as late as i can at night it still does not matter he will wake at the same time.And he wont have a bottle till he is hungry.. So is there anything else i can try?

Answer 1

I second the recommendation to read Marc Weisbluth's book, Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child. I also agree that you should be trying to put your baby to sleep earlier, rather than later, even though that may be counterintuitive. Babies who are overtired are not going to sleep well -- generally they will have a more difficult time going to sleep, and they will not stay asleep for as long as they should/need to. You should know/learn your baby's "sleep cues" and aim to put your baby to sleep at the first signs of tiredness (you should aim for that with napping, as well).

A good sleep routine is, in my opinion, invaluable -- I can't tell you the number of parents I've known who were amazed at the difference a bedtime routine makes. If you don't have one already, create one, and follow it. As you find the best bedtime for your child, you will then follow the same bedtime routine at essentially the same time every night. It needn't be complicated at all. For example, play a particular lullaby CD, dim the lights, wash baby's hands and face, change baby's diaper, massage some lotion onto baby's skin, put on pajamas, and sit in his room and read a particular bedtime story while rocking him.

And, of course, you should check the obvious -- does a garbage truck awaken your baby at 4:30am? Is there anything in terms of noise or change in room temperature, etc. that would be kicking in at that time of day and interrupting sleep? Leaky diaper? Etc.

So: experiment with earlier bedtimes, not with later ones. And make sure that naptimes accomodate this -- for example, if your baby is napping at 6pm he's not going to be ready for bed! Make sure that time leading up to bedtime is lowkeyed and quiet, and set a routine. (Incidentally, some children do very well with bedtime baths, as it calms them, while others get riled up by bathtime and it's counterproductive.) And read Weisbluth's book and see if it helps you. You may want to consider some form of letting your baby cry, IF you are comfortable with that -- that's really a matter of parenting choices, and I think that it all depends on what works for the parent *and what works for the baby*.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but these things should help.

Keep in mind, too, that sleep patterns for babies change when something developmental is on the horizon, AND teething pretty much ensures that parents can throw any sense of security (when it comes to baby's sleep predictibility) entirely out the window.

Answer 2

If you were to leave him to cry himself back to sleep, no matter how long it took him to exhaust himself, eventually after a few days of that same routine he will stop waking himself up so early.

My son went through that a few times. And every time the only way to get him to stop was to make sure he was getting enough sleep during the day (cutting out naps only makes them over tired, so they sleep less) and leaving him to cry in his crib with a couple toys.

You dont even go in and try to calm him down, just leave him. He will stop.

Answer 3

I agree with Kleighs mommy. My daughter would go to sleep around 10 1030 and on my husbands days off will sleep until 930 or later. The days that he goes to work at 630 in the morning she wanted to know "whos up? why havent they gotten me?" so i started telling him before he leaves he changes her diaper so she can see daddy before he leaves and i make her a bottle or if shes really tired i can just put her binky back in. good luck.. early mornings suck... im not a early morning person

Answer 4

I know it doesn't sound immediately logical, but start putting him to bed earlier.
Tired babies wake up easier and do not sleep as deeply, so if he gets more sleep and is less tired, he should sleep longer. Try as early as 6 or 6:30pm. You will likely find he will sleep longer in the morning.

I recommend the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth.

Answer 5

Agree with the first lady maybe try putting him to bed earlier. And just letting him cry a little 4:30 is just ridiculous. He might also be getting ready to have a growth spurt..

Answer 6

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Answer 7

Of course, all babies are different but the best thing is a regular schedule for meals and bed time. He may fuss and cry the first few times but as long as you know his needs are met, i.e. he's been fed, changed, etc. you sometimes have to let them cry. Eventually he'll adjust and it will be well worth it for you and him.

Answer 8

What time does he go to bed? Maybe extending his bed time an hour or so would help him stay asleep longer.

Also, does he have a bedtime routine? You know, like bath, lotion, bottle, bed? A routine really helps babies understand that it's sleeping time, and they'll sleep for longer stretches as well.

When he does cry, don't pick him up out of bed. Soothe him from his crib.

Answer 9

my 8 month old is up at 5am sometimes 5:30, i have started just getting up with her. she plays for awhile, then has a bottle and goes back to bed. me, well if i wanted to i could go lay down too, but by then, im awake, i get house cleaning time. i dont imagine you will want to wake up that early, so why not give him his soother or bottle, while he is laying down, if he fusses, well he will survive, but you cant give into him. he will fall back asleep. dont pick him up whatever you do

Answer 10

this is what i did, i changed my sons diaper and gave him a bottle in his bed. i never picked him up. the change and bottle all in the crib he could hold his bottle just fine and i would leave the room. i also didnt turn his light on i used the hall light. his bed was beside the door. worked great he always went to sleep