Is your child suddenly waking up too early?
Those early morning wakeups can be so challenging, especially when we aren’t quite ready to wake up ourselves! The early hours of the morning is generally when our sleep is the lightest, which means it’s easier to be woken up.
Some little ones just wake up earlier, and unfortunately we have to adjust to it. However, sometimes the wake up really is too early and we can work on getting that early time to a more appropriate time for their age and their bedtime. For kids, generally anything before 6 am is what I would consider an early rising and something we can work on. So, let’s get into what could be happening and what we can do about it.
Why is my child having early morning wakeups?
There are many reasons that your child may be waking up earlier than they should or you would like. Some possible reasons include:
- Overtiredness
- Waking due to hunger
- Something environmental is waking them up, i.e. sounds or lights
- Too much day sleep
- Developmental progression
What can I do when my baby is waking up early?
First, when it comes to early morning wakeups, I would assess all areas of sleep hygiene and make sure everything is in place there.
These will address most of the reasons listed about.
I would start by looking at the sleep environment. Especially as the seasons change, it’s always good to reassess the sleep environment when there are changes with your child’s sleep. If you aren’t already using black out shades and a sound machine, I would start with these.
If you think they are waking up because they are hungry, there are a few things to consider. First, how old is your baby? It’s very normal for babies to wake to feed. If your baby is waking, feeding, and going right back to sleep then they are likely truly hungry and needing that feeding. You can of course ensure that their nutrition is where it needs to be during the day, but there are also times that children will go through growth spurts and we may see them be extra hungry and they will need an extra feeding.
You can also consider when their last feeding before bed is. For babies, I always like to include their last bottle or breastfeeding session of the day as part of their bedtime routine. Even if they were fed just an hour before bedtime, I find it can still be helpful to offer it. For toddlers, we can think about adding in a bedtime snack. For this you will want to avoid any foods with extra sugars or hidden caffeine. Something like whole wheat crackers with cheese or a banana with some peanut butter can be nice bedtime snacks.
If your child is overtired come bedtime or if they are getting too much day sleep, then these can also contribute to early morning wakings. Look at where they are with their total amount of sleep, naps, and awake windows and consider if it might be time to make any adjustments.
For developmental progressions impacting sleep, think about if your child is working on any developmental milestones. If they are, I would stay consistent and in a couple weeks they should get back to their typical sleep schedule. If you’re finding this isn’t happening naturally, they I would go back to looking at the other areas of sleep hygiene.
Reinforcing Early Morning Wakeups
With our older toddlers and kids, we want to make sure we aren’t doing anything to reinforce the early waking. Is your child getting to do something super exciting right when they wake up? They may be waking up earlier just for that. This happened without us realizing in my house. We had been in the habit of putting on the tv first thing in the morning, especially when our daughter was waking up extra early since we were all tired. We started setting a designated time where she could have her show, rather than as soon as she woke up, and after a couple of other adjustments to her schedule and routines the early morning wakings have thankfully become a thing of the past.
Depending on your child, you could think about using a sticker chart or some other type of reward system for when they stay in their bed until it is time to wake up. Using an okay to wake clock can be helpful with this.
If your child is having early morning wakeups and you would like support troubleshooting what is going on, I’m here to help!
Book your free discovery call here and let’s get you on the way to saying goodbye to those extra early mornings!
