Six Ways to Stop Your Baby Waking Early

Early waking for a little one under the age of two is common and parents find it the most difficult sleep issue to resolve.

Here are six suggestions to improve things quickly.

1 - Decide on the time you’re happy to get up and start the day as a family. 6am isn’t much fun but that is a realistic time for infants and toddlers. If your baby wakes before 6am, treat it as a night time waking, even if it’s 5:30am. Lay him back down, tell him it’s sleepy-time, and wait until 6am to start the day.

2 - When you do get your baby up (whether he’s gone back to sleep or not) take him straight into daylight. This helps to establish your baby’s circadian rhythm - or biological clock. Our biological clocks are controlled by the action of light on the pineal gland causing chemical reactions in the brain. Getting your baby outside first thing in the morning will help to set his “wake up” time.

3 - Move your baby’s first nap along a little. If his first nap is at 9am, push it along by 5 or 10 minutes each day, until it’s at 9:30am. It’s common for babies who wake early to use that first nap of the day as an extension of their night sleep. By lengthening the gap between wake-up and nap one, your baby will stop doing this.

A word of caution – pushing things along too quickly can backfire because your baby can become overtired, which can affect sleep for the rest of the day and night. Do it gradually to make sure your baby is coping.

4 - Check the amount of sleep your baby’s having in the day is right for his age. At nine months, most babies move from three naps to two naps a day. This happens again at about 18 months when babies go from two naps to one a day. If your baby doesn’t drop the nap himself, it’s possible he will need less sleep at night. Gradually adjusting your baby’s day time naps should solve things.

5 - Since things are never simple when it comes to baby sleep, it’s also possible the opposite is true and your baby isn’t getting enough day time sleep. An overtired baby may fall asleep quickly at 7pm but then wake early. This is because an overtired baby’s body can become stressed and produce the hormone cortisol. Cortisol acts as a stimulant and results in restless sleep. So when your baby naturally wakes at 5am, he is too “wired” to put himself back to sleep. Instead, he is fully awake, alert, and ready to go.

If this is the case, then your baby actually needs more sleep in the day, or an earlier bedtime. It will probably make things worse to reduce daytime sleep or make bedtime later, even though this seems like the obvious thing to do. Instead, increase day time sleep by planning for more naps or put your baby to bed earlier.

6 - It’s possible your baby’s waking early due to too much light or feeling cold or hungry. Blackout blinds and sleeping bags will help. A feed at 10 or 11pm for a baby under 9 months will also help your baby to go through to 7am. You can do this without waking your baby by lifting him out of the cot and feeding him while he’s fast asleep.