Knocked Up

you are so funny- if it makes you feel better, i have one of those early risers, too.  i have an 11 month old walking baby girl, work full time and my husband is a pilot and travels a LOT, so i can totally relate.  no advice, just thought i'd let you know you're not alone.  yesterday morning, i dropped a picture frame on her, rushing to get the cooling iron out of her reach, this morning i just tried really hard to avoid hurting her.....

Toys in the crib -- we have found our morning routine eased by letting our 10-month-old play in her crib (ok, so sometimes she shrieks and screams for us to come get her, but we all get used to it and eventually she distracts herself with toys) while we shower and get dressed. She consistently wakes us up before we want to get up, but toys in the crib is how we are currently managing the very early morning routine...

Toys in the crib do work.  As does morning training - NOT going in to get them until X hour in the morning.  If my DD gets up at 530, I feed her, then put her back down, and she stays in bed until at least 615 or 630.  This took a while (maybe a week?) but it does work well.  I thought I would be doomed to getting up at 5 forever, but not so far!  :)

The Boy is an early-riser, too, 6:30 a.m. is the latest we ever get to sleep in. Most mornings, it's more like 5:45 or 6. What is it about waking up to an alarm clock that says 5-something that is so much worse than 6-something?

I find our cat is a great distraction, though she'd prefer not to be. Also, things that normally wouldn't be toys but still are safe (and handy) -- my nightshirt, a spare purse, my husband's running shorts.

i think it might be a phase and he'll eventually sleep a little longer-though i know it feels like an extremely looooong phase that will never end.  i remember the same thing happened with petunia and i would forever be up at 5am.  eventually she started to make it to 6:00 or 6:15.  once in a while she'll revert to the 5:20 wake up but then over the course of several days finally make it to at least 6.  i am a morning person too but I know what you mean, it's nice to have that cup of coffee before your kiddo rises.  when petunia does make it to 7, i usually think something is wrong with her :)  i hope for you this passes!

I have an early riser too.  Before T slept through the night he would sleep until 7, but once he started dropping night feedings, the rising time crept earlier and earlier, until now, like Axel, we're really happy if we sleep in until 6.  T is the same age as Axel and I think at this age some babies are just so rearing to go that they don't care about sleep.  Friends tell me they outgrow it -- in the meantime I, like you, am just making an effort to get to bed earlier and to leave T in the crib as long as he can stand it without freaking out.

Argh. No helpful advice, just commiseration. Flann, after a blissful period of sleeping straight through from eight in the evening till seven in the morning, now gets up between four-thirty (shoot me now) and five-thirty. There's no ignoring him or letting him play in his crib, either: fire-engine shrieks would result.

I guess I must start going to bed early, too. Sucks because my husband doesn't return home till 7:45/8 (two-hour commute from Palo Alto to Berkeley), and so I'll see him for one hour before I sack out.

I just can't wait for those blissful adolescent days when I'll have to haul his ass out of bed with a winch.

Have you thought about putting him to bed a little later at night? I'm not talking "irresponsible parenting" late, but you know, maybe 30-45 minutes or something, just to try...

My 19 month-old son never napped for more than 45 minutes, fought his bedtime to death, and woke up several times during the night. We were desperate and willing to try anything. It could be related to something else but since we put him to bed at around 8:30, he naps for at least two hours, falls asleep in a few minutes, and most importantly stays asleep. It's like we've found his natural schedule or something. He doesn't look more tired, and I'm sure he isn't because of the improved naps and more peaceful nights. I have a feeling he won't be a morning person though, he's always woken up at 7 (sometimes 8 during the weekends), and that hasn't changed.

And you made me remember that "chaotic mornings" phase, whoo, I sympathize with you. It will get better as Axel can focus a little more and occupy himself a little longer, you'll see. When they've been walking for a month or two it's like suddenly their crazy built-up energy slows down a bit. Good luck!

We solved the early morning wake up issue by making the playroom fully child-proof, but with a comfy couch. The baby gets up early, wants to play, not a problem. We get her a juice, maybe some cheerios, and go to the playroom. She plays, Mom (or Dad, depending on who's the unlucky one that day) falls asleep on the couch. The baby learns to occupy their time on their own, and doesn't depend on Mom or Dad to be a full time entertainer.

We have a light on a timer in our two year old sons bedroom.  The light turns on at 6am and every night we tell him that we will be in when the light turns on and that is when it is time to get up.  It took awhile to sink in, but now if he is up before the light he goes back to sleep or just hangs out in his crib. He joyously shouts "Light on" when it is time to get up.

We had to deal with the Boy waking up in the 5's until we just let him cry it out (painful to hear him, I know)for a few days, and he go the hint. Lately I've wanted to make it 7, but haven't had the heart. But it's definitely coming, although I think I will add toys.

