Early Morning Wakings

Wakings

Jul 12

When I was a new mom, I for sure thought 7 am was too early to wake up and always found myself trying to extend my sons mornings. The bad news for us as parents, younger children wake up somewhere between 6-7am and this is quite normal brain and development wise. If your baby is waking up before 6am, this an early morning waking, that is considered a “night waking.” If your baby is occasionally wakes up around 5:30 due to teething or illness, this is not considered and a true early morning waking. In this blog post, I am considering early morning wakings, when your baby is waking up before 6am every morning. Contrary to this, if your baby is waking up at 4:30/5 am and is doing a feeding and then falling back asleep until 7, this should be treated as a night waking (follow your nighttime routine, keep things dimmed and non-stimulating).

If they are waking up before 6am, this an early morning waking, that is considered a “night waking.”

Why do early morning wakings happen and solutions that can help –

Waking up at 5am may seem like torture for us as parents, but for babies this may be perfectly normal. Babies tend to need about 9-12 of total nighttime sleep. If your baby goes down at 7:30 pm and only needs 10 hours, then 5:30 am may be totally appropriate for your baby to wake up. You are probably thinking at this point, this doesn’t work for me still – and that is totally understandable. There is a solution to this. You may need to adjust your nap time schedule, awake windows, or even push back your baby’s bedtime just a little to achieve a more ideal wake time. Early morning wakings often happen because of too much daytime sleep, going to bed too early, or even both. If your baby or toddler is taking more than one nap or multiple naps throughout the day, you may even need to consider dropping a nap entirely.

Sleep Pressure –

If your baby is waking in the early mornings, this is likely a result of “lack of sleep pressure,” which means there is not enough pressure for your baby to fall back asleep. This goes back to total overnight sleep. If your baby has gotten their adequate amount of nighttime sleep, they may not have enough sleep pressure to fall back asleep. To help adjust sleep pressure and the overall circadian clock, you can try to keep your baby awake a little longer throughout each wake window throughout the day and sunshine and getting outside is an extra plus!

Baby’s environment –

An early morning waking could be the cause of your baby’s environment or level of comfort as well. Your baby could be waking due to noise, light being brought into the room, a wet diaper, being too cold or hunger. If you suspect your baby is waking due to their overall environment, here are some things you can do to fix their early morning risings:

Be sure your little one is warm enough – especially during those winter months. A babies body temperature dips to the lowest around 4am, so this could be an indicator if your baby is waking around this time. You can add a sleep sack with a higher T.O.G rating, or add a onesie under pajamas for more layers, while maintaining safe sleep. A small blanket or lovey is not recommended under one year of age according to the AAP. If your find your little one is curled up in a corner or in the fetal position on their stomach or having more than normal wet diapers, this could also be an indicator they are cold and the reason they are waking early.

Consider sizing up diaper sizes or using overnight diapers, babies can wake due to a wet diaper, so it may be time to consider making a diaper change.

I can’t say this enough – black out that room! I always use the hand test, if you place your hand out in front of your face and can see it, chances are the room is too light still. Remember babies aren’t scared of the dark at this age. The tiniest amount of light coming in can wake your baby up, so if you have a night light or if light is coming through your shades or blinds, this can cause your baby to wake up. I recommend the Sleepout® Official | 100% Blackout Curtains I like these because they have a rod that helps block out light from the tops and sides of the window.

Your baby may just be hungry. Try offering a dream feed. A dream feed doesn’t just have to be at midnight or earlier on in the nighttime. You can try to offer a feed if you suspect your little one is hungry when they wake up (before 6 am) to extend their sleep into the morning. If offering a dream feed, treat it just like a nighttime waking and keep things “boring,” minimal light or stimulation.

When your baby wakes up early – keep things calm, don’t provide a ton of light or stimulation. It will reinforce early wakings and become habitual.

Your baby’s first nap should not be given too early. Stay with appropriate awake window times. For example, if your baby wakes up at 5:30 am and then takes their first nap by 7 am, this may again become habitual. Try to get your baby to extend their awake time before going down for their first nap if you find them wanting to sleep shortly after they wake up for the morning. Offer snacks (age appropriate) get outside, sensory activities, floor/tummy time to keep them awake.

What to do if you have exhausted all these options?

Some babies are genetically just early risers and have a temperament to rising early. If this sounds like your baby and you have exhausted all options, don’t stress over it too much longer. If they seem to be thriving and healthy, you may just need to adjust your day overall to help with your overall schedule. Embrace the sunrises and try to rest when you can (I know, easier said than done). Your baby may just want to nap longer than another baby who wakes up later in the morning. It is all trial and error, but you can’t fix something that is genetically inhibited.

Things to consider in an early morning waking –

So, if your baby wakes up at 5 am, what do you do? There are a lot of unpopular opinions, like cry it out, leave your child or else if you pick up your baby you are reinforcing your baby to continue these patterns. I would never ask you to ignore your child or let your cry there until you are ready to wake up. If your baby is up, but hanging out – chatting, laying there awake but quiet, singing and is otherwise content and safe, sit back and let them do their thing. Sometime babies may fall asleep. Regardless of if your baby is up and calling for you or crying, it is 100% ok for you to get them and I recommend this, especially if crying. Here are some things you can do:

If your baby is up and you are going into their room, do not turn on the lights. You want to treat the waking as if they are still waking at nighttime.
Follow the steps you would normally take in any other nighttime waking. If you follow a certain technique like rubbing their back, shushing, patting, rocking, or sitting in a chair next to their crib, continue with this method. Your goal here is to try to get your little one back to sleep.
If you tried the above techniques and your baby is still up, they may just be ready to be up for the day. In this case, you can turn on the light, say good morning to help distinguish it is morning time for any confusion. Babies awake time starts in my opinion after baby has left their sleep environment.