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Whether your early-riser is a wee babe or a great big toddler, one thing is certain: early waking is rough! The timing of your baby or toddler’s morning wake-up sets the tone for the rest of the day, AND it sets the pace for the day’s sleep and feeding schedule. That means a way-too-early wake-up call can wreak havoc on what could have otherwise been a perfectly fine day.
Clearly, early rising is a problem that needs fixing!
What Is “Waking Up Too Early”, Anyway?
Now, remember that ‘early’ is a relative term – for some parents, a 5:00 wake-up time is ideal, while for others, anything before 8:30 is considered “way too early!” That’s why it’s a good idea to establish an objective “waking too early” standard against which you can judge your situation.
As a rule of thumb, if your child’s wake-up time is after 6 a.m. and he or she is waking up fairly happy and refreshed, then you likely don’t have an early waking problem on your hands. Take a good, hard look at your child’s wake-up time – is it after 6 a.m.? Also, think about how your child wakes up – is she happy and energized? If your child is waking at or after 6 a.m. and seems refreshed and ready to tackle the day, then (as much as it may pain you to hear this!) you probably don’t have an early rising problem. A wake-up time of 6:00 or later is reasonable and developmentally appropriate for most babies and toddlers, provided they are getting adequate nighttime and nap time sleep.
That said, if your child is waking before 6 a.m., and/or seems cranky and tired first thing in the morning, then you likely do have an early-rising issue on your hands.
Why Your Baby Is Waking Up Too Early
Occasional early waking can be caused by a variety of factors, including….
- ….illness.
- ….teething.
- ….traveling (and sleeping in an unfamiliar setting).
- ….sleep regressions.
- ….potty training (for toddlers).
Honestly, occasional and intermittent early waking is nothing to worry much about; if you can trace the cause to something temporary, then simply work on getting back on track as soon as you can.
However, if your baby regularly rises before the sun, then it’s likely you have a scheduling problem to solve.
Two Common Causes of Waking Up Too Early (And What To Do About It)
- Nap Timing: It may be that either the timing of your child’s naps are off, or the length of the naps themselves is off. If your child’s nap schedule builds in too much awake-time during the day, for instance, then your child may be overtired at bedtime and is more likely to sleep poorly and wake too early. What’s more, if your child’s naps are too short, then that can also cause overtiredness.
- Bedtime Timing: Contrary to what you might guess, keeping a baby up late at bedtime will not mean a later morning wake-up time! Sleep begets sleep, so a baby who goes to bed early is more likely to sleep well and wake at a decent hour. That said, though, older toddlers who still take an afternoon nap may actually benefit from a later bedtime. If you put a toddler to bed early, he may not be tired enough for sleep and may instead bounce around his bed for hours before he finally falls asleep.
Baby Waking Up Too Early? Here’s How To Fix It
So your baby is more than just an early bird. At this point, you probably know what’s causing the early waking….but how are you supposed to fix it? Good question!
First, you’ll want to start treating your child’s early-morning wake-up calls as night wakings, and not “start-of-the-morning” wakings. That means that while it’s fine to get up and offer your baby comfort and reassurance, try not to get your baby up for the day. If you do, you’re merely reinforcing that this early-morning waking is fine and normal and part of the regular routine. Do this for a week or so, and your problem may solve itself.
If, after a week of treating early wakings as night wakings, your child is still too much of an early bird, then begin making schedule adjustments. Do you need to work in an extra nap during the day? Maybe you need to shift the timing of any naps, so that your child has less awake time during the day? Consider moving bedtime earlier, or possibly later? Do you need to move feedings so that they happen closer to naps and bedtime? Perhaps you need to offer a bedtime snack? Gradually make these schedule adjustments, while still treating any early wakings as night wakings.
Generally, following these steps will resolve most early waking problems. If you’re still struggling, however, you may need a more expert approach to solving your problem.
