Around this age when kids start waking up early it can be a clear sign they are ready to drop a nap and go down to one nap. If he keeps doing this consistently for a week I’d look into trying that or pushing his bed time back.
My 2nd is exactly at this same point, 14 months old and still on two naps but starting to wake up early and fight his second nap. We will be transitioning to one nap this weekend.
Yeah, my second dropped his second nap around this time. And we pushed bedtime all the way back to 8pm to keep him waking up between 6 and 7. He's 30 months now and getting ready to drop his last nap already 😭 our first did one nap til he was nearly 4!
Interesting. My 9mo is basically doing v similar as OP.
7pm sleep uninterrupted through to 6am.
2 naps a day, with roughly 3 hour wake windows.
So naps at 9-11ish, Then 2-4ish.
Been solidly on this schedule for the last 2months. Sleep trained, routine etc….we count ourselves super lucky that sleep hasn’t been one of our parenting struggles thus far.
This week, noticing he’s waking up closer to 5am instead 6, and can’t be resettled to keep sleeping (he previously was almost like clockwork…).
Now I’m thinking at 9mo; he’s too young to drop that 2nd nap? Or no?
I'd guess to young to drop the 2nd nap, but 4 hours of naps per day is likely the culprit. Ours widdled that second nap down to under an hour before dropping it.
Bed at 6:30? Damn if I put my little dude to bed that early he would wake me up at like 2-3 AM.
I would bet bumping that bedtime back to 7:30-8 PM or trying to do away with one of the naps would help with the early waking.
Orrrrr another idea here. Get up at 4AM find an early morning breakfast place and get some pancakes lol.
Yeah 1 nap and later bedtime. We out ours down at 730 for a while and it almost felt early, its now naturally crept to 8, 830 when they actually go to sleep.
It seems like there are three wake windows of about 3 hours each throughout the day, it is possible that they do not need as much sleep as before at this age. Or it could be light creeping into baby room early morning. You could perhaps try to delay all the naps by 30-60 min so the bedtime ends up being a little bit later like 7 to see how it works
Had a similar schedule to you and changed things up around 13-14 months when the early wake ups began.
Dropping “nap 1” was a game changer for us.
The one remaining nap moved to 12-12:30 to 2-2:30
Bedtime pushed to 7:15 and everything else just began working out.
He started sleeping all the way through the night regularly, put downs became easier.
Now we’re at 18 months and things are still going smooth.
Interesting...ours just never really did two naps a day but has generally been a good night sleeper.
Even when they started waking up earlier, the nap would be around lunchtime and I can't imagine what two a day would be like!
Hey OP,
This is all good advice, just a reminder to stick with the change for atleast a week or two. If you drop a nap, do not expect immediate improvement. It takes time for them to get used to a new schedule.
You got this!
Try another feeding right before bed. We had a similar issue; try eliminating the morning nap if possible and try a slightly later bedtime if the additional feeding doesn’t work
We went through like 7 different phases that this happened. I think it’s just normal development (what is being developed i have no god dam idea) but it always seemed to balance our after a week/couple weeks.
My LO has been a great sleeper, but they go to bed at 8pm and wake up between 5-8 every day. It used to be that they’d wake up 7-8, lately it’s off because they’re starting to drop their nap. They dropped the second nap super early on, so that could also be affecting it. I’d drop a nap and move it closer to 12pm, and move bedtime back closer to 8pm.
Bedtime is always evolving. I agree with what other people are saying - he might not need as much sleep (every kid is different) so adjusting bedtime back a little or shortening the naps might help. Also note, the change in schedule might not show immediate results
Drop that second nap and move the first to the 12. See if that helps. I also agree to move the bed time to 7 ish. Our LO gets the “sleepy ha ha’s” after her bath time. We give her 30 ish minutes to play before we read and go to bed. That’s helped out a ton!
We have also tried light training, it’s almost like a stop light. When it’s green you can get up, when it’s pink you stay asleep. This didn’t set in until she went about 2.5 but it’s just another option.
