How to Fix Your Baby’s Early Morning Wake Ups

Ah, yes, you have your alarm set for 7 am and you’re looking forward to getting a full night’s rest.

That is until you hear your baby wake up, and it’s not even 5 yet! Yet another early morning - what’s the deal? We’re here to help make sure you and your baby get enough rest, but first, let’s find out what’s causing them to be such early risers!

What Defines an Early Wake-Up? 

Early morning wakings are kind of different for everyone. If you are already used to waking up at 5 am, that may not seem out of the norm for you. Others may not be able to function properly without sleeping in until at least 8. However, your little one has a mind of their own, and we also need to recognize their sleep needs. 

While we, as adults, have become accustomed to somewhat-abnormal sleep times, babies are still on a very tight circadian rhythm set earlier than ours. That means that when the sun is rising, they are too. When it starts getting dark outside, they may start getting sleepy. 

The overwhelming majority of babies are ready to get up and go around 6 to 7 am. If they’re waking up before 5:30 am, we’d consider this an early wake-up. Sleeping past 7 am could also put their circadian rhythm out of whack, which can have a negative effect on sleep quality throughout the rest of the day. Take a look at the chart below to see where your child’s wake-up time sits. 

Why is My Baby Waking Up Early and How to Fix Early Wake-Up? 

There are a few reasons your little one might be a particularly early riser. Let’s look at some of the most common and examine how you can fix them – so that everyone can get their beauty sleep!

Light

If you see some sunlight peeking into your baby’s room, that could be just enough stimulation to tell their body, “rise and shine!”. Between 4 and 6 am, we’re all in our “lightest” stretch of sleep and any little trigger can wake us up for the rest of the day.

Not only that, but any kind of light can signal to their brain that sleep time is over for the morning. If you have to turn that hall light on next to their room, you may want to invest in a night light instead.

Solution: You can grab some blackout curtains if regular blinds aren’t doing the job effectively. Even so, some can still let light seep in through the edges. There are some higher-quality options out there that let you velcro them to the sides of the windows that usually do well to combat that issue.

If you need to access your baby’s bedroom for any reason before they’re awake, try using a night light to help your baby stay asleep. They’re much softer and dimmer than regular light but will illuminate your path enough that you won’t be tripping all over things.

Noise

This is something that can wake anyone up, but especially little ones who are already sleeping lightly. Perhaps it’s the sound of the newspaper being thrown onto your front steps, birds chirping, the garbage truck - anything! Those are things that are sometimes unavoidable, though. So, what’s the solution?

Solution: A white noise machine can help babies sleep longer when played around 50 to 60 dB. It creates a kind of noise “cushion” that keeps out any irregular or abrasive noises very effectively. 

Stimulating Morning Activities

If when your baby first wakes up in the morning, they’re welcomed with enjoyable activities such as cuddling with a loved one, feeding, or getting in some screen time, they could wake up early thinking they’re going to get to do that activity. Their brain has been conditioned to connect wake-up time with fun things, so it makes sense they wake up early!

Solution: Sleep training early-morning-waking babies can be easy in this regard. Simply make sure there are at least 30 minutes of space between them waking up and having them participate in an exciting activity. After that, feel free to engage them in all the play time they want.

Bedtime is Too Late

Babies going to bed too late is one of the biggest factors in early morning wakings. While adults may enjoy sleeping in after a late night, babies experience quite the opposite! Little ones being over-fatigued equates to poor sleep quality, even if that doesn’t make logical sense to us.

Solution: If you find your baby is waking up particularly early, consider an earlier bedtime - even if only by 20 to 30 minutes! The only time where you may want to consider a later bedtime for early risers, is if your baby is less than 3 months old. Sometimes newborns will sleep in later with a later bedtime. 

Nap Schedule

This part is more tedious, but what you want to look out for is if their morning nap is too early, or if they’re sleeping too much or not enough during the day. If their morning nap is, say, at 7:15 am, then their brains think they’re waking briefly in the “night” and going back to finish sleeping the necessary amount of time. This throws off their circadian rhythm, creating a cycle that can cause too-early wake times.

As your baby gets older, you’ll have to drop a nap. If they don’t need that extra nap and are sleeping too much during the day, they may wake up early. As we previously mentioned, being overtired can also disrupt their sleep schedule, too.

Solution: This is where an app like Baby Connect really comes in handy! You can easily track your baby’s sleep and activities, so you know exactly what to adjust in terms of nap schedules. We understand that life happens, but trying to stay on a consistent sleep routine is so important. 

While this can be a bit stress-inducing, please know that well-rested mornings are just around the corner for you both! As with anything, correcting early morning wake-ups takes a bit of time and consistency.