Finally at 8 months my son is sleeping through the night, but he is up before 5:00 every morning. I have tried putting him to bed later, giving him a bottle, bringing him into my bed, and letting him cry it out. Nothing seems to work. I give him a bath every night with a regular bedtime routine. He goes to bed between 7 and 7:30. Any suggestions or is he just an early riser?
When he wakes up try leaving him in his crib and see what happens. My son gets up every morning and talks or plays in his crib for an hour and falls right back to sleep for another hour or two. We have a monitor and just watch him entertaining himself - it's very cute. I think parents hear their babyies and think they have to go and get them. You don't! He loves his morning time and when we finally go get him he's happy and well rested.
My kids are a bit older now but I know from friends who have children around 8 months that they all put their kids to bed around 8:30 - 9:00...and the children sleep until 7:30 am...It also depends, is he taking 2 naps still? Assumming that he is, I think you have to decide if you are more a morning person or night person. I needed that night time to myself and didnt mind the early 5:30 wake up at that point (therefore I would be the morning person). Good luck!
Hi M.,
For any and all sleep issues I've ever encountered as a mom of 7, I have found the answer in the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child," by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. I got all sorts of advice from other moms, but as soon as I got this book and put it into effect, the problems ceased. A lot of it is not what you would think would work (ie. later bedtime) It's all about making the whole schedule fit your child's age and sleep patterns. It will be well worth the $10-12 you spend on it.
Hi M.. My LO did this too for months on end - until she went to bed at 8pm and went down to one nap. Then things finally moved later - Thank God!
So - when he wakes at 5am is he cranky? Or is he happy and ready to start the day? If he is cranky then I would work on getting him back to sleep. Repeat your night time routine so he knows it is still sleep time.
If he is happy then I would cut back on his length of his naps, put him to bed at 8pm, and do this for a month. You will not see results right away. It takes a while for their little biological clocks to get adjusted.
Also, as far as naps go, the first one in the morning can often be an extension of night sleep, so move it a bit later in the day, say 30 minutes later and keep it to one hour. That can also help to even out the early wakings. You can keep his afternoon nap the same.
Good luck!
