Moms of 1yr olds - Sleeping Habits?

My DD is a very happy, well-rested baby...she takes 1 hr nap in the morning at 8am and a 2hr nap in the afternoon around 1pm. The problem is that she will NOT sleep past 5:45am for the last four months or so. It is beginning to drive me and DH nuts. We can leave her till around 6:15am but then she starts crying. Righ now she goes to bed around 7:30ish - I have tried earlier, later etc and nothing seems to change her wake up time. isn't this EARLY for a 1yr old to be waking every morning???

Re: Moms of 1yr olds - Sleeping Habits?

My DS (14 months) is the same - he's usually awake by 6AM, sometimes 6:30AM. We can leave him for a while before he starts whining. We don't get the naps that you do though - we're lucky if we get one nap for one to one and a half hours per day. He does go to sleep early though - by 6:30PM. We've tried making it later, thinking he might sleep later in the morning, but he just can't stay awake later. I figure we'll just have to wait it out - I've heard as he gets older, he'll sleep later.

Re: Moms of 1yr olds - Sleeping Habits?

Jared wakes up at 8:30 and will have a nap around 12ish. Sometimes he'll sleep for an hour...maybe 2 hours. That will be the only nap. He then goes to bed at 8:00.

Re: Moms of 1yr olds - Sleeping Habits?

One practical question -- do you have blackout shades in the room? The sunlight could be waking her up...

Note: 6 am is a very common wake up time for some babies, not fun at all I know!

Re: Moms of 1yr olds - Sleeping Habits?

Christopher has been waking up between 5:30 and 6 for the past couple of months now. We too tried everything to change that. He goes to bed at 8. Finally, I found one solution that works, but it's really not a good one. We've gotten into the bad habit of bringing him into bed with us. When he starts fussing at 5:30, I go in, change his diaper, and bring him back to bed with me and he'll sleep for an hour or two longer. He then takes two naps later on in the day. One around 10 for an hour or two and then one around 3 for an hour or two (never two hours for both nap times though.) Like I said, I've tried everything to change the time he wakes up in the morning. I tried making the first nap time later and eliminating the second one. Just made him incredibly cranky. I tried putting him to bed earlier/later. Sadly enough, if I put him in later, he woke up earlier and earlier, he woke up earlier. I tried feeding him at different times before bed time. Bathing him at different times before bed time. I think we're pretty much stuck with this schedule for now. As for the coming back to bed with me, I'm going to do it for a little while longer, because I'm pregnant and exhausted and I really need the extra sleep (so yes, I'm being selfish) and we're going to try and kick the habit closer to when baby #2 is going to be born.

Re: Moms of 1yr olds - Sleeping Habits?

Melanie's room has to be pitch black, otherwise she wakes up when the sun comes up

Re: Moms of 1yr olds - Sleeping Habits?

we had the same problem from 10-13 months I would say - same naps...same schedule...same everything


I'm not really sure what changed him to 7:15 all of a sudden, but the few days before we did this:


let him stay up as late as her could - I think he made it to 10PM...then the next morning or the morning after that we let him CIO at 515 and for a few days after that (we had tried this previously and it didn't work) He has been 7am or later for a while now (I hope I didn't just jinx myself)


We do have a bedtime routine. He sticks his hand under the faucet and then I wash them with a cloth (I let him use the faucet to get used to it) - then I swipe his tiny teeth - a few books - into the crib and I sit in the glider while he plays or tries to sleep and sneak out

Re: Moms of 1yr olds - Sleeping Habits?

Thanks for all your suggestions - there is no way she will sleep in bed with us...at times I wish we hadn't been so strict about putting her in her crib as it would be so nice now to suggle in bed in the mornings!

I think we will try the blackout shades and see if that makes a difference. Thanks again!