HOW DO I GET MY EARLY RISE TO WAKE LATER IN THE MORNING?

Yes, it’s true, babies are early risers but starting their day around 5am (or earlier) is too early for your baby and the whole family!

Starting the day at that time each day means that your baby’s night-time sleep is cut short and they’re not getting the amount of overnight sleep they need to start their day on the right foot, feeling well rested and refreshed. (And let’s face it, you won’t be feeling well rested and refreshed if your baby is waking at the crack of dawn each day either!)

It’s normal for a baby’s day to start anywhere between 6-7am, so if your baby is waking before then and won’t re-settle with self-soothing or after feeding and a diaper change, you want to consider what may be causing the early wake ups and see what you can try changing in their day or sleep environment. 

So what causes early rising?

There are a number of factors that may cause your baby to wake up early:

1. Teething, sickness, developmental sleep regressions and travel can all wreak havoc with babies’ sleep patterns, so always try to rule these out as causes first.
2. The outdoor temperature drops before sunrise, so babies and children will often wake between 4-5am because they’re too cold. Although this happens a lot during the colder months, it can happen during warmer months too. Your baby doesn’t need to be cold to wake early. They may just not be warm and cozy enough to resettle.
3. Light coming into the room early in the morning can cause early rising. The light can signal to your little one that its wake up time and sleep time is over.
4. Some babies wake early because of habit. They’re used to being fed then or they’ve started waking up early and not resettling, so mom & dad feel there is no option but to get up and start the day then. Both can reinforce the early waking up and create a habit.
5. Your baby may be getting too much sleep during the day (so they’re not tired enough at night) or too little sleep during the day (so they’re over-tired and unsettled). It’s important to look at your baby’s day and night sleep patterns and understand the number of hours of sleep they’re getting across 24 hours compared to what they require for their age.

Breaking the cycle of early rising

To break the cycle of early rising and stretch ‘s your baby’s overnight sleep so they start waking between 6-7am, all these factors need to be addressed:

1. Make sure your little one is warm and cozy enough right through the night and ensure their night-time sleeping environment is set up correctly. Swaddles are perfect for achieving this! If there’s too much light creeping in, consider different curtains or window blockers. (If you haven’t watched it yet, lesson 8 covers setting up the ideal sleep environment in more detail).
2. If they’re getting too much or too little sleep during the day, tweak their daytime routine. Ensure their last nap for the day ends by 4:30pm and that they’re not going to bed for the night too early or too late. 
3. Night time conditions and settling techniques should be maintained until 6-7am to signal to your baby that this is when they can start their day. If your baby wakes before then, try not to rush in and give your baby a bit of time to resettle themselves. If they don’t drift back to sleep, go in quietly, feed, change and resettle them as you would overnight (in a dark room, without any stimulating interaction).

Don’t expect it to happen immediately, but with a bit of time you can reset your baby’s body clock to wake a little later. Remember it takes time & consistency to break a habit and form a new one!