How to Eliminate Early Morning Wakings.
Tips and tricks from Sleep Consultant Michele Wawerski.

Is your little consistently having early morning wakings? These early mornings can be exhausting and oftentimes impact the rest of their daytime sleep. Here are the the top 5 reason early morning wakings are happening.

It is important to keep your little one’s sleep environment super dark until 6AM. If they are in a light stage of sleep, they are more likely to wake up if there is light peeking into the room.

You would think it to be the opposite, but if your little one is overtired at bedtime they are more likely to experience an early morning waking. A sign that the early morning waking is due to overtiredness is that your little one falls asleep in less than five minutes at bedtime and wakes up upset upon the early morning waking. If this is the case, shifting bedtime even 15 minutes earlier can make a difference. Between the ages of 5-24 months old, I recommend a bedtime between 6-7 PM. 

If your baby or toddler is sleeping too much during the day, they might be completely refreshed by 4-5 PM. Although total daytime sleep varies by age, there are some signs to watch for that your little is undertired at bedtime. They include him/her taking longer than 20 minutes or longer to fall asleep at night while playing in their crib or contently waking to start their day before 6AM.

Parents can inadvertently reinforce an early waking by responding right away. Pause and give your little some space to fall back asleep. I suggest keeping stimulation to a minimum and the environment dark until at least 6AM.

Similarly, getting in a routine of offering a nap too early can reinforce the early waking. If your little one is showing sleepy cues before an age-appropriate nap time, it can be helpful to step outside to stretch them to the appropriate nap time. 

I hope these help you and your little one have better rest and a great start to your day!  

Find Michele at Peaceful Littles and on Instagram! 

Read more tips from Michele on how to Introduce a Lovey here.