Super early bird of 18 months

[poca]

Hello!

I am a proud mum of a super cute and happy 18 month year old boy!

My baby don't have any problems with going to sleep at night and sleep though the night for a fs no (FINALLY and if wakes up, he usually goes back to sleep by himselm).
So I thought we had a good night routine here.

However, he suddendly started to wake up very early every day a month ago (between 4:00 and 5:30... )
And now I am kind of desperate as he is going to daycare full days and is becoming really tired started his day at 4:00 (and same for us indeed...).
I don't know how to acte really with him nowadays early mornings #-o

I would really appreciate some tips!
Thanks a lot in advance for your help!

[Alfredo]

Hi!

Been there... #-o

First thoughts - did it start around the time he started nursery or increasing to full days? It could be connected and due to changes in his life and overstimulation. Best tackled by keeping everything as it is, sticking to th routine and showing him that things are as they always have been, mummy and daddy got this, he certainly doesn't have to worry about running the schedule and waking the household up at 4. Quiet time after nursery if his day has been full but don't forget outdoor play at least an hour each day and preferably two. Fresh air does wonder for sleep.

Dark, dark and darker 8) sun rises earlier but his room needs to be completely dark.

Do you have an alarm clock I wish I had used one earlier, such a great way of showing a little one with no sense of time when the day starts. Buy him one, try it together, explain the concept and set it for an acceptable morning time. Everyone stays in bed until the alarm sounds - its the clock that decides when morning comes no one else they usually love it once they get the idea.

[poca]

Hi!

Thanks for your answer.

He started kindergarden like 6 months ago, and we haven't change anything special in our days.
He is playing outdoor every single day, so can't do more about that either...
We have special drapes that block the sunlight, so it's almost full dark in his room (he wakes up anyway before the sun rises).

Alarm clock souds like a good idea, but I wonder how much he will care about that as he is still quite yong, but I want to give it a try cause I really like the idea (I saw those alarm clock with pictures "the rabbit is still sleeping" or "the rabbit is awake and start playing").

In the meantime, I try to say the magic words "it's the night, you should sleep", I manage to calm his, but I soon I leave, he start screaming again
What to do next ?

[TorsMamma]

Hi and welcome!

Listen to Alfredo, you got a GREAT answer there! =D>

So the alarmclock should preferably be outside of the room, and you enter the bedroom with this ringing.

How much does he sleep during the day and what time?
He should not sleep more than 1,5 hours during the day and no later than 12.00.

What is his night time 19 to 07?

It also needs to be PITCH dark, so if you enter the room in the middle of the day, you should not be able to se your own hand in front of you. 8)

If you like you can also buy the book FTLoC For the Love of Children also written by Anna Wahlgren and read about the 18 months development phase which is quite common to cause some trouble.

[poca]

Hi!

I really like the alarm clock: however at the moment, that would mean that he have to wait 2h30 between the time he start screaming and when the alarm clock should ring

=> during the day he is sleeping from 11:30 (after lunch), for something between 1:15 and 2:15 (never known what to expect, as he is in kindergarden during the week).
So I can tell them to wake him up after 1:30 max

=> his night always start at 19:00, and should goes until 6:30 but it just happened once in a all month now
He start screaming and crying from 4:00 or 5:30 best case scenario now... #-o

I tried this morning to left him in his bed and calm him down, but it takes only 30sec until I have to say the magic words again or go and put him again in the right position in his bed as he is standing on both legs and very upset.
I tried this for more than an hour without any success...
I'm really lost now (

[TorsMamma]

Hello,

This might seem a bit harsh, but you need to teach him to back to sleep. When you give up, he knows he can scream until morning starts.

So you really need to work on your attitude and make him fall back alseep even if it takes you 3 hours!

What you do morning 1 is you enter the room, put him down with the sunfeather and stand with your hands on him until he is a sleep. Then you count to 200 slowly en exit the room with a smooth soft confirming jingle.

Second morning you jingle him and put on Mozart. or do house work. You do not enter the room, because that means morning has arrived and activity is starting. You give him other noise to listen to like Mozart or household noise. You need to teach him that it isn't morning until clock rings.

This is difficult and takes quite a lot of time. You need to be patient and ensure it is absolutely DARK. He is old enough to lie down on his own. At the most you give 1 to 2 more jingles during these 2 to 3 hours.

Also the nap cannot be longer than 1,5 hours. This will have a great impact of the night and should ALWAYS be at the same time both at daycare and home.

I would also put him to bed 30 min earlier because this will make sure he most likely sleeps longer in the morning. At least for a few weeks now.

Please read about the predefiant phase in the books!