This seems to be the philosophy that our 14 month old has adopted. Why he would want to catch worms is beyond me, but so too is the reason why he seems to think that 5.30am is such a great time to wake up. It’s still dark at 5.30am. It’s cold at 5.30am. Why he would want to emerge from under his very warm blankets and sit up ready to start the day is just too crazy for me to begin to fathom!
This doesn’t happen every day, but over the last few weeks or so he has been waking up much earlier than normal. He has always been a very good sleeper and has slept through the night for a long time, and is now down to one day sleep. It seems to me that he is waking up earlier simply because he doesn’t need the extra sleep – he’s always very chirpy in the mornings, something he obviously didn’t inherit from me. While he is happy to play in his cot until I can summon the motivation to face the world, his early rising does cause some problems, as he needs his day nap sooner, and since he only has one, means the second part of the day until his bed time is a very, very long afternoon. Just when you think you have their routine mastered, wham! It all changes. And I’ll bet when baby number two comes along in early September, that will be the time when he decides he’s much too grown up for a day time nap.
In the meantime, my husband and I have been doing our best to try to wear him out through the day to make sure he isn’t up efore 6am! Not an easy task in this wet weather with a toddler that can’t quite walk yet. Horsie rides, wrestling on the couch and walking up and down the hallway holding hands have been very popular activities this weekend. Let’s hope they have the desired effect! And if not…well, it’s grandma’s day tomorrow!
Happy sleeping! (until 6am at least please!)
Save Our Sleep is the book that parents asked Tizzie to write, and with over 40,000 copies sold in the past three years it has rapidly become the only book parents need to cure their own sleep deprivation! It provides specific routines for sleeping and feeding for all stages from newborns to two years, as well as addressing issues that can affect a baby's sleep pattern such as colic, reflux through to accommodating daylight saving, travelling and moving house.
New material includes new routines, integrated feedback on routines, dummy use, express feeding, dealing with premature babies and twins, more information on teaching your baby to self-settle and brand new case studies and tips.