For more early-waking help, check out our members-only e-book, Shift Your Child’s Schedule. It includes helpful tips designed to shift your child’s schedule either forward or backward so as to fix early- or late-waking problems. Members enjoy unlimited access to this e-book at no additional cost.
More Help From The Baby Sleep Site®
Early waking can be a tough habit to break. Fortunately, we can help! Connect with one of our expert consultants today; she’ll craft a Personalized Sleep Plan® just for your baby, walk you through every step of sleep coaching and schedule-making, and provide detailed answers to your most pressing sleep training questions.
Purchase a sleep consulting package today, and connect with your expert sleep consultant!
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If you are tired of wading through stacks of baby sleep books that just aren't working, if you are beyond exhausted and just can't solve your child's sleep problems on your own...then personalized sleep consulting is for you. We have been around since 2008 and invite you to tap into our MANY years of experience. Our team of expert consultants will create a Personalized Sleep Plan® just for your family and then support you through every step of implementing your plan. We encourage you to consider our personalized, one-on-one baby and toddler sleep consultation packages if you want to see real, meaningful results now. Your consultation package also includes ample follow-up help, designed to help you troubleshoot problems and tweak your plan as needed.Learn More About Services
For those persistent nighttime struggles, check out The 3 Step System to Help Your Baby Sleep. Using the same unique approach and practical tools for success, this e-book helps you and your baby sleep through the night.
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If you’re looking for ways to get your baby or toddler into a healthy sleeping routine during the day, explore Mastering Naps and Schedules, a comprehensive guide to napping routines, nap transitions, and all the other important “how-tos” of good baby sleep. With over 45 sample sleep schedules and worksheets, Mastering Naps and Schedules is a hands-on tool ideal for any parenting style.
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For those persistent toddler sleep struggles, check out The 5 Step System to Help Your Toddler Sleep. Using the same unique approach and practical tools for success, this e-book helps you and your toddler sleep through the night and enjoy a better daytime schedule.
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Rashika says
Hi i am a member with ultd email pack but i need an answer now. My daughter is waking up at 5am for the last week. But inly falls asleep around 8pm. I’ve been treating it like a night waking everyday. But she just stays up. Today she was falling asleep at her scheduled wake up time, 7am, (fixed point). So i woke her up. Then she went down for her scheduled nap at 830am but only slept till 9am. I nursedher as scheduled at 930am. Now at 1045am shes super tired. Nursed and then in woke her up. She cried and fell asleep. Should i let her catch up on sone sleep so shes not overtired tonight? I tried to keep her up now for 2.5 hour nap gap but shes way tired.
What do I do?
Janelle Reid says
@Rashika, thanks for writing to us and I am glad to hear you are getting more in-depth help with our unlimited packages. I am replying to you with a further turn-around time than your sleep consultant has, so I am sure she has already answered your question and can offer the best perspective since she has a full picture of your sleep situation with your daughter. I know it can be so challenging to navigate these things and know what the right/wrong thing to do is, so I’m glad you’re working with a consultant that will help you through that! Hang in there!
Angela M says
My LO for about a week now has been getting up around 5:30~6am ready for the day when before he was getting up between 7:30~8am. I need to fix this before I lose all of my sleep! He’s almost 14 months old & his schedule looks like this:
7:30~8 wake up (now 5:30~6)
8:30 breakfast
10:00 snack
11:00~11:30 nap time…sleeps for about 1 hour
1:00 lunch
3:00~3:30 nap time if he goes down, which recently he hasn’t. Sleeps for 30 min if he goes down.
4:30 snack
6:30 dinner
7:40 bath
8:00~8:30 bed time
…what suggestions do you have for me? Is this a sleep regression or something that will pass or do I need to make an adjustment to his schedule?
