2.5 year old waking up too early; it's awful.

[Anonymous]

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Our kid goes to sleep fine, and stays asleep. We put her to bed between 8 and 8:20. She wakes up at 5 to 5:30, crying. If we keep her up later she will wake up at 6/6:15 at the latest. She's definitely tired in the morning if she wakes up at 5/5:30. She naps at daycare for two hours. At home when we've tried to truncate her naps to see if that helps, it makes for maybe an additional 15 to 20 minutes of sleep in the morning. If we leave her in the crib, she panics and screams and tries to throw herself out of the crib--this panic is not conducive to cry it out because she seems so scared. By 8:30 pm we are so freaking tired, only get about 30 mins to rest, and the mornings absolutely suck. What should we try?

[Anonymous]

I should add it we put her down earlier, she wakes up earlier at around 4:45 am.

[Anonymous]

She likely has to pee

[Anonymous]

She's still in a diaper

[Anonymous]

Is it too dark in the room so she can't see? Try a strong nightlight that is on all night.

Is it that she wants up NOW and is insistent? Is she like that throughout the day, that she wants what she wants NOW and can't wait a millisecond? If yes, then work on that during the day - "I hear you, and I know you want to read a book, just wait one minute until I finish folding the towels/making the salad/whatever and then I'l read to you."

Practice this 10 times a day, even if you COULD rush right over and read the book. She'll get so she can delay her gratification, and then in a month or two you can start with the "OK to wake clock" - and set it for 5:15am for a week (I know, UGH!) and then keep moving that up by 15 minute increments. Because if she wakes up but doesn't scream hysterically, you're fine. Also, if she wakes up and hangs out in her crib for 30 minutes, she might start naturally sleeping later. But at the beginning, setting the ok to wake clock at 6am will make her have to wait too long, and hysteria will ensue. She needs to learn that the clock DOES turn to green in shorter increments first.

Also, go to bed at 9:30pm (I know, double ugh) for a few weeks to get your sleep needs satisfied so that 5:30am doesn't look quite so early. My husband wakes at 5:30am 5 days/week for work, so it can be done. It's just that he wakes up to lovely alarm clock music, not a screaming banshee, I do know it's different.

[Anonymous]

I feel your pain because we deal with similar issues at that age. Here are some things to try.

1. A bedtime snack. We always do graham crackers (however much he wants) in the 15 min before bed while doing stories. That way at least it is less likely the wake up later is due to hunger. We also keep a cup of water by his bed so he can get a drink if thirsty, same reasoning.

2. Double diaper if you need to or try a night time diaper. Again, it might be that the wake-up is due to a wet diaper, and if you do this you won't have to wonder.

3. Get an OK to wake clock from Amazon and teach your child how it works. "You can make noise when the orange light comes on but not before." Start it out really early, like if she is waking at 5:30 regularly, just set it for 5:35. BUT DO NOT COME IN UNTIL 5:35. Move it up about five minutes each day until you get to your desired time and do NOT come in until that time. That way there is not a long period of CIO, but just enough so she gets the connection about when you will and won't come in.

4. Stickers in the morning to reinforce successes. You might have to have a generous definition of success for the first couple days, but she will get it. Really talk it up. "And when I come in to get you when the orange light comes on, you can have a sticker. But before then, you need to go back to sleep." A 2.5 is old enough to get the concept.

5. A lovey if she doesn't have one and talk it up. "When mommy and daddy aren't here, you give Bear a hug and wait for the orange light to come on."

6. Black out shades if she doesn't have them.

7. White noise machine in case it's a bird or something that's waking her up.

8. I wouldn't give up on the nap connection. I found for a long period around this age that a nap longer than 90 minutes did lead to earlier wake ups. There was a real difference for us between a 1.5 hour nap and a 2 hour nap in terms of morning waking. So keep an eye on that.

9. Accept that you may not get to your perfect time of 7 am or whatever, but it can probably get better and you may need to meet her in the middle (6:30 or whatever).

[Anonymous]

I had an early riser. Mine woke up bright and chipper however. I'd get up when yours is ready to get up, have her go to the bathroom, eat some breakfast, then do quiet time while you nap on the couch. Maybe she'll grab a catnap before you need to leave in the morning.

Make sure you have blackout shades on her window, and a white noise machine in her room. I like the suggestion of a nightlight in case she's waking up scared or disoriented. Maybe try a snack right before bedtime just in case it's hunger waking her up.

[Anonymous]

Thank you all so very much for your suggestions. I will definitely try them: food, night light, ok to wake clock, trying to reduce immediate gratification frustration, stickers.

[Anonymous]

Get a wake-up clock. Make a sticker chart. She gets a reward after 4 stickers. Before you implement it, role play with her. Change the clock to the sleeping color and lay down on the floor with her for 30 seconds, then change it to the wake up color and make a big deal out of it being time to get up. Praise her for laying down until the clock changed color. Give her a sticker. Do that several times throughout the day until she gets her 4 stickers, then give her a reward.

Then implement the sticker chart where she only gets one in the morning. Set her up for success by setting the clock early at first, then gradually make it later.

Get her a night light (some clocks serve this function as well).

[Anonymous]

My situation isn't ideal, but this is what works for our family and our 2.5 year old. He is in a toddler bed. He can get out when he wants, but he will call to us to come get him instead of walking to our room. We have an OK to wake clock set at 4:20. At that hour he calls me that the clock is green. I come to get him and we both fall back asleep in my bed. You may be able to set the clock to 5 am. We chose 4:20 because he was actually waking earlier than that and because it's an hour that isn't difficult for either of us to fall back asleep.

[Anonymous]

If you bring her into your bed to snuggle, will she go back to sleep?

[Anonymous]

Oh dear her bedtime is way way too late for that wake up. Put her down at 7 and see what happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My situation isn't ideal, but this is what works for our family and our 2.5 year old. He is in a toddler bed. He can get out when he wants, but he will call to us to come get him instead of walking to our room. We have an OK to wake clock set at 4:20. At that hour he calls me that the clock is green. I come to get him and we both fall back asleep in my bed. You may be able to set the clock to 5 am. We chose 4:20 because he was actually waking earlier than that and because it's an hour that isn't difficult for either of us to fall back asleep.

We do something similar. We recently took the front of the crib so instead of crying when he wakes up, he just walks out of his bed and it our room and falls right back asleep in our bed. This morning he came in at 5 and slept until 6:45. It isn't great if you really really want your kid to sleep in her own bed, but I honestly don't mind since I don't have to get out of bed and I get so little time with him in the morning that sleepy snuggling is nice.

[Anonymous]

Just went through the same issue. Switched to a bed -- she began getting out of bed at 545 instead of screaming, but at least that meant she wasn't waking the whole house up. Then we got an ok to wake clock that turns color at a preset time. If she stays in bed until the clock turns green, she gets a piece of candy in the morning. I feel slightly awful about the candy, but this was going on for three months and I was losing my mind. Now she comes in at 7 every morning excited because her clock turned green.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the additional suggestions. Am discussing them all with my s.o. He asked, what can we do tonight to make it better? Ha!