Have you tried leaving her? Does she fall asleep on her own at bedtime? If she can't self-soothe, she can't fall back asleep at 4:45, even if she wants to.

OP, I've gotten the occasional run of early wake-ups from 16 month old DD. My rule is anything before 6 am is still nighttime. So, if she wakes up at 5 or 5:30, then she can hang out in her crib until 6, when I go get her. Sometimes she gets herself back to sleep, sometimes not. But it's worth a try.

I'm the OP...I try pushing back bed time. DOesn't work Do I need to try for longer??

DD woke up at 4am on Monday, 4:45am Tuesday and 5:20am today. Maybe in a few more days I'll get my 7am wake-up! tsk tsk

Now for the crunchy hippie suggestion. Have you tried bringing her to your bed? Both my kids are super light sleepers in the early am. I can get another hour or so in the am if they are snuggled right up against me (one of mine likes to be right in my armpit)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bedtime is way too early. My first slept 12 hours at that age, my 2nd was only 10. We found a sweet spot bedtime around 8:15 where she'd sleep until 6:45! You'll have to do it gradually but you have nothing to lose.

Research shows that an earlier bedtime actually leads to a later waking. This is certainly the case w/my daughter -- when she goes to bed after 7:30, she is a mess and wakes up more frequently during the night and earlier in the morning.

I'm the PP you quoted and I've read all the books. The early bedtime thing worked great with my first - 6:45pm - 7:15am. It was heaven. #2 just WOULD NOT sleep more than 10 hours at that age. SO, if I put her to bed at 7, I could guarantee I'd see her smiling face at 5am. No thank you. So, 8:15 it was. She is 16 months now, and her bedtime is still 8:15, but she now sleeps until 7:30 or 8am. Its great. Naps are another story...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bedtime is way too early. My first slept 12 hours at that age, my 2nd was only 10. We found a sweet spot bedtime around 8:15 where she'd sleep until 6:45! You'll have to do it gradually but you have nothing to lose.

Research shows that an earlier bedtime actually leads to a later waking. This is certainly the case w/my daughter -- when she goes to bed after 7:30, she is a mess and wakes up more frequently during the night and earlier in the morning.

My 2 year old son didn't read all this research and wakes up early if he goes to bed early. As it is, he still likes to take an almost 3 hour nap during the day, and sleep only EIGHT at night. Lucky us. 9-5am, or 9:30-5:30am. Oh, if he falls asleep at 8, he's up at 4:30.

This made me smile.

OP, it's normal and could be any number of things. You have some suggestions here. Try some and see what works, but rest assured, it won't last.

I agree that 6:30 may be a little early, even if your baby still wakes up at 4:45 for awhile, after you push back the bed time. My daughter rarely slept for more than 10.5 hour stretches at that age, so a 6:30 p.m. bedtime would have been very early for her (me). You may want to adjust the naps, too. If your baby is taking three naps, two may be more appropriate. Also, since you know the wake-up time is at 4:45, you may want to try beating her to the punch. Be there as soon as she starts stirring and pat her back and soothe her back to sleep before she completely wakes up. IMO, letting her cry will only make it worse.

Lots of options in these posts.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bedtime is way too early. My first slept 12 hours at that age, my 2nd was only 10. We found a sweet spot bedtime around 8:15 where she'd sleep until 6:45! You'll have to do it gradually but you have nothing to lose.

Research shows that an earlier bedtime actually leads to a later waking. This is certainly the case w/my daughter -- when she goes to bed after 7:30, she is a mess and wakes up more frequently during the night and earlier in the morning.

My 2 year old son didn't read all this research and wakes up early if he goes to bed early. As it is, he still likes to take an almost 3 hour nap during the day, and sleep only EIGHT at night. Lucky us. 9-5am, or 9:30-5:30am. Oh, if he falls asleep at 8, he's up at 4:30.

Anonymous wrote:My son used to wake up at 5:30-6:00. He was always happy and 'talking' to himself. As long as he wasn't crying I let him be. 90% of the time he would talk himself back to sleep 30 minutes later.
Have you tried just leaving her there?

This was us too.

My son used to wake up at 5:30-6:00. He was always happy and 'talking' to himself. As long as he wasn't crying I let him be. 90% of the time he would talk himself back to sleep 30 minutes later.
Have you tried just leaving her there?