Janelle Reid says
Hi @Angela M, thank you for writing to us! Looking at his schedule it looks like he may not be getting enough sleep during a 24 hour period, which would result in him being over tired. Here is a link to a sample schedule for a toddler, you can look at the schedule for 2 naps a day, and can have the 1 nap schedule that’s there for reference when he begins to make that transition (which it sounds like he is doing for you on some days but not all – that’s normal): https://www.babysleepsite.com/schedules/toddler-schedule/
As you can see, he should be getting at least 2 hours a day for naps, so since he’s a little short of that, that would be the first place I’d start. I’ve personally found that offering the first nap a little earlier in the day does WONDERS with having success with the second nap! You may find this article helpful as it takes you through several reasons for short naps: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-naps-2/short-baby-naps-explained/
Let us know if this helps and thank you for using the Baby Sleep Site as a resource for sleep!
Jules says
My nearly 8 month old baby keeps waking at 5am (sometimes 6am if I’m lucky!)
She has been on a sleep schedule which is as follows:
9am-9.30/9.45 – morning nap
12.30-2.30 – lunchtime nap (she doesn’t always do the 2 hours – often only 1 hour or even just 45 mins)
4.45-5 – afternoon nap if she hasn’t done the full 2 hours at lunch
Her bedtime is 6.30 (or 7pm if she’s had an afternoon nap).
When she wakes early, I do a 10 minute power nap 2 hours and 15 mins after her awake time to see her through until 9.30.
She sleeps well through the night with only one or two quick wake ups. Please help me on what I should do to overcome the early waking.
Janelle Reid says
@Jules, thank you for writing to us! I am sorry to hear you’ve been struggling with your daughter’s early wakings. It sounds like she is doing a great job with her naps, giving you some great stretches at night, but that can be super frustrating to have to wake up at 5am most days! Here is a link to our sample schedule for an 8 month old: https://www.babysleepsite.com/schedules/8-month-old-baby-schedule/#schedule
It looks like you’ve got a great thing going, I am just posting it here for you to take a look at the feeding aspect to the schedule to rule out that it is a result of her needing more breastmilk/formula or solid food during the day.
For the 5am wake ups, I would suggest treating it like it is a night waking – keep the exchange boring, quick, and dark and try to get her back down. You may try to gradually push that wake up time later by making her wait a few extra minutes each day before you go in to get her. I would also try to wait it out to see if she is able to settle herself back to sleep on her own, especially if she is just talking in her crib and not super upset (maybe it’s the latter, you didn’t mention which).
I hope this helps! Thank you for using the Baby Sleep Site as a resource for sleep!
Rachelle Treasure says
Hi, my 8 month old son consistently wakes at 5am every morning. His bed time is at 6pm and then he usually wakes at about midnight for a night time breastfeed. After he has a feed, I change his nappy (if it needs changing) and then I put him back to bed. He then wakes up again at around 5am and is wide awake and won’t go back to sleep no matter what I try. I end up giving him another breastfeed. Then everyone else gets up at 7am to get ready for work and school. I am the one that drops everyone off at school and work so, he doesn’t get back to sleep until at least 9am. Ideally I’d like him to wake up at around 6 or 6:30 so I can begin to start the day. During the day he has 3 naps. These are very short as he will only sleep for 40 mins at a time. If he misses out on the 3rd nap, he is just really grumpy and doesn’t make to his normal bedtime at 6pm. I would really love some input about what I can do. Thanks
Janelle Reid says
@Rachelle Treasure, Thank you for writing to us! I am sorry to hear your son has been waking up early for you. Here is a link to our sample schedule for your 8 month old to use as a reference: https://www.babysleepsite.com/schedules/8-month-old-baby-schedule/
At this age we would want your son to be getting about 11-12 hours at night, and at 2-3 hours of sleep during the day between 2 or 3 naps. It sounds like while is naps are still short, he is very close to getting the amount of sleep he needs, but his schedule may need to be tweaked a bit to adjust the early wakings and that will hopefully help lengthen the naps. It is good he is sleeping such a great stretch for you at night, but I know how difficult those early naps can be – especially with other kids you are taking care of. Here is a link with a few factors that could be contributing to his short naps: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-naps-2/short-baby-naps-explained/
If you work on lengthening his naps a little (I would just focus on the first two, the third one he will drop soon but it’s ok for that one to be short to just fill in the gap between waking and bedtime) you will hopefully see an improvement with his wake time, and you may be able to adjust his bedtime a little later if he only needs 11 hours of sleep at night so you can put him to bed at 7 to wake at 6. If you need more help, we have an ebook all about Mastering Naps and Schedules you may find helpful to check out: https://www.babysleepsite.com/mastering-naps/
Thank you for using the Baby Sleep Site as a resource for sleep!
