Since most folks here have an opinion about baby's sleeping habits...

[Amy loves Bud]

Here's our situation. We operate on a loose routine, not schedule, but Romy does go to bed every night around 9 p.m. She wakes up at 5 a.m. almost every day. Since we are not farmers, this is frowned upon.

 

Sometimes I've made her stay in bed till the sun comes up, sometimes I nurse her and put her back down, sometimes I bring her in bed with us and nurse her. In each of these scenarios it is hit or miss as to whether she will go back to sleep.

 

I'd really like for her to stay in bed a bit longer if at all possible. How can I achieve this?

[Twinmom]

Assuming she is napping during the day, I'd try to reduce the time she naps. At that age, mine were napping in the am and pm. I'd try to make sure that the pm nap was shorter, at the very least, with lots of physical activity in the afternoon. I also found, strangely, that if I put my kids down earlier at night (say, 7:30-8:00pm), they'd sleep later in the morning. That's my kids, though, YMMV!

[momofkhm]

Does she still nap twice a day? I know one of mine did and one of mine didn't at this age. The other one I don't remember. If she is still napping twice a day, try taking away one of her naps.

[Heather in the Kootenays]

This should almost be two polls - What SHOULD you do? and What DID (or do) you do?

 

In theory, I'd drop a nap. The reality is that at that stage, I'd do anything for sleep so my bed was fine.

[Ellie]

I feel your pain :-o

 

Although it's hit or miss whether she actually goes back to sleep or not, at least *you* get to stay in bed longer, lol.

 

Neither of my dc napped twice a day. They took one 2-hour nap every day at noon. I preferred that to 2 shorter naps, KWIM? If she takes 2 naps, maybe you can ease her into 1.

 

When she is weaned, you might be able to teach her to stay in her bed until it's time. And it isn't time until *you* get up :-)

[Amy loves Bud]

The napping thing is hit or miss. That's where the "loose" routine comes in. With an older brother and sister, we may have to run to this or that event during naptime. But generally, yes, two naps are what I strive for.

 

However, regardless of the nap situation, she wakes up at 5 as if an alarm went off. It's that consistent.

[dirty ethel rackham]

I voted to bring her into bed because I was always too sleepy to nurse and then get up to put the babes back in their own beds. If dh woke up enough to do so, he would. But, he loved the snuggle time just as much as I did:). If she babbles, just ignore her. Also, make sure that her room is dark enough in the AM so that she doesn't wake up with the sun:).

[nmoira]

How many naps is she taking? It might be time to drop one.

 

=====

 

Never mind... I should have refreshed before posting. :)

[Twinmom]

The napping thing is hit or miss. That's where the "loose" routine comes in. With an older brother and sister, we may have to run to this or that event during naptime. But generally, yes, two naps are what I strive for.

 

However, regardless of the nap situation, she wakes up at 5 as if an alarm went off. It's that consistent.

 

Isn't that always the way when you have older sibs? ;)

 

If that's the case, I'd give a shot at the earlier bedtime thing. I know it's counterintuitive, but sleep-deprived babies often DO force themselves awake! If that doesn't work, try nursing her, sticking her back in the crib w/ toys and letting her fuss if necessary.

[Mama Lynx]

I always pick the option that involves snuggling in bed :)

[caitlinsmom]

I have this exact situation! My 3 yo is still the earliest one up with an internal alarm of 6. When he was this little I would just bring him to bed with us, nurse, and then if he went to sleep say a prayer of thanks. Otherwise I would just sorta sleep while he flopped and turned, poked and prodded ect. I would get up within the hour but those last few comatose moments really did help.

 

FWIW- I tried the whole drop a nap thing and it never worked. All I got was a WAY crankier little guy who woke up really early.

 

Good luck!

[CalicoKat]

Here's our situation. We operate on a loose routine, not schedule, but Romy does go to bed every night around 9 p.m. She wakes up at 5 a.m. almost every day. Since we are not farmers, this is frowned upon.

