Early Morning Wake Ups
You’ve done it. Your little one is asleep for the night. Sometime before you go to bed yourself, you may start wondering – when will my little one wake up in the morning? Will it be an ideal 7am or even later? Or will you be doing 5am sleep math; trying to calculate how many hours your little one has slept and what waking now would mean for your day if you just made a coffee and just started your day now.
I’d love for your to go to bed tonight feeling more confident that you have a plan if your little one wakes before 6am in the morning tomorrow. Here are some tips and considerations to get your one sleeping to a more desirable wake up time if you’re experiencing early riser tendencies.
1. Little one’s sleep environment – Is it dark? Is it quiet? Just like adults, after a longer stretch of overnight sleep, we’re all lighter sleepers closer to wake up time and once we wake, it can be a challenge to fall back asleep with less sleep pressure. Keeping the sun out (I love a blinds + black out curtains combo), and using white noise can help keep your little one sleeping without interruptions from the sun and noises outside their room.
2. Have realistic expectations for nighttime sleep and wake up times – Babies and toddlers will naturally wake up between 6-7:30 am. Their bodies are more ruled by circadian rhythms and if you’re goal is having them sleep until 9 each day, unfortunately you’re probably out of luck! Babies need 10-12 hours of overnight sleep, so if bedtime is 6pm, they could be waking at 5am having had enough sleep for the night.
3. How does your little one fall asleep? If baby has any behaviors or items that they need to fall asleep at bedtime – being rocked, nursed, or having a pacifier – they will most likely need that to fall asleep after any wake up! When the sun comes up or they’ve already had 8-9 hours of sleep, any rousing in which an adult would just turn over an dput themselves back to sleep, your little one might wanted to be comforted back to sleep. Or, they may wake enough looking for their rocking, or pacifier and completely wake themselves up as they’re getting close to their natural wake up time.
4. Keep your little one in their bed or crib until your desired wake time – being consistent in your approach by getting them up for the day at the same time will encourage them to either fall back asleep or sleep longer until it’s an appropriate time to start the day (anything after 6am is considered age appropriate for under 2).
5. Sleep Train your little one – This is the quickest and most effective way to get longer sleep stretches and help curb early morning wake ups.
My hope is that you’re able to find an “ah-ha! I’ll try that!” moment in my post, maybe something you had considered yet, or something that could be the key to getting your little one sleeping until a more reasonable wake up time in the mornings so that you can both be well-rested and ready for the day!
If you need more in-depth and individualized support, I’m always here to help! Bedtime routines, age, development, your sleep goals for your child, your child’s temperament, personality, their daily schedule and sleep needs all play a role in their nighttime sleep and wake up time. If you feel like you need additional help with your child’s early rising, All of my Sleep Packages include customized sleep plans for you and your child.
Wishing you sweet dreams and reasonable morning wake times,
Katie
