OK, my 5 yr old girl has been waking about 1-1.5 hrs earlier in the morning than usual. She cries saying she can't sleep and it still tired.
I'm not sure why this is happening. I'll usually lie down with her and she'll toss and turn for a while and then fall back asleep for another 30-60 min.
I'm worried for a few reasons -
1. I have no idea why this is happening
2. It makes her very upset
3. In a week she starts Kindergarten, and she'll be very tired! If she falls back asleep in the morning I'll just have to wake her back up.
Nothing in her sleep schedule, routine has otherwise changed.
Any thoughts or advice?
Probably kindergarten jitters.
Try to get a bit more exercise into her day.
Some more playground time, kick a ball around in the yard, a walk, etc.
Once school starts up and she has a week or 2 into it, her sleep cycle will probably settle down again.
Could be anything - growth spurt, having nightmares, changes in weather or light (more common when we change the clocks) or (my guess) stress about starting kindergarten. She can't relax, can't self-soothe, and she gets agitated. You may just have to advance the bedtime by an hour and get used to an earlier start for the day. There's nothing wrong with being an early riser as long as she's getting a full night's sleep. Maybe you need to change her schedule, maybe you could benefit from addressing the stress of a new school and a bus and new kids. A lot of kids go through that when they are leaving the preschool world.
My kids are 13 and 16 and I have found that everything runs much smoother if I do not make a big deal about lost sleep (even if it bugs me). I have learned to comment about most things as if they are normal, no big deal, so you woke up at 5 and could not sleep and are nervous, everyone is when starting something new, in a few days you will be used to it and fall back asleep again. If instead you get all upset yourself over the fact that she did not sleep enough and will be tired at Kindergarten, then she will pick up on that stress and it will reinforce into more stress for her. Just soothe her and like everyone else (including the teachers!) she will be tired the first week of school until she gets used to the new schedule.
My money is on anxiety about starting kindergarten, whether she's conscious of it or not. Give her a week or two to ease into her new routine, and see how she's doing. Odds are she'll be so tired that she'll sleep like a log right until wake-up time.
It sounds like she is getting nervous, but maybe also excited knowing school will be starting shortly and it is keeping her from sound sleep. I would do the following things:
Get plenty of exercise, outside if possible. This will help her wear off any excess energy and help her sleep more soundly.
Figure out how much sleep she requires to wake up on her own. My son (almost 6-just started kindergarten a few weeks ago) only needs about 10 hours and he functions beautifully. His sister (4.5) needs at least 12 hours, so adjust her bedtime accordingly. Sometimes overtired children have a hard time sleeping. You think they would just crash, but they don't necessarily. Weird phenomenon I think.
Make sure she is eating a well-balanced diet of fruits, veggies, proteins and grains. I notice a huge difference in my kids energy and attitudes when they eat healthy and drink water. They have more energy to play harder, thus making them sleep better. Eating healthy, exercising and getting enough sleep all work together in tandem, so be sure to set her up with habits that reinforce that. Treats are fun occasionally, but limit them. That sugar and processed junk wreaks havoc silently. I follow two blogs on the internet and facebook called Foodbabe and 100 days of real food. They are excellent and give a lot of great ideas and recipes for nutritious meals.
Check out some books from the library that are all about Kindergarten. This may help her explore her own rollercoaster of emotions about going soon. The Llama Llama books are great, Bernstain Bears and Mrs. Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten are a few of my kids' faves. The Kissing Hand is a great one for kids that may be nervous about being away from their family. You can copy from the book or make up your own secret ritual to help your daughter feel connected to you throughout the day.
At any rate, as others have said, this is probably a phase and I wouldn't worry too much about it. You may want to call your doctor just to ease your mind, but it is probably stress-related for her with all the new things to come soon. It's best that you remain positive and worry-free around her and that will help her to stay calm as well. Good luck!
A.
She's grown a bit probably. Her body is going through that phase where she isn't going to need as many hours of sleep. She's mentally used to sleeping X amount of hours but her body grew and now it doesn't need as many.
I'd say she'll work it out on her own. Let her try to lay back down and sleep but I bet she just needs to stay up a little later. It could all work out okay in a few weeks too. She'll be very tired from school and will sleep just fine.
I think she's really nervous about going to school. try these two books, and see if that helps.
http://www.amazon.com/Berenstain-Bears-School-First-Books...
http://www.amazon.com/Amelia-Bedelias-First-Day-School/dp...
The books may not work to alleviate her fears before school starts, but may help her AT school because the books will prepare her for it.
Good luck!
Updated
I think she's really nervous about going to school. try these two books, and see if that helps.
http://www.amazon.com/Berenstain-Bears-School-First-Books...
http://www.amazon.com/Amelia-Bedelias-First-Day-School/dp...
The books may not work to alleviate her fears before school starts, but may help her AT school because the books will prepare her for it.
Good luck!
