Is Your Baby Waking Up Too Early? Here’s What You Can Do

Is your little one up before the sun? If yes, give this piece a read. Waking up early to the sound of your infant crying before 5 am is not exactly the most peaceful way to start your day. Early morning wake-ups are a common challenge that most parents face with their little ones, and they can also be one of the most challenging issues to correct.

Although there isn’t a “quick fix” for this problem, there are a few ways you can help adjust their cycle. Read on to know more.

4 Reasons Your Baby Is Waking Up Too Early

There are a few things you should know about your baby’s early morning-wakes ups and the reasons behind them. Some of the reasons are:

1. Medical conditions: Certain medical conditions like gastroesophageal reflux (GER) and sleep apnea might cause sleep disturbances in babies and wake them up early in the morning. Babies with gastroesophageal reflux are restless throughout the night and end up waking up often.

Sleep apnea is also linked with disturbed sleep in babies. Babies having a cold or allergies are more likely to wake up early.

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2. Developmental leaps: Sleep regressions and growth spurts during a developmental leap can cause setbacks in the little one’s sleep schedules.

During this time, babies might not sleep as restfully. However, it only lasts a few weeks and they’ll return to their previous sleep routines.

3. Hunger: A baby’s feeding pattern tends to change as they grow. During the early stages, especially under nine months, babies tend to wake up frequently for feedings due to the small size of their tummies.

They might also feel hungry if they are going through a growth spurt.

4. Environment: Light exposure is a key factor in a baby’s every day early waking patterns. Hence, it’s important to keep the room dark until the desired wake-up time.

Household or neighbourhood noises might also wake babies up too early.

Here’s How You Can Stop Your Baby Waking Up Too Early

Here are some tips that you can do to stop your child waking too early:

1. Treat the underlying medical conditions: If you suspect GERD or sleep apnea in your little one, it is advisable to consult the doctor.

Once the underlying cause is treated, your baby will be able to sleep blissfully again.

2. Maintain consistency: You can create a night routine and try to stick to it. Make sure to put your little one to bed by 7:30 pm.

Consistency is the key here and you need to put the baby to sleep at the same time each night so that their body gets used to the timing.

You might not see the results immediately. Have patience and keep on trying.

3. Make daytime naps short: Your baby needs to take short naps during the day so that he/ she sleeps well at night and does not wake up early in the morning.

It is not advisable to restrict daytime naps because it will make your baby overtired and wake up too early the next morning.

4. Rule out hunger: Since hunger can make your baby more difficult to sleep, you can consider whether there’s room for more food during the evening.

Not all night-weaned babies can comfortably sleep for 12 or more hours between dinner and breakfast.

Some parents find that moving dinner later or adding a pre-bedtime snack can help their little one sleep later in the morning.

5. Keep the nursery dark: Limit light exposure and keep the nursery dark. Your baby’s body is highly sensitive to sunlight and can signal the little one to wake up before their wake-up time.

You can opt for some quality drapes or sunshades to prevent sunlight from entering the room in the morning.

6. Consider white noise: Continual background noise can help muffle household or neighbourhood sounds that might be waking your baby during the early morning hours.

Using white noise all night can be especially helpful for families with more than one child that need to chuck out sibling noises.

Since the maximum volume on white noise machines can exceed the recommended noise level for children, try to keep the volume below the maximum level and maintain at least seven feet distance between the noise machine and your baby’s sleep space.

Like any sleep problem, early rising in babies will take some effort to change. It takes time to adjust to a new schedule, and you might get a little resistance. Make a plan, adjust bedtimes and wake-up times appropriately, and try to stick to it.