5:30 Am Wake up Call

If I am remembering correctly, my first daugther did that around that age too. It drove me crazy! I tried getting her back to sleep but it just didn't happen. She just had to eventually grow out of it-- sorry!

What time are you putting her down for the night? I know this sounds backwards, but I found that if I put my girls down anytime after 7PM they would just get up earlier and earlier. Right now they sleep from 7PM (sometimes 6:30PM if they are acting really sleepy) to 6:30AM, they eat and play and then go back down for a nap between 8:30 and 9. I hope this helps!

Sadly it's pretty normal. Our daughter has been going to sleep early (like 6pm or so) since she was 5 months old (she's almost 14 months old now) and waking up around 6 but plays till 6:30 or so when we feel ready to get her. So, I'd get her used to playing in her crib by herself in the mornings so you're not needing to be up so early. We have/had toys in our daughter's crib, but if you're scared of that, you can use those coiled toys that are meant for stroller bars and wraped it around the crib rails (one of my husband's smarter ideas) so there are things to look at/play with and not worry about SIDS hazards.

We went through a similiar situation. I would try and feed them and put them back to sleep but they didn't want to so we were just up at this crazy hour for a while. Eventually as we adjusted schedules and as they got older, they got out of it... thank goodness. Good luck and hang in there.

My kids would wake up around this time too, and I ALWAYS laid them back down. I would just give them a bottle and they went back to sleep afterwards. If she has trouble going back to sleep, try pushing her bedtime back a little bit. My kids went to bed at 8, and slept until about 7 or 8.

It is perfectly normal for an infant to sleep through the night and wake up early like that. Sometimes they will sleep a little later depending on what time you put the child to bed. I have 3 boys of my own their ages are 10,7 and 4. My youngest one didn't sleep throught the night until he was almost 3 yrs. old. Don't worry though,over time your little one may just start sleeping longer on his or her own.

Feed the baby and make sure it is PITCH BLACK in the room and you may have some luck!!

C.

If she's going to bed early, I would not be surprised if she is done for the night at 5/6 am. If you watch your daughter for cues as to whether she wants to sleep more, you'll know what's best; if she is crying a lot, she probably is ready to eat or play. If she is content, she is probably fine continuing to rest quietly. Sometimes the litttle ones just want to wake up early to play, in which case she'll probably take a nap earlier than she would do otherwise.

My oldest daughter always woke up at that time. I would feed her a bottle and try to put her back down. But it didn't always work. Now I am the mother of four (my youngest is also 6 months) and all of my kids are up for the day at 6 am. My 6 month old gets up at 6, eats and plays, and then is back down for a nap at 8 or 8:30.

Hi L.,
My baby is 5 months old and also wakes up around 5 or 6. Sometimes I change her diaper at this time, or jut let her cry for a few minutes and she usually goes back to sleep until 7:00 or so. Our pediatrician recommended a book called "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth, M.D. and he says this can be a normal part of the sleep cycle for babies this age He gives suggestions for what to do when a baby is awake at this time. This book has helped us tremendously!

Congratulations on baby sleeping through the night : )

My dd used to do that. I always tried to put her back to sleep. I am NOT a morning person and that was way too early for me to get up. I do know of lots of kids that get up that early and are up for the day. What time do you put her to bed? If she's getting 12 hours of sleep at night ( I think that's what's normal) then she's probably up for the day.

A friend of mine gave me 'Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child', by Marc Weissbluth, MD. I've had a lot of people refer to him as the sleep nazi, however, I took what I liked from the book and my 10 month old has been sleeping throughout the night for about 7 months now. The book says that babies from months 5 - 12 should go to bed between 6pm and 8pm and wake up between 6am and 7am. Sounds like your baby is doing fine. What time does she go back down for her morning nap/ afternoon nap? Two important things I learned from the book are that I need to make an effort to be sure I'm home to put my baby down for her morning & afternoon naps and second, to wake her up at the same time every day. I never thought I'd have my baby on such a schedule, but she is a relaxed and happy baby and I honestly believe it's b/c of her sleeping habits. Get the book, it's a good and interesting read. Good luck!