Tina says
Hi! I am the grandmother of 4 months old twins that I have been asked to take care of full time. The twins are on a great schedule during the day. . They go down at 7:30 and are waking anywhere between 6&6:15. My daughter and her husband won’t go in the nursery until 7 am even though they know the girls are hungry. So every day is started with one or both of the twins crying until then. I live with them and it breaks my heart to listen to this.
The parents are following a very popular book that stresses sleep training should be done without any deviation from a 7pm -7 am sleep time. As a mother of 3 myself I dont agree that you can train a baby that young. I would greatly appreciate any knowledge I could share that might change their minds. Thanks!
Janelle Reid says
Hi @Tina, thank you for writing to us. That is so wonderful you are able to help watch your grand babies, however I am sure it is tough hearing the twins cry each morning.
The youngest age we would suggest doing formal sleep training is between 4-6 months, but some babies are not able to get on a good schedule until they are a bit older – it definitely depends on the baby. Here is a link to a 4 month old sample schedule we have on our site, and the wake up is scheduled a bit earlier actually (but if you look through our sample schedules they do generally transition to the 7am range for wake ups as the baby gets older): https://www.babysleepsite.com/schedules/4-month-old-schedule/
It may be helpful for their schedule to be tweaked a little if they do not want them waking up so early, but it may also lengthen out on it’s own with time. Generally we do say that waking past 6 is not early if the baby is happy and refreshed upon waking. Are they sleeping through the night yet? If not, or if they are stirring in the 3-5am hour it may be beneficial to top them off and get them through until 7/7:30 as at 4 months some babies still need 1-3 feedings a night so they may just really be hungry rather than waking early by habit.
I do hope things get better for you all soon! Thank you for using the Baby Sleep Site as a resource for sleep!
Monica says
My 4 month old has consistently been STTN (11~ hours) since about 13/14 weeks. Since I returned to work at 16 weeks he has been having early wakings 5/5:30 and either wiggling around or talking to himself. Sometimes he will go back to sleep for another 15-ish minutes before I wake him up for the day at 6:15. I am assuming this is due to bad naps at daycare. Since his naps are so off at day care he has a catnap that usually lasts around 30 minutes to get him to bedtime 6:30/7
Should I extend the catnap or make bed time earlier. I would have to move up bed time because then I have less time with him. But I want him to have optimal sleep.
Current Schedule “Ideal” Schedule:
6:15/30 Wake up/ Feed
8:30-9;30 Nap
9:30 Feed
11:30-12:30 Nap
12:30 Feed
2:30-3:30 Nap
3:30 Feed
5-5:30 Cat nap (this depends on how the earlier naps went)
5:30 Feed
Bed time routine, last Bottle and then bed time by 6:45ish. Goes down completely awake no fussing, no crying
*If nap is broken up or he’s sleeping well I’ll wait 15ish minutes before waking to feed.
Neosha says
@Monica- Thank you for stopping by our sleepy little village and for your comment! It sounds like your little guy is mostly doing fine, though the early waking can be bothersome for sure. Your baby boy could also be going through some developmental changes that could be impacting his sleep as well. This age can be a difficult one for many babies’ sleep since their sleep is permanently changing from a “newborn’s” sleep to becoming more like an adult’s sleep, which can lead to more frequent wake ups at night. This article can help you understand how your son’s sleep is changing: https://www.babysleepsite.com/how-we-sleep/4-month-old-sleep-regression/
One important thing to remember as your son goes through this regression is for you not to develop any short-term habits (rocking, patting, etc.) that could linger and turn into long-term sleep associations, which can lead to further problems down the road.
