1 yr old early riser

[akc74]

My little boy has always been an early riser - currently consistently waking at 5.30am. I have just read about taking them out between 6-7pm for some evening air & light and how this supposedly helps with early waking. Does anyone have any experience of this?!

[Saffron]

From my understanding, sunlight (or artificial UV light) in the morning has been shown to help people who have trouble falling asleep. Sunlight in the evening helped people stay asleep longer, when their problem was early morning insomnia.

UV enters the body through the eyes mainly, but also the skin. It effect hormone production in the pituitary gland of the brain. Some of these hormones are involved in setting and maintaining sleep cycles.

The research I read a couple of years ago was for adults. I don't know of any research specifically in infants/children, but there is no harm in trying. You might not see results for a couple or weeks, or you might see results immediately, because it is normal for hormone production and metabolism to vary a lot between individuals.

It's also possible that (a) something else is waking your LO, e.g. teething, hunger, lonely, bored, the list is pretty much endless. Or, (b) your Bubba is just an early riser. In which case, early morning wakings are his own internal 'default' setting, and will be difficult to change.

I too am very curious to see what others' experience are with light therapy for insomnia/early waking. BTW, research also suggests that light therapy is helpful for not only seasonal affective disorder, but also eating disorders, and postpartum depression.

[akc74]

Thank you, interesting stuff.

I try to resist taking him out of his room straightaway as I have read about the way daylight helps regulate the body clock, so I try to sit quietly in his dark room at first. However by this time (after half an hour chatting) he's already pretty awake and wants to go downstairs and play. I am going to try a few evening outings, and see if it has any impact and will report back.

He may be in the early stages of teething with his first molars, though there is no other sign that they are particularly imminent beyond a spot of thumb chewing. Otherwise I am pretty sure it's not cold/hunger/light etc.

[Saffron]

Must admit we're not very disciplined around our house, so if Little Saff (17 mo) is up early we just put her in bed with us (if she isn't already there from the night before, little rascal). She often wakes early but is getting better now I think. I tried to get Hubbie on board to help with post-supper walks earlier this year, but he was pants, too knackered from work. And I was too knackered from chasing Little Saff around all day to get organised with the buggy etc. It does seem that some children improve with age, so there's hope out there somewhere....

[akc74]

We bring ours in with us too, but as he didn't really ever co-sleep and it's not as dark in our room, he is extremely fidgety and awake so there's no danger of any further snoozing for any of us!

Hubbie gets up at 6am himself anyway, so maybe he is just tuned in to that and wants to get up like Daddy...I live in hope that as you say it'll improve with age. And in the meantime I am willing to try all sorts of tricks just to see if I can get to that golden hour of 7am, just once!

[KateW]

Does your son still have a morning nap or just a lunch time nap? If they nap too early in the morning, their little bodies use this nap as an extension of their night-time sleep and so they continue to wake early, knowing thay'll catch up with their sleep in a little while. We're currently trying to tackle early morning waking with our 8 month old little girl. We're following Gind Ford's nap routine (shock, horror!) and she suggests putting them down for their morning nap as near to 9.30am to try and break the early waking. Our daughter would wake anytime from 5am, although usually nearer to 5.30am and I used to put her down for a nap around 8.45am and let her sleep for 45mins. However by now putting her for a nap at 9.30am for 25-30 mins and lunchtime nap around 12.30pm, she's waking more consistently at 6am (with some 6.30am wake ups), going to bed at 7pm. Apparantly it takes a while for the changes to occur but I'm hopeful that she'll get more consistent. Hubby gets up at 6am so that suits us, although I'd dearly love for her one day to sleep til 7am! Good luck.

[akc74]

Well I didn't confess in my OP but I, too, have been loosely following GF since very early on. As recommended, I have cut his morning nap right back and if it happens it is rarely now before 10am and he only sleeps for about 10 mins (with intervention from me I confess - or he would sleep on). I think I should be dropping it completely now, because he still seems to wake early even since shortening it.

