Baby & Toddler

Up at 5 every morning with my 1 year old, and on my own till the caregiver comes

ochre_window_2808

For about three weeks he has woken between 5 and 5.15, cheerful and ready to start the day. Bedtime is around 8 and he mostly sleeps through, so on paper he's getting enough. Our caregiver comes at 9. That's four hours of me alone with him before I've had a quiet minute, and I'm the one who has to be sharp at work. I tried putting him down later, which just gave me a tired child who still woke at 5. The room isn't fully dark by then, so that's next on the list. Is this a phase, or something to work on? And if you did those early hours alone, how did you get through them without just putting the TV on?

7 comments

  • sunny_pool_5336

    How long is the daytime nap, and when does it end? 'Sleeps through' and 'bedtime around 8' don't tell much without that.

  • cedar_camera_6782

    Ours did 5 am for most of her second year. Then one week she just stopped and slept till 6.30. I'd love to tell you what changed but we never worked it out 🙂

  • rose_pebble_3613

    my 1 month old would consider 5 am a lie-in, so i'm choosing to read this as good news from the future.

  • quiet_pebble_371

    blackout film on the window got ours about 40 more minutes. not more than that. still worth it

  • moss_camera_6192

    Check the top of the curtain. Ours had a gap above the rod and that strip of light was enough. Took us weeks to notice.

    • willow_coconut_246

      Same with my son, he is also 1. I put an old dupatta over the rod to cover the gap on top, it helped little bit. He is up now also, I am feeding him.

  • mellow_wave_6554

    Ours is 2 months, so I'm reading ahead. Did the early waking start around the first birthday, or was it always like that?

    • ochre_window_2808

      It started around when he dropped his morning nap, I think, though that might be coincidence. He's been up since 3 tonight, which is a different problem altogether.

  • linen_bookmark_4448

    With our younger one I stopped fighting it and made 5.30 to 6.30 our walk time. Out of the flat before the heat, he looked at dogs, I had tea from the stall. It didn't fix the waking, but the mornings stopped feeling like a punishment 🙂

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