When my kids did this we just decided that 7am was wake up time. Or 7:30 or 8 or whatever it was during that period of our lives (the schedule for younger kids revolved around the older kids' school schedules). If they woke up before the 'wake time' we just treated it like a middle-of-the-night feeding.... changed diaper if needed, nursed for 15-20 minutes and then back to bed. After a few days/weeks they just started sleeping through until we woke them up.

One thing to remember that alot of people seem to forget... a consistent sleep schedule isn't just when you put them to sleep. A key part is waking them up at the same time everyday. If they wake at 5am one day and 7am the next day then they'll never get on a sleep schedule.

Welcome to the club of waking up early!!!! If your baby goes down between 8-9 pm and sleeps until 5 or 6 that's normal!!!! Even if she goes down by 7 she's still getting enough sleep. You can try to see if she'll go back to sleep in the morn but just think, then early naps and then early bedtime for everyone!!!

From my perspective (I have two sons- 2 and 10 months) your 5 month old is doing great. Observe her- If she seems awake and ready to go then that is her full sleep for now. Since she is sleeping through the night I would not change a thing- you have a gift! Maybe you need to get to bed just a little earlier so 5:30 does not seem too rough.

You sound a lot like myself. I am a personal trainer and water aerobics instructor that stays at home with my two girls. I am 28. When my little ones wake up this early. I put them in my bed or lay in theirs and they usually go back to sleep for a couple hours. It helps that it is still dark outside too. Your 6 month might not understand you can't wake up until it is light out. Maybe try putting her to bed later too. Does she nap good? Hope this helps a little.

You might try keeping her awake at night a little longer to compensate. Play with her and 'wear her out' up until about 30 mins. before you actually want her to go to sleep. I had one that did this and it worked for me! So I wish you the best....some just are not 'late sleepers', hopefully yours isn't being counted among that group.

My son is 5 1/2 months and he has been sleeping through the night since about 10 weeks (he's even breastfed). At this point, he goes to bed at 7:30 and wakes up at about 4:30-5:00 for a feeding and goes back to sleep until about 7ish when his older brother gets up.

So, I think the early rising is normal, you can feed him and put him back down. Sometimes, our little guy is in PLAY mode after eating, so I put him in the swing and lay on the couch by him with all the lights dimmed. He falls back asleep every time.

Good luck and congrats on getting him to sleep through the night! My older son didn't do it until at least 6 months.

T.

Totally normal! Mine is 14 mos old and still does it. If he wakes at 5 I bring him to bed and nurse. He usually goes back to sleep until about 6:30 when he'll wake for the day. He would usually take a morning nap again around 8:30 or 9:00 when he was 5 mos old (once they wake, they can be up for about 2 hours before their next nap). HTH's

Hi L.,

I have a 4 month old who always wakes up between 5-6am. I always feed her in the pitch dark and set her back down. She seems to always go back down for at least two hours more. If your baby takes a passifer, you could set her in the crib so you can get an extra hour of sleep. Sometimes they will lay there quietly, even if they are not sleeping. Waking up that early is really hard, and I believe eventually you will have to work on them sleeping in a little bit later.
Good luck

Hi L.,

Unfortunately, that sounds pretty normal! My daughter was a 5:30 am waker until about 18 months - if I remember correctly (she's about to turn 4), she started sleeping in later when she gave up her morning nap (until 7/7:30). Now I have an almost 1 year old son who is in the same pattern - he's up between 5-5:40 every day. Hopefully he will start to sleep in later like my daughter did. With both of my kids, I didn't rush right in when they woke up. For example, my son woke up at 5:15 today, but played in his crib for about 30 minutes. This helps in 2 ways - he knows that he's not going to instantly get a bottle or breakfast the minute he wakes up & so he learned to entertain himself, and it gives me time to grab a quick shower & cup of coffee! Anyway, you could try to put your daughter back to sleep, but my guess is if she's sleeping through the night, then she's probably ready to start the morning!

That sounds like what our little one (who's 1 now) did around 5 months. Can you feed her and get her back down? We found that if we fed him, he would usually take a last little cat nap (sometimes in bed with us) until 7am. Then he was up for the day, and so were we. Good job on getting her to sleep through the night though!
M.

My son always nurses back to sleep when he's up that early. He sleeps from 7:30pm to 8:00am and sometimes wakes up once anytime between 2 and 6. Try nursing her and putting her back down, she may just be hungry or thirsty :)