I probably just need to bite the bullet but it could be a bit painful to make the readjustment as he will need a very early lunch and an early lunchtime nap for a while, if he continues to wake at 5.30 at first!

[KateW]

Gina Ford isn't a dirty word! LOL! Sounds like he might be ready to drop the morning nap completely. I'm dreading dropping that nap! I think there's meant to be a couple of months transition when the morning nap is dropped so you might just have to be a bit flexible with early lunch and lunchtime naps for a while until he gets used to it. DD was a bit cranky for a while when we started pushing her nap to 9.30am but I think she's getting used to it now. Could you do lunch at 11.30am and nap at 12pm?

[snowboarder]

Hum, I've spent the last year trying to combat early waking! This time last yr I was blaming the morning nap etc...but I think some little ones are just larks. Our now 2yr old still wakes between 5 and 6 (if it's nearer 6 I rejoice). He is sooo tired by lunchtime and I often have to wake him from his nap. He did get better in the winter and we had a few 7am starts. I really try not to obsess over it and turn the monitor off so I can't hear him - we have a no socialising before 6.30 rule, so unless he's properly screaming we leave him to sing/grumble. I recently bought a monkey asleep/monkey awake alarm clock - he spent 2 nights keeping us up to date with monkeys progress ('monkey asleep still..'). Then took a dislike to him and banished him to the spare room. All very tedious. My only hope is that he won't be a lie in till the afternoon teenager (actually I won't let him - I regularly promise myself I will get my revenge...).

Ps - he plays in the garden every evening after tea - so gets his late sun...to no effect. I've fiddled with bedtime etc - makes no difference.

[akc74]

I think you're right, I need to persevere with dropping it. I have had a few days like that already (with an early lunch and early LTN) and it went OK. However, I think I am just in that transition period, and we've got stuck in a bit of a relapse lately, with the early starts and a tired baby come 10am.

[akc74]

Clearly this may be a coincidence but I took little akc out at 6pm for 20mins last night, and this morning he slept till just gone 6am (as opposed to 5.30am) and chatted happily till 6.45am - which is the latest I've managed to go into him for weeks.

[Knomester]

Does anyone know at what age babies tend to start dropping their morning naps?

We're struggling with daytime naps at the moment which is unusual for Baby Knomester - I thought it was separation anxiety (screaming when we put him in his cot for the past week...) but I guess it could also be something to do with no longer needing as much sleep as he's 10 months and has been waking 45 mins to an hour earlier than he used to.

I usually put these things down to 'phases' (!) but this seems more consistent and prolonged.

[akc74]

I think there's a huge amount of variation. I would say the Gina followers tend to do it a bit sooner, because by now they all tend to have 2 hour lunchtime naps, and if that nap goes wrong or they start waking early it can be because they are ready to lose the morning one. I kept making it shorter and shorter and for a while he has just had 10 mins or so around 9.45/10am (I think this is what he was doing at Baby K's age) and then still managed to have a decent kip after lunch.

[akc74]

After that evening stroll and him sleeping in a bit on Friday, we have managed to drop the morning nap - the first day this caused massive overtiredness and a crap lunchtime sleep, but since then things have settled down and for the last 3 days i haven't been in till gone 7am - for the first time in months. He has woken around 6.30 (I think!) - so much better than the 5.30am we were getting before.

[KateW]

Sounds great! Well done. Out of interest, how old is your son? Our daughter is 8 months and I'm wondering at what stage to reduce her morning nap and then cut it our altogether.

[akc74]

He had just turned one - I had attempts at dropping it earlier, but we kept regressing as he wasn't consistently ready - but feels like he definitely is now. It may also not entirely be a coincidence that he's only just started to crawl and is probably wearing himself out more.

If she is waking early or not having a good LTN, I'd reduce it to about 10 mins first for a while and see how that goes.