The nap changes at day care could also have a pretty major impact on sleep. Many good daycare providers will do what they can to help your baby sleep well and will work with your suggestions. Here’s an article that you may find helpful as it gives a few tips for dealing with daycare schedules: https://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-training/how-daycare-impacts-your-babys-sleep-schedule-and-habits/
I hope this information is helpful, Monica. Hang in there and stop in to see us again soon.
Jessica says
My 3 year old DD wakes anywhere between 330-5am (rarely 530-6) EVERY day. We are exhausted. Tried putting to bed later That backfires and then she usually wakes up I. The middle of the night. She usually goes to bed by 7pm and naps around 1130/12. Up until 2 weeks ago her naps were 2 hours. Past two weeks she waking up earlier in the morning and napping maybe 45min-1.5hr at max. I’m very frustrated with her and now she is waking my 7 year old up in the morning. This house needs to get some sleep!!!!
Neosha says
@Jessica – Thank you for stopping by our sleepy little village and for your comment! I’m so sorry to hear that your DD has started waking SO early in the morning – I know you all are exhausted. Please don’t be frustrated with DD as it’s likely not anything she can control or anything that she’s purposely doing. It’s likely developmental. The first thing that comes to mind is for you to consider whether she’s entering a nap transition and starting to give up that nap. Wonky nap times and interrupted night sleep are two of the most common signs that a nap transition is on the horizon especially if it lasts longer than a couple of weeks – you should know that the transition from one nap to no nap can last quite a while so prepare to fill up your patience tank. Here’s an article that overviews it: https://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-training/baby-night-waking-naps/ and here’s one that gives info on how to manage it (about half way down the article): https://www.babysleepsite.com/toddlers/toddler-done-napping-3-signs/
I hope this is helpful, Jessica – hang in there!
Megan Walker says
I have an 8 month old who wakes up screaming about 4-4:30am nearly every morning as long as I can remember really. We use to let him cry for about 30 minutes before getting him and rocking him or putting him in bed with us, but that doesn’t work anymore. He goes to bed around 7, wakes at 4:30. Starts the day about 5-5:30. Then naps between 7-8 for about an 1.5-2 hours. He naps again about noon for only 30 minutes or so. Then again about 3 for 30 minutes to an hour. If he doesn’t get that last nap he’s really cranky until bed time. I’m about at my wits end with this!
Danielle says
Hi Megan,
Thank you for using The Baby Sleep Site as a resource! I’m sorry to hear you’re dealing with this screaming wake-up so early. Usually, babies who wake up crying like you describe are overtired, and dealing with a scheduling issue. Based on your comment, it sounds like your son’s naps might be a little off, resulting in too much wake time between naps and before bedtime. Sometimes, this can cause a baby to become overtired, and then to have trouble transitioning between sleep cycles at night, causing them to wake early. You might like to see our baby nap chart here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/naps/baby-naps-chart-how-many-how-long/
And our sample 8 month-old schedule here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/schedules/8-month-old-baby-schedule/
I hope this helps, but if you have any other questions, please feel free to get in touch at [email protected] .
Vanessa says
We have an early rising problem! My daughter is just over 9 months old. She has been having extra early wakes up since early november. Our typical day looks like this:
Wake up 5-5:15am
Nap 1: 8:30-10am
Nap 2: 2-3:30pm
Bedtime: 7:15pm (asleep by this time)
*i have tried feeding immediately and putting back to bed. 90% of time she will not fall back to sleep or only fall back to sleep for 15 min.
*for 10 days straight I tried leaving her in the crib and not feeding until 6am.. hoping to reset her metabolic system. Didn’t seem to be working although I don’t know if I tried long enough.
