Is your baby waking at 5 am? Yawn!!! You hear rustling from the nursery and look at the clock to see it’s only 5 am. After a few minutes go by your baby starts to fuss and you wait patiently in hopes they will fall back asleep. Alas, at 5:30, fussing turns into more of a cry and you decide to get up and go get your baby. After a feed your baby is showing no signs of falling back asleep so you decide to start the day. Does this story sound familiar? 

Early morning wake-ups are one of the most common sleep challenges I get asked about! They also take the longest to see improvement. The first step you can do at home is to go through the list below to see if your baby or toddler falls into any category. If so, work on making that change first. If you can check everything off the list, it’s quite possible your baby has developed a habitual early morning wake up pattern! This can happen very quickly, thus resetting the circadian rhythm and the internal alarm clock to start the day at 5 a.m.

What is an early morning wake up?

An early morning waking is considered anytime between the hours of 4-6am. During this time, our sleep drive is at its lowest state after several hours of restorative, consolidated sleep. It is the most difficult to fall back to sleep at this time.

If your baby wakes up at 5 am it may seem like they are ready to get up…but they are not! We recommend not taking them out of their crib for the day until at least 6am at the earliest. Babies are naturally early risers and many will wake between 6-7 am. Finding a time you can stay consistent with to start the day will help your baby’s circadian rhythm adjust to that time!

top 5 reasons your baby is waking at 5 am

Sleep environment needs to be adjusted

Is there any light peaking into the room before your desired wake time? If so, let’s start here by adding blackout shades!

My favorites are from Sleep Out. They have portable black out curtains and curtains for home. Use code: wellrested to take 10% off.

In the early morning hours, your baby is in a lighter stage of sleep and if they happen to roll over and see that it is light outside, their body will tell them it’s ok to start the day!

Sleep Associations

Does your baby depend upon feeding, rocking, holding, or the pacifier to fall asleep? This is a parental led sleep association or something they can’t do for themself to fall asleep. If YES, your baby is much more likely to wake up and look for the same intervention to fall back asleep no matter what time it is! Teaching your baby to fall asleep independently will give them the best chance to soothe themselves and fall back asleep at 5 a.m. without your help!

Daytime schedule needs adjustment

Your baby’s daytime sleep needs change frequently in the first year of life!

Ensuring your baby is on an age-appropriate schedule with the right amount of naps and wake windows will make a huge difference in overnight sleep.

One of the most common reasons is that your baby is overtired. A bedtime that is too late or not enough daytime sleep can lead to sleep deprivation which can lead to early morning wake ups. If your baby routinely gets less than 2 hours of daytime sleep and is under 12 months then you may fall into this category.

TIP TO TRY: Try adjusting bedtime earlier in 15 minute increments to see if that helps and support naps to ensure your baby is getting adequate daytime sleep.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, if your baby gets TOO much daytime sleep it will start to rob the overnight sleep bank thus another culprit of early wake-ups. They’ve had enough for 24 hours and by the time 4-6 AM happens they have are ready to get up and go for the day.

The Well Rested sleep courses include my sought-after nap schedule guides that include 3 sample schedules for each month from 4-24 months!

Hunger

Some babies under 4-6 months still need one overnight feed. If your baby is sleeping a long stretch prior to waking and will take a feed, go back to sleep without a fuss, sleep until desired morning wake time, AND takes a full feed upon waking in the morning then this is absolutely OK!

If your baby will not go back to sleep after the feed or wakes again within 1-2 hours of the feed or is not hungry for the first feed of the day then it may be a habitual wake and feed pattern overnight. Habits form quickly! Usually within 2-3 nights. Their body starts to expect a feed at this time and because they have already slept 10 hours their body is telling them to wake up for the day! 

What is your baby or toddler’s expectation when they wake early?

Another important piece of the early wake-up puzzle is to understand what your baby expects upon waking in the morning. Do they expect to nurse and snuggle with you the moment they wake up before ANYTHING else happens?

If so, it’s hard to fall back asleep when you’re waiting for Mom or Dad to come in! Try putting a diaper change, dressing for the day, and a song between feeding in the morning! A few minutes at first is about all you can expect, but gradually working toward 5-10 minutes before feeding can help out so much!

Does your toddler expect that they will get to watch a video, tablet, or snuggle in bed with you? I know this is tough because we’re tired too, but this ingrains the pattern of early rising! 

How to overcome 5 am wake ups with your baby

Often I see families give their babies 5, 10, or 15-20 minutes to fall back asleep and then decide to start the day when they might fall back asleep if given a longer period of time. This is tough, but usually one of the most effective ways to move away from the habitual early wake up. 

Any wake up before 6 a.m. is considered a middle-of-the-night wake-up, so we want to treat it that way! If your baby woke up at 2 a.m. you would do everything you could to get your baby back to sleep and would not end up starting your day, so think of 5-6 a.m. the same way!

• Select a desired wake-time that you can keep consistent every day (within 15 minutes).
• 7 am is very conducive to our circadian rhythm and following an age-appropriate daytime schedule.
• If your baby wakes before this time, be patient! 
• Give them time to go back to sleep without intervening as check-ins can be extremely stimulating. 
• Verbal check-ins are the best approach if a check-in is needed.
• You can also do check ins using your baby monitor
• If you suspect a dirty diaper, you can do a “sniff test” during a quick check-in. If your baby needs to be changed, keep it all business- lights low and no talking. Then it’s back to bed!

Early morning wakings take time to resolve; weeks of patience and consistency. The best thing you can do is stick to the desired wake-time and train your baby over time with a consistent approach and minimal interventions.

Need more sleep support?

If overnight wake ups or early morning wake ups are the norm and you’re ready to make a positive change..I have a class for you! The 4-24 Month Well Rested Collection will walk you step-by-step through a completely customizable sleep training experience. In just a few weeks, your baby will be falling asleep independently, getting 11-12 hours of independent night sleep, AND you’ll have a plan to navigate any future regressions or bumps in your journey. I’ll also help you set up a daytime routine and nap schedule that fits your family’s lifestyle and values. And you’ll get age-specific guidance to meet your baby right where he or she is developmentally at every stage from now until your baby turns 2.

We also offer 1:1 personalized sleep coaching to families with sleep training plans starting at 3 months of age up to 4 years! We have multiple options that can help you get your baby’s sleep back on track!

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