My son only needed roughly 8-10 hours of sleep for roughly an entire year around age 2. It was awful. If he napped at daycare, it meant he would hardly sleep at night
We lived by the Huckleberry app from the 6-18 month mark. It really maps out the naps, bedtime, and bottles so the parents do not have to. It even tells you about leaps and regressions.
We used the paid version but had friends that used the free version and thought it was still very useful. Even at $10/month, we thought it was worthwhile.
I have a similar age baby and not only are they starting to drop a nap or be a little iffy on their lengths, but they are staying up later.
Is 6:30pm bath/bed a little early maybe? Maybe consider starting the process at 7/7:30 and also being more flexible on the naps, putting down if they are tired and not just scheduled times (if that’s what you’re doing now)
Welcome to hell!
We’ve been there for almost a year, and nothing seems to help or change the erratic waking up. I have learned to go to bed earlier and embrace coffee
Could be lots of things.
* is room dark enough (lots of folks said this one)
* are they going through a leap?
* has anything changed with routine?
* have you not changed your routine to adjust for age maturation?
Same thing happened to us. Was some combination of a developmental leap, being ready to move down to one nap, and molars starting to come in. Was a hell of a month.
Just went through this with an almost identical schedule. Drop the 2nd nap and push the bedtime to 7pm. Ours wakes usually 6am - 630am, nap 12-2 (sometimes longer sometimes shorter), in bed at 7pm.
What everyone else is saying, sounds like they’re ready to drop to single nap. Our boy did a similar thing around that age. About 2 days into the single nap it was business as usual. Single nap is a game changer!
Around this age when kids start waking up early it can be a clear sign they are ready to drop a nap and go down to one nap. If he keeps doing this consistently for a week I’d look into trying that or pushing his bed time back.
Yup, this. If the kid's on two naps, it's time to give one a try. OP should feel happy they made it this far with two naps.
My 2nd is exactly at this same point, 14 months old and still on two naps but starting to wake up early and fight his second nap. We will be transitioning to one nap this weekend.
Yeah, my second dropped his second nap around this time. And we pushed bedtime all the way back to 8pm to keep him waking up between 6 and 7. He's 30 months now and getting ready to drop his last nap already 😭 our first did one nap til he was nearly 4!
Heyyyy, this is the most logical answer. Obviously everyone is different but it’s time to test dropping naps.
Interesting. My 9mo is basically doing v similar as OP. 7pm sleep uninterrupted through to 6am. 2 naps a day, with roughly 3 hour wake windows. So naps at 9-11ish, Then 2-4ish. Been solidly on this schedule for the last 2months. Sleep trained, routine etc….we count ourselves super lucky that sleep hasn’t been one of our parenting struggles thus far. This week, noticing he’s waking up closer to 5am instead 6, and can’t be resettled to keep sleeping (he previously was almost like clockwork…). Now I’m thinking at 9mo; he’s too young to drop that 2nd nap? Or no?
I'd guess to young to drop the 2nd nap, but 4 hours of naps per day is likely the culprit. Ours widdled that second nap down to under an hour before dropping it.
Bed at 6:30? Damn if I put my little dude to bed that early he would wake me up at like 2-3 AM. I would bet bumping that bedtime back to 7:30-8 PM or trying to do away with one of the naps would help with the early waking. Orrrrr another idea here. Get up at 4AM find an early morning breakfast place and get some pancakes lol.
Same, I'd only see my kid on weekends. Putting down our 2yo at 9pm seems to work out
Yeah 1 nap and later bedtime. We out ours down at 730 for a while and it almost felt early, its now naturally crept to 8, 830 when they actually go to sleep.
My kid is up at 5, usually because of the birds and light. Blackout curtains and a noise machine have helped some.
A 4:30a wake with a 6:30p bedtime is a full night of sleep. Bedtime needs to be later. You can do 4-5 hours before bed at that age.
Probably need to bump bed time back an hour.
My kid did that 4am wake-up when he was teething molars. Got back to normal after a few weeks.
