Mums of early risers, I need your help!!

[Lady-bug]

Ok mums, with a new baby on the way I need to find a solution to this problem before I lose it. DS2 wakes up every day between 5-5:30am. He comes into our room and instantly starts yelling at me to get up (this turns into a lying on the floor yelling/crying tantrum-which is a really horrible way for both of us to start our day ). Sorry mate but I am not getting up at 5am!!

Both boys have co-slept and this baby will too so I'm having these visions of him coming in and screaming and waking a baby at 5am everyday....ummm no!

So how on earth do I get him to just get up and not come into and yell at me??? He usually is getting up and saying his tummy is sore which means he is hungry (because he rarely eats dinner but that's another thread! ) so I'm thinking of setting up some food on the coffee table that he could open himself and just hope that he would get and help himself.
I realise part of this sounds mean, I should just get up with him, but I know with a new baby that extra hour of sleep will be extremely important and I want him out of this cycle asap!

[emmalee86]

How old is your DS?

Before DD2 was born we taught DD1(6yrs) how to make her own breakfast.. Usually it was something easy like yoghurt and muesli. We bought little Yoghurts and she just put a spoonful of muesli into the yoghurt tub. We also taught her how to make her own cereal, (you just have to have a little milk jug for them that isn't too full).
We also taught her how to use the remote (mother of the year award coming up) so that she could turn some cartoons on for herself while she eats her breakfast.

the rule in our house is that we (me and DH) don't get up until the sun is up.. If it is still dark outside - forget about it!!

DD will happily play in her room or watch tv in the lounge room or her DS in bed.. Only rule is that she isn't allowed outside unless one of us is up. She is rarely up for too long by herself as we get up at about 6:30-7am anyway!

I think a good way to approach it with your DS is tell him that he needs to learn how to do some big boy jobs, perhaps get your hubby to do this with him, you know the whole man to man routine.. and make him feel like it is a privilege to be able to make his own breakfast and run the house while you two are in bed
This is what we did with DD and she took it very seriously! I would wake up and she would tell me, with pride, that she had made her own breakfast and looked after the house for us.. Now it is just part of her normal morning routine and she doesn't even question it.

And with bub here now it has made such an amazing difference!

[Lady-bug]

He is only just 3, so I'm not sure I trust him with pouring milk yet. However I am thinking of putting kids shows on before I go to bed then all he has to do is turn the tv on (we can share that mother of the year award!!) I'm also thinking of cutting his day sleep in the hope it may make him sleep a little longer.

[CoNNiE_Melb]

Is there any chance you can keep him in his bed longer?
We got DS1 a day/night clock. He knows not to get out of bed until the sun's up on the clock - 7:30am.

If we really want a sleep in, we put cereal in a bowl and a small amount of milk in a bottle in the fridge. He is also 3 and is more than capable of pouring the milk in the bowl - you should give him a chance, he might surprise you.

You could also try a bit of tough love. He can come and say good morning, but then he has to go out and play until you're ready to get up. If he starts throwing a tantrum, pick him up and take him out of the room. If he comes back and keeps going, take him out again. He'll get the picture after a while.

[HotI]

if he is still having a day sleep, you might really appreciate it when baby arrives.

banana, dry fruit, sandwich, muesli bar could all work for a 3 year old. drink bottle of water.

[Mrs O'M]

We have the same issue here, DS wakes anytime between 4am and 5am and is ready to start the day irrespective of what time he goes to bed. We recently bought a gro clock and have set it for the sun to wake up at 5am (while not great is a sleep in for us) So he knows that when the stars are on the clock he has to stay in his cot and in his room. We normally go in and give him some books to read or toys to play with but have emphasised that mummy and daddy will not play until the sun is awake. We are slowly moving the wake up time later and later each day and while the process is not easy, it seems to be working better than anything else we have tried.

[Lady-bug]

That's what I'm thinking too HotI! That's definitely the last resort. Mmm the clock could work...Mrs O'M where did you get the gro clock?
Connie_melb, he really won't stay in bed any longer, and he is not a cereal kid so snacky type food it will have to be.

[CoNNiE_Melb]

That's ok - whatever works!!

