OT - Help! DD2 gets up at 4:30!

[wrighter]

My DD will be 2 at the end of August. She is very active and smart, going nonstop ALL DAY, keeping up with her big brother 4. We've always had sleep issues with her - as soon as we nip one in the bud another pops up. The one issue that has remained consistent is that she gets up SOOOO early. This morning it was 4:30. I'm really at my wits end here. I have read numerous books, tried many approaches - nothing seems to work!

She currently goes to bed at around 7:30. I have tried pushing the bedtime earlier and later, with no results. Always she gets up around 4:30 or 5:00 a.m. She's bright eyed and bushy tailed. I quietly put her back in her bed and she never falls back to sleep. She lays in there and makes so much noise that she usually wakes up her brother. This morning after I put her back in her bed, she stayed in her room for 15 minutes or so and then showed up back in my room naked. Very pleased with herself. (My DH travels for work and therefore it is just me on weekday mornings.)

She does take a good nap around noon each day, for 2-3 hours. I have tried to wake her up from her nap in the hopes that she would sleep later in the morning - but all that happens is she is grouchy the rest of the day. And still she gets up around 4:30 - 5:00. I have tried losing the nap, but that has been disatrous. She currently sleeps less total hours in a 24 hour period than my DS4.

Has anyone out there had similar experiences? I am desperately willing to try anything in order to get her to sleep later. She has always been an early riser, but this has been going on for a year or so, so I can't keep telling myself it's "just a phase." Will she ever sleep until 6:00???

Truly, ANY suggestions here would be greatly appreciated. I am so tired that I feel like it's interfering with my ability to be a good parent to my kids. And I go to bed early!!!

Anyone have any thoughts on this one? I'm really desperate!

 

[SnowWhite12]

Good news is, it's probably just a phase. Bad news is, only way to "try" to fix it is let your child be grouchy for about 4 days. Only let child sleep 1 hour and 15 minutes for nap. And push bedtime back to 8:00 or 8:30. Now, you have to stick with it, sometimes up to a week. Which is a huge pain when you have a crabby kid. You probably won't want to go out to eat that week to prevent public melt-downs. But it is really the only way to let a body adjust to when they are supposed to sleep and make one sleep later in AM.

 

[zoemurr]

but what has done wonders for us is each child has an inexpensive CD player in their rooms. When they wake up (they are 5/8 now, but they have been doing it since they were toddlers) they turn on the music. (I sometimes hear "Big Red Car" at 4:30am myself.. but they don't come wake us up.) Maybe she would put it on and lay quietly and listen to it? It helpes to sooth them back to sleep, and if they can't sleep they are still happy for awhile. For "nap" time when they weren't really sleeping anymore we would put on a CD and say that they could get up when it was over. (I found some pretty long ones.)

I would also make a big number 5 next to a digital clock and tell her she can't come out until the first number is a 5. She can lay quietly and listen to her music. If that works for awhile you can change it to a 6. (In summer now for my kids it's an 8!)

Good luck!

 

[me again]

Have you tried room-darkening curtains or shades? Not sure if she wakes up when the sun comes up or just at that time.

We had a terrible time with our kids waking up as soon as the sun rose, then invested in some room-darkening curtains and shades, got them at Penney's. It did help some. the kids still woke up earlier than we preferred but at least not at the crack of Dawn!

 

[surfgirl]

While the idea of the '5' on the clock is a good one -- they still have to 'think' to get that. Especially with a 5 since that is one commonly confused on a digital clock.

Is anything physical going on ? Does she pee then ? Hungry ?

I was given this idea by a sleep expert -- put a digital timer in her room with a small nightlight. A nightlight with an on/off switch, not a photocell. Set that for a time that she wakes up now -- say 4:30. When the light is on (and it is small) it is her 'good morning light' and she is allowed to get out of bed.

Give her confidence -- set it for a time that she can have success initially. Then add small increments - 10 minutes or so every few days. It will be painful initially, but give her some success before you add time. Otherwise she will get frustrated.