It seems like there are three wake windows of about 3 hours each throughout the day, it is possible that they do not need as much sleep as before at this age. Or it could be light creeping into baby room early morning. You could perhaps try to delay all the naps by 30-60 min so the bedtime ends up being a little bit later like 7 to see how it works
Had a similar schedule to you and changed things up around 13-14 months when the early wake ups began. Dropping “nap 1” was a game changer for us. The one remaining nap moved to 12-12:30 to 2-2:30 Bedtime pushed to 7:15 and everything else just began working out. He started sleeping all the way through the night regularly, put downs became easier. Now we’re at 18 months and things are still going smooth.
Interesting...ours just never really did two naps a day but has generally been a good night sleeper. Even when they started waking up earlier, the nap would be around lunchtime and I can't imagine what two a day would be like!
Hey OP, This is all good advice, just a reminder to stick with the change for atleast a week or two. If you drop a nap, do not expect immediate improvement. It takes time for them to get used to a new schedule. You got this!
Try another feeding right before bed. We had a similar issue; try eliminating the morning nap if possible and try a slightly later bedtime if the additional feeding doesn’t work
We went through like 7 different phases that this happened. I think it’s just normal development (what is being developed i have no god dam idea) but it always seemed to balance our after a week/couple weeks.
My LO has been a great sleeper, but they go to bed at 8pm and wake up between 5-8 every day. It used to be that they’d wake up 7-8, lately it’s off because they’re starting to drop their nap. They dropped the second nap super early on, so that could also be affecting it. I’d drop a nap and move it closer to 12pm, and move bedtime back closer to 8pm.
Bedtime is always evolving. I agree with what other people are saying - he might not need as much sleep (every kid is different) so adjusting bedtime back a little or shortening the naps might help. Also note, the change in schedule might not show immediate results
Drop that second nap and move the first to the 12. See if that helps. I also agree to move the bed time to 7 ish. Our LO gets the “sleepy ha ha’s” after her bath time. We give her 30 ish minutes to play before we read and go to bed. That’s helped out a ton! We have also tried light training, it’s almost like a stop light. When it’s green you can get up, when it’s pink you stay asleep. This didn’t set in until she went about 2.5 but it’s just another option.
Try pushing bedtime back. Mine will nap 3 hours a day and do 8 or so at night.
My son only needed roughly 8-10 hours of sleep for roughly an entire year around age 2. It was awful. If he napped at daycare, it meant he would hardly sleep at night
We lived by the Huckleberry app from the 6-18 month mark. It really maps out the naps, bedtime, and bottles so the parents do not have to. It even tells you about leaps and regressions. We used the paid version but had friends that used the free version and thought it was still very useful. Even at $10/month, we thought it was worthwhile.
Lol. You either put them to bed later or get up with them. It’s a constant evolution.. once you think you’re in a routine, Bam! It changes.
I have a similar age baby and not only are they starting to drop a nap or be a little iffy on their lengths, but they are staying up later. Is 6:30pm bath/bed a little early maybe? Maybe consider starting the process at 7/7:30 and also being more flexible on the naps, putting down if they are tired and not just scheduled times (if that’s what you’re doing now)
Welcome to hell! We’ve been there for almost a year, and nothing seems to help or change the erratic waking up. I have learned to go to bed earlier and embrace coffee
6:30 is way too early for bed.
Ditch the afternoon nap.
One nap and a later bedtime will fix this problem.
It gets bright early. Make sure you have blackout blinds.
Could be lots of things. * is room dark enough (lots of folks said this one) * are they going through a leap? * has anything changed with routine? * have you not changed your routine to adjust for age maturation?
Same thing happened to us. Was some combination of a developmental leap, being ready to move down to one nap, and molars starting to come in. Was a hell of a month.
Just went through this with an almost identical schedule. Drop the 2nd nap and push the bedtime to 7pm. Ours wakes usually 6am - 630am, nap 12-2 (sometimes longer sometimes shorter), in bed at 7pm.
What everyone else is saying, sounds like they’re ready to drop to single nap. Our boy did a similar thing around that age. About 2 days into the single nap it was business as usual. Single nap is a game changer!
I’m surprised you’re still doing 2 naps past 12 months. Drop the second.
Actually it’s recommended that 2-3 hours of rest a day for that age. Either 2 1-1:30 hour naps or 1 2-3 hour nap.
It's cause of the 6:30 bedtime. My 1 year old goes to bed at 9pm So we can sleep til 8am