Hello I have a question that hopefully someone will have a solution too. I have a daughter who is almost 3 and is a little delayed ( she is currently about a 20-24 month old mentally) She has begun waking up at around 5:00am and not going back to sleep. I have tried to let her cry in her bed and she is so stubborn that she will NOT go back to sleep. I eventually get up and go get her so she won't wake up my other daughter. I am about 8 weeks pregnant and I am so tired already that this schedule is killing me. We are used to getting up around 6:00am during the week b/c I work full time but I need the time by myself to get myself ready first. Does anyone have any suggestions about getting her to sleep longer. We keep her on a very routine schedule so she shouldn't be experiencing problems there.
Try keeping her up a little later, tire her out. If that doesn't work, it looks like you have a beautiful alarm clock. lol
I am sorry, I have no great suggestions for you only to try delaying when she eats breakfast. If your normal schedule is to wake up around 6 am and start your day, then start the routine at 6 am. I have tried this with my daughter and it worked, for the most part and it's not perfect. And the other solution is even if she is awake in her bed, then just let her stay in her bed. Give her a snack by her bed..something like crackers and some milk or juice and a few books and get her into that routine of staying in her bed until the rest of the family is ready to start the day. It may take a week or so of convincing her that is what is to happen, but I think if you stick with it; it will help you out greatly! Good luck.
Both of my boys sleep with us. Our king sized bed was one of the best purchases ever. Our three year old (just turned three) sometimes starts the night off in his own bed and then ends up with us and our 18 month old. We tried to get our oldest to sleep in the crib when he was a baby, but gave up. I am so glad that we did because we finally got some sleep. Now that he is getting older and starting to outgrow needing me at night I actually a little sad. I never thought I would feel this way. You might go to www.askdrsears.com and read up on the family bed. Good luck either way you go.
What time dose she go to sleep? You said that her routine. How many naps dose she get during the day?
Even though she may be behind deveolmental wise, she may just need less sleep. Maybe try cutting out a nap, or putting her to bed a bit later. Or try a night light? My daughter wakes up and she will play intil i get her up at the same time every morning.
good luck
J.
Dear A.:
Is this a new thing for your daughter to be waking up so early? When my kids did something like that all of a sudden, or seemed unusually irritable and were too little to communicate well, I got to where I would just take them to the doctor and tell him what was going on. That way he could check them for an ear infection or something that might be hurting them. Sometimes they did have an ear infection and sometimes he couldn't find anything wrong. Also, ( pediatricians and baby books don't approve of this) I took our second son out of his crib at nine months, put him down to sleep on his crib mattress, and he would wake up very early, like 3-5, toddle into our room, climb into bed with us and just go back to sleep. Our third son was never in a crib at all, he did the same mattress and early-visit routine, and number four was in our room next to us on a twin bed till he was three. We all got a lot of sleep, but most importantly, Mom got a lot of sleep. I did some safety measures, like putting up baby gates in the hallway so they couldn't wander off downstairs. You sound like a very busy Mom. We as mothers just have to do what we can to take care of ourselves.
Good Luck,
J. H.
If she's in danger of waking your other daughter then I would work on getting her to entertain herself for that time. Leave a toy, crayons and coloring book, or book on her bed when you do that final tucking in.
Our 2 year old does the same thing. Occasionally we pull him into our bed but more often one of us will camp out in his room for the extra hour while he plays or watches videos.
This would also be a good time to roust that man out of bed and get him to step up and help out with the child rearing.
Hi A.. I have a 23 month old son who usually wakes earlier than I do and I just always keep a few toys in his crib, something that he cannot choke on or hurt himself, but will keep him entertained until I am ready to get up myself. I know ecspecially while your are prego you need sleep, lots of it!!! But maybe if you try that or if it has just suddenly started your lil angel may be coming down with something, so it might not hurt to make a trip to the doctor's office... Hope all goes well with you!!! Good Luck!
Hi A.,
Our daughter wakes early in the morning too. Are you comfortable allowing her to sleep in your room if that will help her sleep longer? If she sleeps in a toddler bed, would you mind moving the bed into your room? Our daughter just turned 2 and she sleeps with us. When she was a baby, her nighttime wakings were hard to manage, but she is now sleeping well and sleeping with us. When she wakes up early in the morning and I'm next to her, she will go back to sleep. Otherwise, if I'm around the house, I will go to her and lie down for about 5 minutes and she will fall back asleep. Hope you find a way to get some rest soon.
I would say to either back up her bed time a little or cut down on nap during the day if she still has one.
Have you tried keeping her up just a little later at night? Or perhaps when she wakes up in the morning give her a little milk in bed. Or let her get up and go lay on the couch. But tell her she must stay there until you say. That way you can still have your unwind time. I had to do this with my son when he was around 20 months because I was in school from 8am until 10pm and my husband was deployed and I was pregnant with my second son. HOPEfully it helps!