I do this with our 3 yr. old and he is doing very well.

 

[pumpkin5156]

I know this sounds odd, but move her bedtime earlier by 20 minutes every 3 or 4 days. I used the sleeping book, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child," by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. let me tell you : AMAZING!! My DS has been sleeping from 7pm to 6 am w/o waking since he was 5 months old. He had colic until 4 months old, so I was stoked when he started sleeping through the night.

If he wakes before 6m, I NEVER get him. Sometimes he cries, normally he does not and just talks to himself. He knows (and he's only 10.5 months) that he doesn't get to get up until 6am.

Maybe shut your DD door, or put a gate there, and let her play for an hour or so while you still rest. Maybe she'll get it that, "Even though I'm awake, it's not mommy time yet." This has worked very well for me and my son.

Everyone has great advice, but I encourage you to get the book. It's extremely helpful for children of all ages in every stage of life!

GL and get some sleep soon!

 

[LJRJR]

Hi, I have three young childnren, all extremely close in age. All of my children stopped napping a two, I had to stop the naps because I was having the same problems that you are. I know it is hard to stop nap time, because it gives you a break during the day, however it is the only way I could get my children to sleep atleast until 6:00. When my youngest was about 2 1/2 I would take him to a little class (Mommy and Me or gymnastics) two times a week and after those classes he would sometimes fall asleep in the car and I would bring him in the house and let him sleep for another hour. After he had kind of changed his "internal alarm clock" to wake up at 6:00, these little naps once or twice a week did not affect him.

 

[Mkrop]

DS4 had horrible sleep problems and we tried absolutely everything even ahd him on a waiting list for a sleep specialist. It was bad.

Finally one fo the peds asked if I had a nightlight. He said get rid of it. Well I figured I tried everything else so why not. It worked!

He finally slept and it didnt stop after two weeeks like everything else did. Then when the time changed once again he was up way too early. Called the ped back and he said light blocking curtains! Worked like a charm!

 

[disykat]

I know people who've had success with a clock radio.(with kids that are slightly older though) Set it for 6 and tell her she can't get up until the radio is playing.

 

[2cutekidz]

I know this sounds odd, but move her bedtime earlier by 20 minutes every 3 or 4 days. I used the sleeping book, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child," by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. let me tell you : AMAZING!! My DS has been sleeping from 7pm to 6 am w/o waking since he was 5 months old. He had colic until 4 months old, so I was stoked when he started sleeping through the night.

If he wakes before 6m, I NEVER get him. Sometimes he cries, normally he does not and just talks to himself. He knows (and he's only 10.5 months) that he doesn't get to get up until 6am.

Maybe shut your DD door, or put a gate there, and let her play for an hour or so while you still rest. Maybe she'll get it that, "Even though I'm awake, it's not mommy time yet." This has worked very well for me and my son.

Everyone has great advice, but I encourage you to get the book. It's extremely helpful for children of all ages in every stage of life!

GL and get some sleep soon!

I loved this book!!! when dd was 11 mos. old we had similar issues. We'd keep her up unti 9:00 to see her daddy when he came home from work. She'd wake up a few times during the night and was up at 5AM After reading this book we moved her bedtime back to 6:30. Everyone thought I was NUTS for putting her to bed this early - But I had the ONLY child to sleep til 8:00 consistently!! She's four now and still takes at least an hour nap (or rests in her bed) and is still in bed by 7:30-7:45. She still sleeps until 8:00!! I swear by this book!!!

 

[amarberry]

I would also make a big number 5 next to a digital clock and tell her she can't come out until the first number is a 5. She can lay quietly and listen to her music. If that works for awhile you can change it to a 6. (In summer now for my kids it's an 8!)

My DD will be 3 next month, so she is a little older, but we were having similar issues with and tried this. It has really helped! She can't get out until it's 7am, with the exception of going potty. After she goes potty, she has to go back to bed.