 

Sometimes I've made her stay in bed till the sun comes up, sometimes I nurse her and put her back down, sometimes I bring her in bed with us and nurse her. In each of these scenarios it is hit or miss as to whether she will go back to sleep.

 

I'd really like for her to stay in bed a bit longer if at all possible. How can I achieve this?

 

 

When I didn't have any "olders" I limited/timed naps to 1 hour in the a.m. and a 15 minute nap in the afternoon to control crabbiness (as needed). Use a timer to help you remember why you're waking up that sleeping angel. :)

 

Fortunately my oldest is up at the crack of dawn so she sometimes comes and gets my 1 yr up, feeds and dresses her so I can pee and get dressed.

 

Some kids just need less sleep (than even their mothers!) If she's one of them then she'll need to have some skills and etiquette instruction (later) on what to do if she wakes up before everyone else.

[Amy loves Bud]

Oh I couldn't imagine limiting naps to that extent! How would we ever get any school done? I'd rather have the early morning wake up call, I think.

[Tammy]

keep her up later at night. All my babies went to bed with me....the same time I went to bed....it was usually late....around 11pm or so.

 

It worked out great! I can't function with little sleep....so that was a priority for me!

 

Tammy

[Amy loves Bud]

I always pick the option that involves snuggling in bed :)

 

Well, if it were really snuggling, I would too. But she nurses then it's "bat mom in the face and squeeze dad's nose" time. I really wish she would snuggle in the morning. The other two were wonderful little morning snugglers and it was the favorite part of the day. With this one I spend the mornings alternating between protecting my eyeballs and keeping her from taking a header off the bed. :glare:

[Laurel]

I also found, strangely, that if I put my kids down earlier at night (say, 7:30-8:00pm), they'd sleep later in the morning. That's my kids, though, YMMV!

 

This has been my experience as well. I would try making her bedtime an hour earlier. (Or even up to two hours earlier.) It seems counter-intuitive, but it's worked for me.

 

That being said, is she cranky when she wakes up? I would leave her in bed until she demanded to get up, hoping that the time would increase every day.

[sassenach]

Have you considered putting her to bed earlier? I have found that sleep begets sleep with my kids. 8 hours isn't very much for a 1 year old. My youngest has always been an early riser. I just pull her into bed with me, but she always goes back to sleep. Hth,

[Gretchen in NJ]

What if you were to use her favorite toy?

 

I used this method in a slightly different way at nap time. Each of my dds had a favorite toy that I would only let them have during nap time. Of course, it was a quiet toy.

 

Maybe you could try putting in her bed after she is asleep for when she wakes up in the morning. Hopefully, she might stay in bed and play quietly play with her favorite toy.

 

I hope you solve this soon.

 

I love to sleep-in in the morning.

[melissel]

If that's the case, I'd give a shot at the earlier bedtime thing. I know it's counterintuitive, but sleep-deprived babies often DO force themselves awake!

 

This is true. If this were happening at our house, I'd drop her to one nap a day and try getting her to bed earlier. If that still didn't work, I'd probably try keeping a small basket of books and toys in her bed and see if I could teach her to play with those for a little while when she wakes to buy some extra shuteye. (This worked for us, but my DD was a little older at that point.) If that STILL didn't work, I'd just bring her into bed and nurse her and let her hang out in my bed until I was able to force myself fully awake.

 

Disclaimers: We co-slept with both our babes and never let them fuss intentionally, so take that advice FWIW! Also, I hate to say it, but the babies I've known in real life (and some online :lol:) who were like yours were simply early risers by nature, and continued to be no matter what their parents did or how old they got.

 

Good luck!

[Jenny in Atl]

This too shall pass... they all eventually sleep through the night, stop nursing, and grow-up moving away - making you sad for when they were little. Hey, at least she is not waking at 3am. :ack2:

 

I say bring her into bed with you, nurse, snuggle, and sleep a little more together. You won't damage her in any way, and you will have sweet memories to look back on.

