5am wakes- 13m

So, the 5am wakes have now turned into even earlier 4:30 wakes and I’m struggling so badly functioning at work.

I’ve tried everything: earlier bedtime, later bedtime, less day sleep, longer wake window, more food, dream feed, leaving him in his cot to play for up to an hour till he cries.

Literally at my wits end right now. Nothing seems to work. He gets max 2,5hrs day sleep split across 2 naps and last nap is max 4pm. Bedtime 19:30. I’ve pushed it to 8-8;30, nothing.

I thought it was a phase but it’s been happening since he turned one and now after 6 weeks of it I don’t know what else to do!

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I’m with you. We always had a baby who was a relatively good sleeper. The odd regression and phase of split nights but nothing that went on past a week.
Since he turned 1 3 weeks ago we’ve seen every hour of every night some nights, other nights I’ve had to resettle 2-3 times and if he does ‘sleep through’ it’s only ever until 5am but this morning was 4am. Didn’t go back to sleep after a bottle so here we are 2 hours into our day already 🫠

Sending solidarity to you, which is not much help I know! He’s never been a good sleeper, loves his regressions 🙄 but only started sleeping though at 1. Suppose I shouldn’t argue if he is sleeping through till 5, but he wakes up still tired! And then naps are thrown off track…

How long did you try later bedtime for? If we had last nap ending at 4 our bedtime would need to be at least 8 or 8.30 for a 6-6.30 wake, even with only 2hrs max of naps. They are all so different but average total sleep needs for this age is 11-14hrs so say you have 2.5hrs max naps that could mean as little as 8.5 to 11.5 overnight. Especially if they are waking content in the morning. Early wakes became such a habit for us that it took a while to shift and we still get them regularly. I'd look at capping naps further or moving bedtime to 8.30 for at least 2 weeks. If they sleep through with no feed have you tried giving milk in case it's a growth spurt? If nothing else, maybe the clock change will sort it! Good luck, it's absolutely brutal I know 😢

great tips thank you! Yes haven’t been consistent with shifts it’s true. Very hard when nap consistency goes out the window with early wakes too. He’s always been a low sleep needs baby, eg 10-11 hrs max overnight, so now he’s shifted to 8-9hrs overnight. Will try later bed more consistently

@Leanne it's so hard isn't it! Our days are never the same anymore - nursery let him have 3 naps the other day! Really hope it settles down for you, I'd rather him be up all night than wake so early. Everything is temporary x

Our baby barely naps at nursery, so she sleeps 8-7.30 nursery days.
On weekends she does a lot of napping but her bedtime is more like 8.30-9.
Also sometimes she wakes at 6.30 but I don’t go in immediately. She usually goes back to sleep herself in 5-10 mins

My little girl has done this for the first time!
And it's exhausting isn't it.
We had sleep regression for a few weeks before our girl turned one. Then it seemed to stop for a few weeks but now it seems to be happening again!
I think it's with them developing a lot like their thinking, independence, testing boundaries and physical development too. It can be frustrating and so tiring can't it!
Hang on in there!

My girl stirs a lot when she goes through sleep regression and then today she was awake since about 3 odd then we got up at like 4 to give my partner some rest as he works 14 hour shifts.

Thanks all, a lot of great suggestions, later bedtime consistently seems to be key. Today after his 4:30 am wake up he then slept 2,5hrs 👀 and is now doing a 30 min car nap, so I reckon that’s too much day sleep for sure! However we’ll roll with it. Holidays and nursery definitely mess things up though. He’s very close to walking so maybe that’s what he’s learning atm.

yes he can! I left him in there for up to an hour babbling and playing hoping he’ll go back off, but at 13 months I think awake is awake 🙄🤣

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Baby clothes

Just out of curiosity, why do parents love zipper onesies?

Don’t get me wrong, I tried zipper ones it’s easy to zip in and out when putting it on the first time and taking it out, but I find it difficult when changing diapers especially when baby is asleep.

I prefer those kimono style buttons where it’s easy to button or too down button with crotch snaps.

Is everyone thinking the same or different? Lol

At this point I’m not enjoying motherhood

My 22 month old is horrendous at the moment🫣 biting, hitting, pushing, pulling and shoving not only adults but children he also wants what other children have and will just snatch it away from them.

We repeat ‘nice hands’ ‘be gentle’ ‘let’s share’ etc

But how do I make him understand what he’s doing isn’t very nice? At the end of the day I feel like I’ve just been saying his name all day and nothing else.

What can I do?

This might rattle some people

Ok, this might get a bit long, and a bit bumpy, so get comfy and buckle up.

So about a week or 2 ago, there was a post on here regarding sleepovers. Not letting their child go to them as you can't trust who'll be at the house etc.

Now, given recent incidents in nurseries and schools, plus my own experience back in the 90s, I am more concerned about sending my child to nursery and later school than I am to a friend's house for a sleep over.

The other day a man was jailed for abusing children at the nursery he worked at. A woman has been arrested for sleeping with an underage boy and then getting pregnant by a different underage boy while on bail for the first offence.

Young girls and boys get sexually harassed and bullied when at school, not all of them. But more than you think. And not just by other kids, but by adults who we as parents are trusting to look after our kids.

A sleepover, is a more controlled environment, with only a handful of people coming into contact with your child. A school, a club etc there can be 100s of people coming into contact with your child.

I was targeted at 7 years old by the owner of a prominent private school. Thankfully, I wasn't SA'd. In year 5 of primary school, I started to develop early, I was harassed by the boys and teachers made remarks about how my uniform didn't fit right, always "adjusting it" around my chest and legs.

Years 7-9 of secondary school were hell. But it was all under the guise of "we're just messing around". A teacher twanging my exposed bra strap (none uniform day) is not "messing around".

Boys pinning me down trying to rip open my shirt to see my breasts.

I fear for my daughter. I hope she takes after my father's family, flat chested.

We need to educate all our children, what is acceptable behaviour. And to come to us, as their parents should ANYTHING happen.

Dummy

My baby has had a dummy since about 2 weeks old (now 5 months) and over the course of the last month we weaned her off it during the day only for naps and night (which was fine) and then 5 days took it completely away during the day.

The first day no dummy was fine, the second bit rougher. But now it feels impossible she just moans and cries all the time it takes ages for her to go down to sleep (she’s always been an amazing sleeper)

I thought it was meant to get better as time went on not worse. I’m at my wits end I dunno what to do.

Currently typing this as she screams uncontrollably in the car and I cry with her cos I can’t do anything.

Help

My LO every feed. Drs don’t seem to think it’s a problem the whole Muslim cloth gets soaked so much I’m using towels now. I’ve tried size O teats he gets really frustrated and still spills it out :(

Of these two, which seems more overall “demanding” to you, overall? Lighthearted poll, not putting anyone down 🫶🏼

As a mum who breastfed for 3 years, I think formula feeding seems 100x harder and more demanding. I give those mamas all the credit because I could not keep up with that faff haha. I truly don’t understand why people say breastfeeding is more effort, other than the fact that no one else can do it. But personally I’d take that over endless bottle prep & cleaning.