Baby wakes up everyday at 5am!!!!!

:D yes, do give it a try- it does sound counter intuitive but it really works! Forgot to add- I also work with Gina Ford routine in general but I could never get my kid to sleep till 7am or 8am. Neither have I ever used blackout curtains. She does say though that around 5am, kids are in their lighter sleep pattern. And I have found that to be true with my baby- any sound and he wakes right up.
 
"BTW, my baby becomes really sleepy from about 9pm. However, I won't let her sleep until she has her last feed at 10pm. I'm worried if she sleeps so early, she'll be up at 12-1am!! "

Miriam,
I don't think you should KEEP your baby up till her last feed... Doesn't sound sensible and sounds pretty 'inhumane' to me indeed. If she shows any sign of sleepiness, let her sleep!! Don't worry about waking her for the last feed - she will take the feed, trust me. If she is in DEEP sleep and doesn't open her mouth, use your own way to wake her up a bit (slightly squeeze her hand, pat on her face, touch her lips...etc). If I didn't have to work full time, I would put my son to sleep earlier than 9:30. And, another important thing is: keep your baby's bed time regular, i.e. I turn off the light by 9pm and put some light music on, which is a message to my son that it is a time for bed. He knows he has to quiet down and soon get into sleepy mood and fall into sleep. Then, back to the topic of this thread: how can I make my baby sleep longer and not wake up every day at 5am? I have no answer really.
 
And, another problem with my son is that he has a pair of super-sensitive ears!!!!! A tiny bit of sound, whatever the sound of the toilet flush, close of a wardrobe door, etc. he will wake up! Me & my husband have to WHISHPER to each other whenever he is asleep! Arrgghhh!
 
I know it's so cruel to keep her awake when she's yawning and rubbing her eyes.....!!!

Will try tonight to let her sleep when she's sleepy and pick her up again around 10-10:30pm for her night feed.

Hope it'll work!!
 
9pm is so late for a bedtime . . .

By 7/8 months your baby SHOULD be able to sleep through the night without a feed and have all she/he needs to sustain themselves from their day feedings. Yes, it's easier said then done. When my son was in a crib, his bedtime was 7pm and he was up at 6am without a feed Occassionally, he would cry once in the night, but we would let him cry and he would put himself back to sleep.

Blackout curtains are key. From around 4 - 7, your baby goes into a light sleep . . . From 6 - 14 months, my son slept 30-45 mins in the morning, then 1.5 hours in the afternoon.

Miriam, can I ask you why you give her a nightfeed?
 
If your baby is 8 months old, she really should be able to get through the night without a feed, even one at 10pm. Completely agree with SUV, sleep begets sleep at this age. My four month old sleeps 4 to 4.5 hours during the day and for the last couple of weeks does 7 to 7 most nights with a dream feed at 10.30pm.
I would definitely recommend looking at some kind of sleep training book. Gina Ford is one. I personally have used Save Our Sleep by Tizzie Hall which worked for me and there are plenty of others that have been discussed on this site.
Also I think a lot of mums with early risers would suggest you treat 5am like you would if it was 3am. If you get them up and act like it is morning they won't learn to sleep longer.
 
Southside852,

Her last feed is at about 10pm, in hopes she can go to sleep on a full stomach and not wake up in the middle of the night. Is that considered a night feed? (Don't know what I should/shouldn't do...)

Then she'll start waking up at about 5am, helper pats/rocks her, then she'll go back to sleep again and at about 6~7am, she'll wake up again and I'll BF her before going to work. Then she'll often stay awake, helper changes her nappy, cleanses her face and gives her her bfast cereals at about 8-8:30am, then she'll go back to sleep again.
 
Miriam, one thing to consider, if your baby DOES go to bed an hour earlier, then in the morning, she may wake up earlier - however I'm sure that it would be easier to get her back to sleep at 4am than at 5am!! I know with my daughter, I'd rather her wake at 4am than at 6am - because at 4am, she's definitely going to go back to sleep but at 6am, that's it for the night.

I never really followed a schedule, I was more "baby led" (although with some gentle prodding, I wasn't COMPLETELY baby led) - if she's tired, put her down for a nap. If she's tired and it's close to her bed time, put her down for the night. A lot of things were trial and error, but I think it's easier to follow their natural body clock than to try and force them into a pattern that suits you...
 
Nicolejoy, just read a bit of your blog....

Deeply saddened and sorry about your situation!!!!

You have my best wishes and support!!!!!!

:)
 

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