My 4 y.o.s are driving me crazy with waking up at 5 or 5:30 am. I have tried everything. We have black out shades. They go to bed around 7 pm - sometimes earlier sometimes a little later but not much. I dropped their naps in January because they were going to bed at 10 and waking up at 5. Until the last couple of months they were sleeping pretty well in the morning until about 6:30 with an occasional earlier wake up. But this past week or two it's been every morning. I don't mind it for me so much because I can just put on a movie and go back to bed for an hour or so, but it makes for VERY cranky children during the day. My DD actually is still asleep - it's only the boys. Is this a personality thing? Or is it because the boys share a room (my only option)? Am I just screwed? Or please somebody tell me what I want to hear and that it's a phase they'll grow out of any day.

Thanks.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Michelle
Sam, Charlotte and Jacob
June 14, 2006
29w6d (no the hospital wouldn't give me the extra day!)

Don't know what to suggest, but we are in the same boat. I think it has to do with the sun rising so early in the summer. Even with the blackout shades, there are little chinks of light around the edges and I wonder if that is enough to wake mine really early.

I'm hoping if we wait it out for several more weeks it'll go back to "normal" as the sunrise gets later.
XX Fingers crossed!

Sheila
GGB 10/29/06 (33 weeks)

My girls used to wake up too early. They are now 4 and here is their schedule: I let them run and play and act wild all day as much as possible. I give them a night time snack around 9:30pm, something filling such as peanut butter and crackers and water or milk so that their bellies are full. They brush teeth and go to bed around 10:30 pm. They will wake up in the morning between 8:30am and 9:30 am.

They do not take a nap during the day.

I think early risers are hungry.

Lisa
GGG 03/11/2006 (33 weeks)

>My girls used to wake up too early. They are now 4 and here
>is their schedule: I let them run and play and act wild all
>day as much as possible. I give them a night time snack around
>9:30pm, something filling such as peanut butter and crackers
>and water or milk so that their bellies are full. They brush
>teeth and go to bed around 10:30 pm. They will wake up in the
>morning between 8:30am and 9:30 am.
>
>They do not take a nap during the day.
>
>I think early risers are hungry.
>
>Lisa
>GGG 03/11/2006 (33 weeks)


The reason I dropped the nap is because we couldn't take the 10:00 pm bedtime. If I am going to put them to bed at 10 then I am not going to do cartwheels to keep them up all afternoon, you know? They eat dinner at 5/5:30 and have a snack and don't ask to eat when they wake up. They don't eat breakfast during the summer until after 8 am even when they wake up at 5 like they did today.

I guess we're just unlucky and have early risers. I am going to try the large digital display clock and tell them they can't get out of bed before the clock says 7. Of course, the early rise today was due to a bedwetting incident, so I guess there is no winning.

ETA - they usually fall asleep before 7 they are so exhausted so I can't even imagine trying to keep them up later.

Michelle
Sam, Charlotte and Jacob
June 14, 2006
29w6d (no the hospital wouldn't give me the extra day!)

I just wanted to give an update! Two Mondays ago I let the boys nap when they were tired and they slept each for about an hour. Went to bed that night at 8:30 with no problem and are now back to waking up at a reasonable hour - between 6:30 and 7:30 and once in a while one of them will sleep until 8! I guess it reset their inner clocks and hopefully this will continue!

Thanks!

Michelle
Sam, Charlotte and Jacob
June 14, 2006
29w6d (no the hospital wouldn't give me the extra day!)

We have this clock from thinkgeek.com that changes colors when it's nightime and daytime, so the kids know when they should be waking up. It's not cheap, but my girls share one and I bought a second one for my son who sleeps in a separate room. It also has two buttons on the side that says the time out loud. My kids are 3, and they have learned the difference between am and pm thanks the clocks. My girls have improved so much since I bought these and stay in their room talking until the light goes off and they know it's daytime. I also used the clocks with a reward chart, where they each got a special day with one of their parents if they stayed in their own beds til it was time to get up for 7 days straight.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/lights/a6c0/