Sleep has become a hot commodity around here lately. About 6 weeks ago, our little monkey Chandler started getting up at about 5 a.m. on an almost daily basis. If he slept until 5:45, I actually felt like that was "sleeping in." And on the occasional weekend day when Gordon was around and I slept until 6:30 - WHAT LUXURY!!! So, we decided it was probably time to let him stay up a bit later in hopes that he would start sleeping in a bit more. So, his bed time was shifted from 8 to 8:30. (the other boys go to bed at 7:15!!!) Since then, he started to sleep in a bit, after about 2 weeks. But the last three days, our little 5 a.m. alarm clock has been going off again! I'm about ready to lose my mind. (Not to mention I can't take him ANYWHERE after 10 a.m. without him getting all zonked out in the car.) He obviously needs more sleep than 8-9 hours a night, with a one to two hour nap. I don't know what his deal is. If you have any advice, I'd love to hear it!
ANY HOO - today he took a 3 hour nap, and at 5 I decided it was time to wake the little sleeper so he would actually go to bed tonight, and not be up at the crack of (2 hours before) dawn tomorrow. He looked so cute zonked out I took his picture. . .
Which woke him up. . .
and then he wandered into his closet. . .
Where he layed down and tried to go back to sleep. OH! I hope he sleeps until 5:30 tomorrow morning! That would just be a lovely valentines treat. . . May you all rest more than me tonight. . .
8 comments:
Hey Rachel! SO sad for you!!! He is really cute though!! Ok, I'll try my hand at this for ya...I know each child is different, but from my experience with our 2 boys, when they are over-tired they sleep LESS than when they are well rested. Sounds crazy but when they've gone to bed later than normal they will either wake up in the middle of the night or wake up early (otherwise they both sleep 12 hours straight)...so I guess my advice would be, put him to bed when the other boys go down (he could not get up much earlier anyway) and see what happens. If he does wake early, wait at a while before you go get him (if that's possible) to break his sleep habit, knowing that it may take several days to break. Consistency is key. Hang in there, sweet girl!
I feel for you. I have kids that get up that early at times too. THey go to bed early though around 6:30-7pm. Sibley sort of did that around the age of 2 and I couldn't take it so we took her naps away. It was hard at first and she is 3 now and every now and again she will take a nap but it worked great and she sleeps 12 hours at night. I know he is a bit young to have naps taken away though. I hope everything works out. He was so cute in those pictures.
I love the picture of grumpy Chandler. He's a Wilde through and through!!
i love the just woken up face!
i am so VERY sorry for you! that is WAY too early to be awake! we have been blessed with late sleepers in our family!
on weekends mitch and i are sometimes still in bed as late as 10 am because nani and lala just get up and go downstairs to play/color. then when kawena wakes up, nani will get her out of her crib and bring her downstairs to play with them! oh it is wonderful!!
oh i forgot....
i agree with madsonfamily, put him to bed earlier and see if he sleeps later! we moved all three of the girls bedtimes to 7:00pm and they still sleep just as late if not later! i read somewhere that most kids do better if they are in bed by 7:00 pm. try it!
I love the grumpy Chandler pic!! My kids are up that early too- we just have an early bedtime- 7:00 and hope for the best. Tom is up at 5:00 anyway on the weekdays, its the weekends that are killer.
Ah, I think we all go through this at some point with each kid. I think Ben just got up with them and let them play while he slept on the couch. If Jared wakes up that early, he just gets in our bed and promptly goes back to sleep, which is fine with me. We don't do naps, since he won't go to sleep until 10 or 11 if he has a nap. Good luck!!
Poor Chandler - and poor Mom!!
I've been reading "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth MD because I was having nap issues with my three-month-old. I just checked out his advice for toddlers getting up too early: Basically, he says to keep the early bedtime so that he won't get overtired. He also has some practical suggestions: darken the room if you can, put him to bed with a bottle of water if he wakes up thirsty, and try to teach him not to leave his room until the clock shows a certain time. Easier said than done, I'm sure!Good luck!
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