The Gro clock is the one we have aswell. Even if my son wakes at 7, we don't hear from him until 7:30 when he opens his bedroom door. He knows there is to be no noise and getting out of bed until the sun's up.
You can get them at Baby Bunting for $70.

[Mrs O'M]

We found ours on eBay, heaps of bargains and lots of second hand ones available too.

[emmalee86]

What about the little tubs of yoghurt? So he can just grab one from the fridge and a spoon and he is all set! We also have the bevita breakfast biscuits and my DD loves them! They taste like little pop tarts..

I would definitely invest in one of these clocks! They sound fantastic.. We do it the old fashion way and make our DD look out the window!

Tough love also plays a pretty strong part in this, you need to set the boundaries. We told our DD that she was not to come in and wake us up to play with her before the sun came up so she found other things to try to wake us up up; she would come in and say 'dad I found your keys on the bench, here you go' or 'I think roxy (the dog) has a sore foot, you should come and have a look' - very sneaky of her!! Haha so we explained what was an acceptable reason to wake us up and what was a silly reason..

Definitely program the tv so all he has to do it turn it on and he can watch some cartoons for a while... We also have coloring in and pencils on our coffee table constantly so she can colour in while watching cartoons...

I think it has a lot to do with how you approach it as well; our DD sees it as a good thing that we trust her and thinks she is a big girl and very responsible to be able to make her own breakfast etc..

[emmalee86]

We also got DD a little portable DVD player which we picked up for about $60 and we put a movie in and all she has to do is turn the power on and press play and she can watch a little movie in bed.. We usually only do this on weekends so we can have an extra long sleep in haha

[ladybirdflies]

I know you said this needs another thread but I think the early rising is due to being hungry. THe most efficient time for the body to absorb nutrients is between 3.30 and 4.30 in the afternoon, which just happens to be when most kids are 'starving' My hot tip would be to feed him dinner during his afternoon hunger period and then a snack like a sandwich or rice pudding or yoghurt for supper when you normally would offer dinner. THis golden hot tip has changed many lives in families that I know and work with... goodluck...

[Lady-bug]

I know you said this needs another thread but I think the early rising is due to being hungry. THe most efficient time for the body to absorb nutrients is between 3.30 and 4.30 in the afternoon, which just happens to be when most kids are 'starving' My hot tip would be to feed him dinner during his afternoon hunger period and then a snack like a sandwich or rice pudding or yoghurt for supper when you normally would offer dinner. THis golden hot tip has changed many lives in families that I know and work with... goodluck...

I am 100% sure he is waking early because he is not eating enough! I didn't know that, I will try feeding him dinner earlier then a snack later, thanks so much for sharing!!

I have googled the clock, and will get one on the weekend, thanks so much ladies!!

[Cassius2]

we have early risers! our parenting of the year award is to have the TV ready to go at a low volume on ABC2 lol. but we also have their snacks ready to go as well. it staves off the hunger and the thirst and gives us some extra precious time to rest...our youngest is a wakeful kid!

[peanutter]

The Gro Clock didn't help one bit for us.

We have had some success with having some special toys just for the morning - they are in a special box and they're just for mornings. And he's allowed to read in bed.

We've had some success also with him being able to come snuggle in our bed, but often it still means no sleep for me, or (horror!) a wet bed.

No magical cure, but a few options!

Good luck

[wysiwyg]

The Gro Clock worked for DD but not DS, but I think more of the problem here is the that on work days I need them up at about 6:20 at latest so is hard to break out of the 5:50 wake up when I need them up not long after on those days.

[black_rose]

Ds is an early riser too, doesn't matter if he has eaten a lot or what time he goes to sleep unless he is sick he is up before sunrise. If he is quiet I let him snuggle for a bit. If not we have an old iphone he uses and he now knows how to turn on the tv. He is allowed to get a banana or yoghurt before the rest of the house wakes up. We found that helping him be quietly occupied works better than trying to get him back to sleep as then he gets cranky.

[~Kim~]

I agree with all of the pps. I've tried most things suggested and with the exception of the clock, the rest works well for us. I've had an early riser for years now and it just keeps moving down the line. First dd1, then DS and now dd2. Sadly she's still too little to be independent in the mornings just yet. But there is hope - I have to drag my two big kids out of bed now
Dd1 was 2 and 10 months when she started getting her own brekkie and watching tv.