What to Do About Early Waking
My baby (or toddler) wakes way too early! What can I do?
Early waking is a common sleep struggle. To understand how to shift your child’s sleep pattern, it’s helpful to explore the many factors that can contribute to early wake ups.
What is an early morning wake up?
As a parent, we all have different definitions of early wakes. Our view is influenced by our own tendency towards being a night person or a morning person. When it comes to baby sleep, early wakes are considered regular wakes before 6am. Waking between 6am and 7am is very common, although I know it can feel very early to some parents.
There are many factors that can contribute to early morning wakes including your environment, sleep needs and timings, and baby’s physical needs. Below I’ll go through some common causes and tips to try.
Your environment: The sleep environment can contribute to early waking in many ways.
Light – If it’s summer and the sun is rising early, it could be waking your baby. Even if the sun isn’t up, a bright street light could bother your child more in the morning after a night of sleep than it does at bedtime when they are really tired. Blocking the light with heavy curtains can help prolong sleep.
Sound – Loud sounds can wake a baby up and they can struggle to go back to sleep. Are there any loud regular sounds around when your child is waking? Think sounds inside your house and also sounds outside your house. If so, a sound machine could be helpful.
Temperature – It’s common for the room temperature to change throughout the night. Consider adjusting baby’s layers or adjusting the temperature if you notice a significant change.
Environmental transition from night to day – Light is a powerful regulator of our circadian rhythm. If baby is awake for the day, try keeping them in the calm, dark quiet for a while after they wake up. Depending on how early their wake is, you may keep them in the dark until a more realistic wake up time, or you may keep them in the dark for an extra 20-30 minutes. After that, start your day with light and activity. Gradually over time you can shift this night to day transition, and hopefully shift their circadian rhythm along with it.
Sleep needs and timing: Baby’s only need so much sleep in 24 hours, and the way their sleep is distributed can affect when they wake in the morning.
Too early of a bedtime – Your child only needs a certain amount of sleep overnight. If you put them to bed on the early side and their body needs lower amounts of sleep over night, you may be creating your early wake up. Your child had enough sleep and is ready to start their day. Example, a baby who needs 10 hours overnight will wake at 5am if they have a 7pm bedtime. 10 hours overnight is within the typical range for babies and toddlers. Gradually moving bedtime later may move your morning wake up time later. Do this in 15 minutes increments every few days and watch for your baby’s response. Sometimes even a 30 minute difference can make a wake up much more manageable. Be mindful of the timing between waking from the last nap and bedtime while doing this.
Too late of a bedtime – If baby is going to bed late and getting dysregulated, over tired, and cranky, you might want to do the opposite and move bedtime earlier (gradually again). Dysregulation at bedtime can lead to early wakes.
Too much daytime sleep – If your little one is getting a lot of daytime sleep for their age, they may not need as much sleep overnight. Even if your bedtime isn’t particularly early, they may need less sleep than is expected overnight because they are getting more sleep than is expected during the day. Humans only need so much sleep in 24 hours, and often reducing daytime sleep in this case will help a child sleep longer at night.
Avoid early naps – When you are in a pattern of early wakes, your baby is often ready for their nap early. An early morning nap leads to more earlier naps and an earlier bedtime. As much as possible, try to nudge baby towards your more ideal morning nap time (what you’d prefer with a later but realistic wake up time). This will help you reset the pattern.
Physical needs: Young children need support with their physical needs and this can contribute to an early morning wake.
Baby temperature - Check to see if your baby is cold or hot and adjust pajamas accordingly. Sometimes it’s as simple as adding socks or removing a layer. Of course you can always adjust the room temperature as well.
Hunger – If your baby isn’t feeding much over night, they may really need a feed or a drink (human milk and formula are both food and hydration). Feeding them may help extend their nighttime sleep. If they are an older toddler and night weaned, you may want to give them a water bottle in case they are thirsty. You can also try a snack right before bedtime.
Diaper – Some baby’s are sensitive to a wet diaper. Discomfort from a wet diaper may wake them, and then it’s hard to go back to sleep. Experiment with different diapers (including ones made specifically for overnight) to see if that helps.
When nothing seems to work….
Early morning wakes can be so challenging, and sometimes we need to think outside of the box.
Try bedsharing – some children will wake early while sleeping separate, but sleep in later while bedsharing. Or, if they won’t sleep, they will at least be content while you lay down a bit longer. Try bedsharing for the last few hours of the night to see if that gets everyone more rest. You can read more about safe bedsharing and the safe sleep seven here and my guide to bedsharing here:
Consider development – Some children wake early over a few weeks or months while others wake early over years. Development is constantly changing in young children, and early wakes may come and go regardless of what you do. Reminding yourself that sleep constantly changes and development shapes sleep may be helpful.
Radical acceptance – Whether your baby is a long term early waking child or this is just a phase, radical acceptance can save you a lot of struggle. After doing some troubleshooting to rule out easy fixes, you may want to deeply accept that this is your baby right now. With that acceptance, you can brainstorm ways to support adult sleep while meeting your baby’s needs. That could look like going to bed early, alternating who gets up with baby, or allowing the parent primarily doing nighttime parenting to sleep in while the other parent primarily takes over mornings.