It can be really frustrating when you've tried everything and they still wake up at 5am or earlier.

Getting up so early every morning can throw your whole day off balance, and it's hard to enjoy spending time with your little one when they're tired and cranky. In this blog post, we will explore some of the reasons why your baby might be waking up at 5am and offer some solutions to help you get more sleep!

If you've been struggling with a child who is waking up too early, you're not alone. This can be one of the most frustrating things for parents to deal with, as it can make getting through the day very difficult. 

Several things can be done to prevent your child from waking up too early:

1-Are your child's nap schedules appropriate? 

Many parents struggle with this question, and the answer is not always easy to determine. If your child is waking up at 5am, it is very likely that she is still tired and needs more sleep. Putting her down before 7:30/8am for a nap will mean that her first nap of the day is being ‌incorporated with what should have been nighttime sleep. This can cause problems because she will then be relying on that first nap to make up for the lost sleep.

2- Adjust daytime sleep according to age 

Check back on awake times/daytime sleep averages for their age as you need. Check out our age-by-age sleep guide.

3- Is your baby's room exposed to light?

Make sure that your baby’s room is dark enough so that she can sleep peacefully. You can use blackout curtains or shades to block out any light, or you can put a piece of duct tape over the crack in the blinds. If you need to use a nightlight in the room, make sure it is a very dim one.

Another thing to keep in mind is that noise can also wake a sleeping baby. If your house is full of loud sounds, it may be hard for her to sleep through the commotion. To prevent this, you can try using a white noise machine or app to help drown out any unwanted noise.


3- Is there a sleep association causing my baby‌ ‌to‌ ‌wake‌ ‌early?

You will likely find that your baby's sleep association is what is causing her to wake up early if she cries as soon as you put her down in her crib, if she wakes up frequently throughout the night, or if she has a hard time falling asleep at bedtime.

Because of what I mentioned above, that your baby is in her lightest sleep in the early morning hours, it is going to be very difficult (and near impossible) for her to fall back asleep if she is relying on someone or something to do that for her. 

 

4-When your baby wakes up in the morning, does he or she seem hungry? 

if your child wakes with the expectation that she needs to be fed back to sleep, rocked, held, etc., then this issue needs to be corrected first before you can expect your baby not to wake up so early. Because of what I mentioned above, that your baby is in her lightest sleep in the early morning hours, it is going to be very difficult (and near impossible) for her to fall back asleep. The best course of action is typically to go in and soothe your baby back to sleep, but without picking her up or feeding her. This way, she learns that she can fall back asleep on her own, and won't expect you to come in every time she stirs. Over time, she will learn to sleep through the night again.

As any parent with a young child knows, early morning wake-ups can be a real challenge. It can be tempting to just get your child out of her crib and start the day, but this can actually make it harder for her to fall back asleep. Instead, it's best to wait until at least 6am to start the day. This gives your child time to get used to the feeling and surroundings in their sleep environment, which can help them fall back asleep on their own when compared with starting up right away at 5 am or later. In addition, this can also help you to get a few extra minutes of sleep yourself!

Either way, it's important to remember that everyone needs a little bit of time to adjust in the morning, so try not to get too frustrated if your child's wake-up schedule isn't perfect. With a little patience and understanding, you'll all be back on track in no time.

Sometimes it can take time for parents and children both, but if we work together then I know that eventually the problem will be resolved! Try not get discouraged- consistency is key in this process; so even when things seem worst they're really just getting started (like with an illness). You'll start seeing results soon enough :)