21 Mo Old Waking up Way Too Early

Hi Deborah,
I had the same problem with my then 19 month old. He was waking up around 5:30 and we tried putting him to bed early 6:30 then later 7:30-8:00. He was waking up at the same time. He would stay in his crib until 6:30-7:00 talking to himself. He just in the last week or so, has started sleeping until 6:15-6:30. I think it was just a phase. Try to wait it out but I think the key is to leave her until the wake up time you decide on. Hope this helps.

Why not try putting her to bed later so maybe she'll sleep longer. Try 8:30pm, then you would get to spend more time with her and you might also get some more sleep. :)

I've actually had the exact opposite experiences of the previous advice with my children. The later I put them to bed, the earlier they wake up. If I put my 19 month old to bed any later than 6:45pm she wakes up at 5:30 or sometimes earlier. If I put her to bed at 6pm, she'll sleep until 6:30 or 7:00am. When my 4 year old cut out naps at 2 1/2 or 3, he started waking up earlier and earlier until we moved his bedtime up as well. He had the same response. It is somewhat inconvenient to have such early bedtimes, but I've found that our quality of life is much better if everyone gets enough sleep.

Try putting her to be LATER instead of earlier (you'll have to do this for a few weeks to notice a change). Also, how long is she napping during the day? Try cutting back on nap time too. As toddlers get older, they don't need as much sleep. I know this all too well. We have a 3 year old who has been a notoriously early riser for a long, long time! We tried everything under the sun to get him to sleep longer. The best advice came from our doctor... at age 2, he was still taking very long 2-3 hour afternoon naps... she had us cut naptime back to an hour or an hour and a half and we started to notice a change at night. Good luck.

I too have an early riser. It has been my experience, that putting her to bed earlier helps her sleep longer. I know it sounds counter-productive, but it works. Push her bedtime up by 15 minutes and see if it helps.

When my son (now just about 4) was 2, he woke up that early also. He also required a 7-7:30 pm bedtime, that was just how he was. He is now almost 4, and has been sleeping until 8:30a.m this summer much to my surprise. I think that the sleep will work itself out eventually. I remember thinking " am I ever going to get to sleep in again?" I am enjoying my time, and you will get yours too, just hang in there! :) My best friend has twin 3 year old boys, and they wake up at 5:20 a.m on the nose every morning no matter what time she puts them to bed, and no matter how long or short of a nap they take. I tell her the same thing, just hang in there. Good Luck!!

A.

My kids, age 2 and 3, only need about 9-91/2 hours of sleep at night. They just seem to wake up in about that amount of time. They also get a good 2 hour nap each day. The three year old will occasionally miss his nap and then may sleep a bit longer. Not all kids can sleep that long. All kids are different. I hope you find what works for your family.

If your child goes to sleep around 7, I would go to sleep myself shortly thereafter. then you get up to 10 hrs sleep. I used to stay up late all the time but as a single parent of a yr old I find it more important to be well rested. My sweetie goes to bed at 8pm and I am nearly always in bed by 9.30. She wakes around 6-7 and so that is quite a bit of sleep. Everything on the "to do" list can be on the "not done" list :)

Hi Deborah-
Although it is not ideal, my advice would be to try and have her put to bed by 6:30 or 7 the latest for at least 5 days and see what happens. Although I know we want to spend time with our children, the most precious gift we can give to them is their proper rest. As you know, their little brains are developing during sleep and it is the most important thing we need to enforce. If you are not comfortable with not spending time with her, is there are way you can alter her afternoon nap a bit so she sleeps later in the day which may allow her to stay up with you until 7:30? I know it is such a hard juggle, but I would do anything to get her the proper rest. Good luck and I hope you and your family get more sleep soon! One more thought-does she have white noise going in her room?
Good Luck!

Ironically, you must put your child to bed earlier. Call Dr Weissbluth if you have any questions -- he is a genius and if you do what he says, it works and everyone is happy :)) ###-###-####. Tell him I sent you. I am a single, working Mom so I understand about wanting to se eyour child at night, but you can see your child in the morning -- and it is better for you and your child to get sleep... M. (Mom of Elizabeth)

Hi Deborah, I too have been through this and still am and my daughter is going to be 5. Put her to bed later. My daughter only requires 8.5 hours of sleep. Her bed time is usually between 9 and 9:30 and up by 6. Just hang in there it will get better.

Jen

Hello,

My daughter is almost 22 months and she did that exact thing for a few weeks right around 21 months. She then cut her eye teeth. Now we are back on schedule with her going to bed around 8:30 and sleeping until 6:30. My daughter has never needed an average amount of sleep for an infant, 10 hours seems to be just right for her. But for a while it was 9 to 5:30. I think she was just uncomfortable while she was teething and couldn't sleep. She also wouldn't go to sleep by herself, she wanted me in her room and although I insisted that she fall asleep in her crib, I had to stand next to her and tough her cheek otherwise she would scream and work herself into hysterics. Then one night she was fine and I left the room and she fell asleep on her own and the next morning I actually had to wake her up at 7 so we could get going and I could get to work.

Good Luck,

D.

Some of the moms on here have already said what I'm going to say...put her to bed EARLIER. I suggest reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. It will guide you through what do in this situation and for your son. I know you want to spend more time with your children because by the time you get home from work you only have a short amount of time, but this may be what they need right now.

put her to bed later! the first day or two may be very whiny and rough, but if she needs 10 hours of sleep every night, she will pretty quickly start sleeping in later.

If all the other suggestions don't work, you might want to discuss this with your pediatrician. My son did this, and it got worse instead of better. Eventually, he was incapable of sleeping in daylight, regardless of the amount of sleep he had the night before. We finally completely blacked out his room. Daycare was a real problem. I asked his pediatrician about it every time I took him to the doctor, but I was repeatedly told it was "nothing to worry about" and he would "grow out of it." He didn't. I kept wondering what on earth I was doing wrong. It turns out he has severe sensory issues, including a sensitivity to light. He's ten now, and still can't sleep in daylight. Sensory issues aren't common, but it's something to keep in the back of your mind, if you've tried everything else without success. Had I known about it when he was a baby, it might have saved me a lot of frustration and self doubt, and I might have pushed harder for answers.

You'll get lots of good advice, but try putting them to bed later, 7:30 is early, you'll have more time with the kids and they might sleep later.

Put them to bed later.