My son is almost 20 months. He's always been a good sleeper at night. For quite some time now, he's been sleeping from 8pm-6:30/7am. He also takes one nap in the afternoon that can be anywhere from 1.5 hrs to 3 hrs long. The past 6 days he's been all over the place with his wake up time. One day it was 5:30am, the next was 4:40am, then 5:50am, then 6:15am, then 5:50am, and then 5:30am again. He wakes up looking for milk (we usually give him a glass when he wakes up). He's tired when he wakes before 6am because he falls asleep in the car on his way to daycare. He's been taking more consistently 2.5 hr naps at daycare, so I wonder if he's napping too long. He doesn't have a problem going to bed at night, though. I wonder if he's hungry because he doesn't always eat the best dinner. Some ask if he's been teething, but he has all but his last 4 molars (aren't those 2 yr molars?). He never really had a problem when his other teeth came out. Any thoughts? I want him to go back to waking btw 6:30-7. This summer we even had 7:30-8am wake ups.
Sleep begets sleep. If you want him to sleep later, put him to bed earlier. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but if you read Dr. Weissbluth's book it makes sense.
good luck.
sometimes i try to just let my kids cry when they wake up like this.
i know its really really hard.
but it helps me to know that i am teaching them to sleep longer and settle themselves back down.
my 11 mo old woke up at 4:45 today crying.
i let her cry and i had to get her up at 7:15 because she had settled back down by herself.
you might give it a try.
be consistent with your schedule in the evenings & don't give him milk til you get him up for the day, ie: not in the middle of the night if he should wake, unless he's sick of course.
let us know what happens!
Hi V. At that age they go through changes of waking up early. Just continue putting him into bed at 8p.m.
I have a 2 year old that does the same thing. My advice would be to try and keep him on the schedule that works for him. Meaning, keep putting him to bed at the same time and he MAY adjust back to his usual sleep pattern. My daughter has always gone to bed around 8 - 8:30pm. and would sleep until 9am! It was soooooo great! We moved her to a 'big kid' bed a few weeks ago, and now she's up between 6:30am-7:30 am.! I have kept the same bedtime & she's slowly sleeping later & later. I think they just go through their stages & growth where their 'too busy' to sleep! Then they wear themselves out & get caught back up. I wouldn't worry about it & hope your little guy goes back to his schedule :)
Your little one might just be waking up thirsty. I know they say not to put them to bed with a bottle but, you might want to try having a sippy of water within his reach. Also, you could possibly adjusting his bedtime to a half hour later or so and/or asking if his naptime at daycare can be adjusted to a little earlier because he probably does need the 2.5 hours.
My 22mo daughter has been through these phases several times. Most of the time she sleeps great from 8pm until 6:30/7am, however every now and then she'll have a week or so of waking in the middle of the night (and crying for ages) or waking early. I let her cry for a while as sometimes she will go back to sleep, but if it gets to the point where I know she's not going to any time soon I get her out of her crib and go lie down on the couch with her. She usually falls asleep pretty quickly once we're snuggling. At this age there's so much to disturb sleep - teeth, growth spurts, hunger, thirst, nightmares - and I have a hard time letting her cry when I know I can help soothe her. And this from a cry-it-out sleep training mom - go figure! I wouldn't suggest changing anything about how you put him to bed as I honestly feel your son will get through this phase soon and you'll be back to the normal routine. Good luck!
My son does this quite a bit, he is now two. I found out he does this when he is going through a growth spurt and his molars. He was great with all his other teeth but his 2 year molars are a nightmare. I find that if I don't get him in the morning he does fall back a sleep. It took a day or two of that and then he stopped. He was also trying to adjut his nap too throughout the day. I kind of let him run the show but I don't change my habits of getting him or feeding him. He made the adjustments needed and he is back to his normal schedule. he goes to bed at 6:30 or 7 and gets up around 6:30 but I don't get him till after 7 (always has been a rule of mine) he usually plays in his crib till I get him. I hope this helps.
V.,
I learned with my oldest to do a special before bedtime snack. We'd do chamomile tea (not for a little guy though) and cheese & crackers or peanut butter & crackers, with some fruit. You get the idea. He was always hungry and had a really hard time sleeping (adhd!) but when he ate first the full tummy helped. So if your guy is waking up hungry, you might do that. If he's waking up thirsty, can you put a sippy cup of water in his crib at night, before you go to bed so he can find it in the a.m. Add a board book & he'll be able to self-entertain for a bit and you can doze a little longer. We'll be changing the clocks soon enough & this won't be as big a problem then lol.
D.
