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I recently did a poll on Instagram and early morning wakings were hands down the biggest pain point among my community, so I thought it would be fitting to address it here.
Is your baby ready to party at the crack of dawn (or earlier)? Do you wonder why this keeps happening, what exactly is considered early, and how to prevent it from happening? Let's dive in!
What is considered an early morning waking?
Even though it may be earlier than we would like to be awake, 6am is a reasonable wake time for a baby. Therefore, anything before that is considered an early waking. If your baby wakes around 4/5am for a feeding, but goes right back to sleep, I'd consider that a "night waking" rather than an early morning waking. If they won't go back to sleep, then it is an early morning waking. Make sense?
Additionally, if your baby only does this sporadically, I wouldn't consider this a true problem. Babies have off nights just like we do! Ever wake at 3am and struggle to get back to sleep but tomorrow you sleep through to your alarm just fine? They're the same.
I wouldn't consider it to be a problem until it has been happening for 7-10 days consistently.
Why do early morning wakings happen?
Early wakings are almost always a scheduling issue. If your baby doesn't have the optimal amount of sleep pressure/motivation, then they just aren't going to want to, or need to, sleep past that early time.
Some common causes include:
Let's break down each one.
Too Much Day Sleep
Babies only need a certain amount of sleep in a 24-hour period. If they are getting too much sleep during the daytime, they naturally just won't need as much at night. For example, a 4-month-old needs about 15.5 hours of total sleep. Let's say they nap for 5 hours during the daytime and then go to bed at 7pm. 5:30am will actually be a reasonable wake time.
This is why it is important to be mindful of day sleep and never be afraid of waking a sleeping baby!
Bedtime Too Early
Let's say your baby usually sleeps 11 hours at night, but they go to bed at 6:30. A 5:30 wake up is too be expected! Bump bedtime by an hour if this is the case.
Bedtime Too Late
An overtired baby is going to struggle to sleep. This is because when they are too tired, their body releases cortisol. This is the hormone that helps to wake us up, which explains why tired children often get "the zoomies."
Cortisol rises throughout the night to wake us up, so when your baby falls asleep with already elevated levels, it makes sense that they peak too early and struggle to get back to sleep.
Room Not Blacked Out
Especially in the summer months, the sun will start creeping in early. Even a tiny bit can be enough to signal to your baby it is time to get up. I always suggest doubling up with blackout curtains AND shades, as well as putting a draft guard or blanket at the bottom of their door.
Sound Machine Not Loud Enough
Sleep pressure is low in the morning, so sounds outside of the room can easily wake your baby and make it hard for them to get back to sleep. Make sure their sound machine is on white noise (which blocks out all sound frequencies) and is between 50-60 decibels from where their sleep space is. You can download a free app to test this out! Also don't be afraid to add a sound machine outside the door, too!
Soiled Diaper
It may be time to size up, especially when your baby starts sleeping for longer stretches. If they always are heavily soiled when you change their first diaper of the day, it may be time to either get a bigger size or switch to overnights. Add in a barrier cream, such as Aquaphor, to make it less uncomfortable for them.
Early First Nap
If your baby wakes early and you start their wake window from that time, they will also be having an early nap time. This will start continuing and reinforcing the cycle of early morning wakings. This is one of the only times that I suggest pushing your baby past when they want to go to sleep.
For example, if your baby wakes at 5am and has a 2-hour wake window, offer the nap at 7:45 or 8 rather than 7am.
How Do You Handle Early Morning Wakings?
Okay so it's happened. Your baby is ready to go early, so how do you handle it? If they are cool as a cucumber and just babbling and happy in their crib, leave them! See if they will just fall back to sleep on their own.
However, if they are upset and not having it, here's what you can do:
Treat it like a night waking and do what you would do if they were crying at 12am. Now, how you respond depends on what your goal is. They may need a feed and to be laid back down. They may need just a check-in, or maybe they need some shushing and patting.
Keep them in sleep mode. This means to keep the lights and voices off. Keep it quiet, calm, and blacked out. Do this until it is okay to wake, and if they are still awake at that time, say good morning, open up the curtains, and start the day.
Start their first wake window at 6am, or whenever they finally wake for the day.
If you don't mind bringing them into bed with you, you can do that but do know this may reinforce the early wakings. It all depends on what your ultimate goal is!
Now what?
Are early mornings only a piece to the sleep puzzle you've been trying to figure out? Not sure where the problem stems from and are ready to get more guidance?
Let's jump on a free sleep assessment call. I'll help you figure out what areas need a shift and how I can help you to get there!
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