[3lilreds in NC]

I checked nurse her and put her back into her own bed.

 

It's against my personal religion to get up before 6am. Therefore, if a child wakes up earlier than that, it's still night time! :D Since she's not a cuddler, I'd nurse her and put her back to sleep. I do that with Schmooey, and he does go back to sleep, but he really is the easiest baby ever, so I know YMMV. But y'know, if she doesn't scream when you put her back to bed, it's all good.

 

Of course, I should note that if my darling boy gets up that early, I pretty much have to be up for the day. My alarm goes off at 6 to walk :ack2: so if he's up between 5 and 6 there is very little point to me trying to go back to sleep, depending on how long he takes to nurse. WOW, does the day seem L O N G when I am up before 6am!

[Gretchen in NJ]

This too shall pass... they all eventually sleep through the night, stop nursing, and grow-up moving away - making you sad for when they were little. Hey, at least she is not waking at 3am. :ack2:

 

I say bring her into bed with you, nurse, snuggle, and sleep a little more together. You won't damage her in any way, and you will have sweet memories to look back on.

:iagree:That is so true Jenny. Mine are 10 and 8 and I so do miss having a baby to cuddle with even if they are pulling my nose. They smell so good. I loved nursing.

[4kids4me]

I agree with Shannon...the more my children slept, the more they slept. Therefore, we didn't give up morning or afternoon naps until they were ready.

 

If your child were my child....

 

I'd continue with both morning and afternoon naps. I found my children gave up morning naps anywhere from 14 - 21 months. Then the afternoon nap was longer (so I put them down earlier). I also would get your sweetie to bed earlier, like 7:30-8pm. Work toward it, though, if you want...like 15 min earlier every night until you get to 7:30.

 

As for the little one waking early, well, my last was exactly like this and I just kept him in bed until it was time to get up. You could nurse, but I'd put my child back in bed right after, saying it was still nighttime (hard at this time of year!). Eventually my child got the hint. Now he's three and when he wakes early, he knows to lay quietly until big brother wakes up.

 

Good luck!

[Tammyla]

Is the sun waking her. Some little ones wake up with the sun, but would sleep longer in a dark room.

 

Here's our situation. We operate on a loose routine, not schedule, but Romy does go to bed every night around 9 p.m. She wakes up at 5 a.m. almost every day. Since we are not farmers, this is frowned upon.

 

Sometimes I've made her stay in bed till the sun comes up, sometimes I nurse her and put her back down, sometimes I bring her in bed with us and nurse her. In each of these scenarios it is hit or miss as to whether she will go back to sleep.

 

I'd really like for her to stay in bed a bit longer if at all possible. How can I achieve this?

[The Governess]

I went through this with both of my girls. My youngest is 2 and is actually doing the early-wake thing right now but she is no longer in her crib so it makes things so much more complicated!!

 

First, I agree with the posters who suggested trying to put her down earlier. Both of my girls have always had a bedtime of 8:00. It seems that if they go to bed much later than that, they still wake up at the same time but are crabby when they wake.

 

We have a rule at our house that you have to stay in your bed until the sun comes up. Once it starts getting light the girls can come snuggle in bed with us. If it's still dark, they go back to their rooms. When they were babies, if it was light out but I needed them to stay in her bed longer or if they were so awake that they wouldn't snuggle in our bed, I would put them back in their cribs with a basket of books, which would buy me another 30 minutes to an hour.

 

Last thing: is she is teething? Nearly every time we have had a problem in our house with early waking it was because someone was working on a couple teeth. I think lots of kids wake up early in the morning but then fall back asleep for another hour or two. When they are teething that pain wakes them up more fully and then they don't fall back asleep. That's the problem we're having right now with my 2 year old. She's working on three canine teeth right now (yeah, she's a late teether!). I'm hoping that once they come through we will go back to the good ol' days of her waking up at 7:30 or 8:00.

 

I hope something suggested here works for you! Yes, we're not farmers, but if we were we wouldn't need to invest in any roosters!;)