What To Do When Your Baby Is Waking Up Too Early?

If your baby is waking up too early, you’re probably tired and confused. You’re already so stressed out about having a baby in the house, and now you have to deal with sleep problems.

This article will help you to determine the reason for your baby’s waking up. You will also learn how to solve this problem.

5 Reasons Why Your Baby Is Waking Up Too Early

It’s much easier to solve a problem if you can determine a cause.

This issue can be nothing and it can be something. It can be short-term and long-term.

Keep in mind that babies usually wake up early, so maybe you’re not having a problem.

If your baby is waking up after 6.00 AM or 6.30 AM, you’re fine. Babies are simply early birds.

But, if your baby is waking up earlier, then you should be thinking about the reasons behind it.

1. Hunger

Babies tend to wake up too early when they’re hungry. Maybe this seems odd to you, but if they go back to sleep after eating, hunger is to blame for this issue.

Try to feed your baby right before bedtime if you would like to prevent early waking up.

2. Sleep Environment

If your baby starts to wake up too early in the morning, maybe something changed in the baby’s sleep environment.

Pay some attention to the surroundings – noise, light, different bedding, and every other change might be the cause of your problem.

3. Exhaustion

When a baby is overtired, waking up early in the morning happens very often. This doesn’t make sense, but just like when you’re too tired and can’t sleep, the baby can’t sleep either.

A bad sleeping schedule and light sleep can lead to a baby waking up too early. Your baby needs a good sleeping schedule and good conditions for a firm sleep.

4. Fever/ Pain / Illness

In some situations, a baby is waking up too early because they’re sick. Sometimes it’s just a cold or a fever, but if you’re not sure, you should make a doctor’s appointment.

It’s also possible that your baby is teething. The pain, the swelling, and everything else that comes with teething aren’t helpful for a good night’s sleep.

In most cases, sleeping problems are just a phase, but you can’t be careful enough with the little ones.

5. Growth/ Development

Babies grow up so fast, and we tend to forget that they’re changing and developing.

Sometimes they’re excited because they’re learning how to crawl, walk, and talk. Sometimes they need less sleep and their nap time needs to be adjusted.

5 Ways To Deal With Baby Waking Up Too Early

If you know what the problem is, then it’s simple to solve it. But if you’re not sure, here are some ways that will help you.

1. Stick To The Planned Sleeping Schedule

It’s so amazing when you can be spontaneous with your baby, but sometimes you have to follow the rules.

If your baby is waking up too early, it’s time to create a sleeping routine, where your baby will go to sleep at the same time every night in order to wake up on time in the morning.

It’s important to create a ritual before sleeping, so the baby can know that it’s time for bed.

Most parents like to give a bath to their little ones. Some of them like to read some stories to their babies.

This will calm down your baby, and it will give them a signal that it’s time for sleep.

Keep in mind that this takes a while since the goal is to create a tranquil environment that will help your baby to fall asleep.

The steps of calming the baby before sleeping are called the Drowsy But Awake Method.

2. Re-Evaluate Baby’s Napping Schedule

Babies need their nap time during the day, but if your baby is waking up too early in the morning, try to change the napping schedule.

Try to reduce the napping time, or try to remove one nap from the schedule.

This will be hard in the beginning, because your baby will be cranky, but if you notice that it’s working, stick to it.

3. Create Perfect Sleeping Conditions

When your baby is dealing with sleeping problems, the best way to solve this problem is to create a perfect sleeping environment and conditions for your little one.

Make sure that there is no light or noise in the baby’s room. Make sure that the baby’s bed and bedding are comfortable and soft.

Try to get a white noise machine that will keep your baby sleeping as long as you want it.

Also, make sure that the temperature of the room is good.

All these things are essential if your baby is waking up too early and you can’t figure out why.

4. Avoid The Baby’s Hunger

Babies eat more often than we do, and babies will wake up too early when it’s time to eat.

To avoid this, try feeding your baby right before they go to sleep.

If your baby is still eating during the night, it’s not a bad idea to try and feed them in the middle of the night if you want to avoid early rising.

5. Be Patient

If your baby keeps waking up early in the morning no matter what you do, try to stay calm and give your baby some space and time.

In many situations, the baby will go to sleep again if you don’t take it out of the crib.

Of course, if the baby is crying, you have to do something, but if not, try to wait it out a bit, and things might be solved on their own.

Don’t Be Frustrated

Most parents have to deal with this issue at some point. Sometimes there is no solution until the baby gets a bit older. Sometimes the solution is something simple.

One thing that is mandatory if you want any of these tricks above to work is staying calm, focused, and relaxed.

As you probably know, babies can sense your anxiety, fear, and stress. If you’re trying to calm your baby down, you won’t do it if you’re not calm.

I know that this is hard if you’re not sleeping enough. It’s hard to be relaxed when you feel tired and helpless.

But, it would be good if you could do this. Try to sleep while your baby is taking a nap during the day.

This will help you to overcome getting up early in the morning. Help yourself too because your baby will be easy to control when you’re peaceful and focused.

However, if you can’t deal with all this right now, don’t worry. You’re not the only one. Maybe this is just a phase that can’t be fixed.

Don’t lose hope because, in just a month or two, things will be different. Every month is different for a baby, and their habits are also different.

In Conclusion

When your baby is waking up too early in the morning, it’s impossible to feel great about it.

As I’ve mentioned it would be good if you could stay cool and calm about it, but it’s definitely hard to do so.

There are plenty of reasons for these issues, but there are also plenty of solutions. Don’t give up, and try every trick to get your baby to sleep longer in the morning.

Once again, if you’re suspicious about something, and your baby is behaving weirdly, it’s a good thing to see a doctor.