Hi. Hoping to brainstorm some ideas here...DS is almost 20mo and has been waking at 5am the last while, whereas he used to (and really still needs to) sleep until at least 6/6:30. I try to nurse him back to sleep and while the odd time it will work, often he'll eventually toss & turn until he sits up and declares he's "hungee". Which is the end of sleep for us... 
Things we've tried/do: we use a white noise machine, keep the lights very dim, have a blackout blind on the window. I tried giving him Cheerios in bed the other morning, which he ate, but never went back to sleep. One morning we got up and I made him toast, but he just picked at it, so I'm thinking he's maybe not actually hungry, but has figured out I'll get up and stop trying to get him to go back to sleep?
I've read people advising a bedtime snack, but our evening routine is pretty much supper, bath, a story or two and bed within max. 1hour of when he last ate, so I don't see DS being interested.
I've been trying to work at getting him to bed earlier, which I've heard can help, but somehow or other DH keeps tripping us up and stretching it out... I'd aim for bedtime of 7/7:30, but somehow it keeps being around 8/8:15 that he's actually out. And since DS has only been napping around an hour during the day, I think he's become chronically overtired.
Anyone have any other suggestions? This 5am wakeup call is really stretching us thin on patience with each other! Help! :yawning
Things we've tried/do: we use a white noise machine, keep the lights very dim, have a blackout blind on the window. I tried giving him Cheerios in bed the other morning, which he ate, but never went back to sleep. One morning we got up and I made him toast, but he just picked at it, so I'm thinking he's maybe not actually hungry, but has figured out I'll get up and stop trying to get him to go back to sleep?
I've read people advising a bedtime snack, but our evening routine is pretty much supper, bath, a story or two and bed within max. 1hour of when he last ate, so I don't see DS being interested.
I've been trying to work at getting him to bed earlier, which I've heard can help, but somehow or other DH keeps tripping us up and stretching it out... I'd aim for bedtime of 7/7:30, but somehow it keeps being around 8/8:15 that he's actually out. And since DS has only been napping around an hour during the day, I think he's become chronically overtired.
Anyone have any other suggestions? This 5am wakeup call is really stretching us thin on patience with each other! Help! :yawning