Amen to your whole post. I am currently setting my alarm for 5:20 so I can get ready for work before Jane wakes up at 6. But lately, 6 has become 5:30..or earlier. Makes you kind of miss the days you could plop them down and they wouldn't go anywhere, huh?? : )

My 10-month old has been been getting up around 5:00 am the past couple of weeks. I've found that he'll usually settle down and fall back asleep if I bring him into our bed for a little while. After he's nice and warm and cozy with us, he'll sleep for about another hour. If I'm lucky, I can put him back in his crib while he is still sleeping, and take a shower before he wakes up again.

While I have empathy for what you're going through, I'd hardly call having a baby who sleeps "10 solid hours" a "sleepless" situation...it's a little insensitive to those of us who have kids still waking up multiple times a night at 21 months. That said, I do hope you find a solution that allows you to sleep past 5 am every morning.

I have to add that too ... I dream of 10 hours straight.  Who cares what time the wake up is... it's 10 hours straight of sleep!!!  I don't have that yet at 16 months. For awhile there were were up every 2 hours at least - and that was at 14 months old. And my wake up is always before 6 too.   I know that those early wake ups are bad, but I wish this was my problem

Maybe you could even put a cloth book in his crib?  On the foot side, so he'll see them when he wakes up in the morning and starts yelling for you.  Could be another 10-20 minutes, which is a good 'snooze button' or two.

I hated it when my daughter stopped liking the exersaucer -- what is so important for her to walk around and do?  For a while (6 weeks, maybe?), it worked for us to put her in a pack-n-play in the living room with toys in it.  She would get mad at first, but then she learned to entertain herself.  It gave me a good 15 minutes.  Now, of course, she just stands there and screams at me.  But maybe that could be a temporary fix?

As far as getting a shower in, I take my 16-month into the bathroom with me and give him half a bottle to drink. It keeps him pretty chilled out while I shower (fast! and with the stall door open a little bit!). Also, maybe in addition to the bottle you can give him some toys he only gets to play with in the bathroom. That way there will still be a novelty aspect to them and he may not unroll the toilet paper/splash around in the john/re-grout the tile out of boredom while you get clean.

I dont think it's fair to say that this entry was 'insensitive'.  At some point, you have to ask yourself how you are contributing to the situation if your baby is waking up throughout the night after a certain age.  I'm sorry, but I've found that some parents love to kvetch about how little sleep theyre getting, but those same parents are unwilling to do any sleep training/cry it out or anything to improve things, so they continue to suffer.  It makes no sense to me.  

And for what it's worth, all three of my children slept through the night (12 hours) at 3 months.  And yes, we did cry it out and yes, it was difficult for the week or two that it took.  But my children were happier babies (and we were happier parents) afterwards for it.

Just my two cents...

I'm for the sleep training too. My son didn't sleep through till a year but we started sleep training at 5 months which got him down to one wakeup. Once we got him to sleep through we moved our sleep training focus to morning training. This meant not going to him until 6 and eventually 7. I think the best thing we've ever done for him is to teach him that he can calm himself. (and it didn't require closing the door and letting him cry for hours on end. We did 15 minute intervals) This makes him mellow even if he wakes on his own earlier. He has his bunny and a taggie in his crib and plays quietly with them until it's time to get up. Today it was closer to 7:30. It's hard but it's so worth it in the end. Eventually you won't be able to be there at the exact moment your son needs you so try teaching him to calm himsel.

It seems counter-intuitive, but in many cases, sleep begets sleep. You might try gradually moving Axel's bedtime earlier, so he's eventually going to bed at around 7:00. That, anyway, is Marc Weissbluth's advice (in "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child") which has worked really well with our girls. But maybe we're just lucky.

Also, how dark is his room? Do you have good, light-blocking shades? That can definitely help.

I have a 10 month old who is on the move and completely over the jumperoo as well.  We broke down and bought a walker and it has SAVED us.  He loves sprinting around the house while we're getting ready, doing chores, cooking dinner, etc.  You just have to make sure to baby proof anything in their reach.  The one we have also coverts to a push toy when he starts to walk, so at least we'll get a few months use out of it.

I'm so glad to hear this! My son, at 21 months, sleeps only 10 hours at night, and always has since he started sleeping through the night. He's awake by 5:30 every morning, no matter what we do (later bedtime, earlier bedtime, lots of physical activity, more food at dinner, etc.). Everyone we know seem to have kids who are able to sleep 12 straight hours every night, and they look at us like we must be doing something wrong.

"I'm sorry, but I've found that some parents love to kvetch about how little sleep theyre getting, but those same parents are unwilling to do any sleep training/cry it out or anything to improve things, so they continue to suffer.  It makes no sense to me.  "

I can honestly say I've tried it all.  Some kids just don't sleep well, no matter what you do.  I know it will end one day.  I don't think this was an insensitive piece - we all have our different issues.  I personally would just LOVE that much sleep.  Just hoping it happens soon ...

Trust me, I don't enjoy complaining.  But after 16 months without a full night's sleep, it's a little rough to not sound like you are complaining.

when you've tried everything, gotten a doctor involved, etc ... and your final answer is basically "well, he just doesn't sleep well" what more can you do?  I don't sleep well either, so I guess he inherited it from me ....