*we used to have 3 naps a day and when we cut down to 2 per day a few weeks ago it didn’t change her wake up time.
*i have tried playing with nap #2 timing (it used to be 3pm.. moved it to 2pm+/-) and didn’t seem improvement.
I’m desperate for some help. Thank you.
Janelle Reid says
@Vanessa – Hi and thank you for commenting. I am so sorry you’ve been struggling with such early mornings! Here is a link to a sample schedule for a 9 month old: https://www.babysleepsite.com/schedules/9-month-old-baby-schedule/
This schedule also includes feeding information, so you can evaluate the amount of calories she is getting daily to see if that could be a contributor and try making any other adjustments as needed. It looks like she may not be getting all of the sleep she needs in a 24 hour period because of the early wake ups, so this could be causing her to be overtired, which ironically makes them sleep worse and wake up earlier (a sick-cycle for sure). Here is an article with tips on managing overtiredness: https://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-training/overtired-baby/
If you find you need more help extending her nighttime sleep, we have a team of experts that would love to help. You can view all of our personalized packages here and they can help give you steps for your specific situation: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-toddler-sleep-consulting-services
Hang in there!
Gessica Jean says
My son is 7 months old. Sleeps through the night roughly 11-12 hours a night. Issue is this— he fights his naps, specifically his 3rd nap. He goes down for 7 (sometimes 7:30) but seems to wake up before 6 which I know is considered night waking and we’ve been leaving him until at least 6am. His first nap is 9 and then again between 12:30-1 and then hopefully at 4. All I’d this depends on length of naps which can be between 30 minutes to 1.5 hours ( very inconsistent). His last nap he’s been fighting hard. He’ll cry a solid 45 minutes before I give up on the entire thing because if I put him down at 4:15 and he’s still crying at 5pm then if he actually did fall asleep after 5 it would run too close to actual bedtime.
1. If he wakes before 6, do I consider this when putting him down for his first nap and adjust the time accordingly or keep his nap time as per usual for 9 am?
2. When he fights his last nap and say he’s woken from the second nap at 2 or 2:30 this means he won’t be in bed until 6 which is a huge wake time so how do I fix that?
3. Putting him to bed at 6 causes him to wake up before 6 the next morning which yes he sleeps 11 hours but wakes up before “official” morning time so how do I solve this?
I’d love to have him on 2 naps if he actually gave me solid sleep time but two 30 minute naps is not cutting it and he gets way too tired.
He’s on solids, eating 3x a day. Does that affect anything?
I’ve also read the info in the member only section “mastering naps” and I didn’t see anything there that specifically dealt with this unless you can point me in the right direction.
This is a lot and I hope you can help me shed light on it.
Janelle Reid says
@Gessica Jean, Thanks for stopping by the Baby Sleep Site! I am sorry that you have been struggling with your son’s early wakings. It does sound like a scheduling issue but it may take some tweaking to make it work for your family. At this age we would make it a goal for your baby to get 11-12 hours of sleep at night, and 2-3 hours of daytime sleep through 2-3 naps. Here is a link to a sample schedule for a 7 month old: https://www.babysleepsite.com/schedules/7-month-old-baby-schedule/
Since you mentioned the Members Area, you may want to check out the ebook we have available through there called Shifting Schedules. This ebook will give you the tools to push his bedtime a little later, and his wake up time a little later, which will affect all of the stuff in between as well.
You’ll see that the 3rd nap is optional on the sample schedule I linked you to, but you’ll want to work on lengthening his two naps to get them to be a little more consistent (at least an hour for each nap). Here is an article on short naps: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-naps-2/short-baby-naps-explained/
I hope that gives you a few more tools that you need to start working on adjusting his schedule a bit and to being lengthening this naps. It sounds like he often gets all the sleep he needs, so I think the schedule just needs to be altered a bit for him. 🙂 Thanks for your comment!