This is getting ridiculous.

[seawitch]

My kids have always been early wakers. I don't think they've ever woken up after 6:00, not even if they're sick. Fine. But recently they've been waking up at 5, 4, and now for the past week we've been up for the day at 3 am. I am not a happy mama. If we keep them up later, even for weeks, they still wake up at 5 am the latest - they're just super grouchy and grumpy. During those times I get maybe 2 hours per day and get migraines daily. So we inevitably revert to the early bedtime because I need to do that for my health.They are happy and well-adjusted if they fall asleep at 4 pm and wake up at 3 or 4. I just can't take it anymore.

They are 3 and 4. They are such light sleepers that if one wakes, the other does too. Often they wake up to use the bathroom and then they're just up for the day. We came over from the Pacific time over here to Eastern, but they still get up at this time regardless of when they go to bed. I just want to wake up one day with the sun shiniing through the window... not several hours of darkness left to go.

They're outside a LOT during the day so they get plenty of sunlight. If DD (3) doesn't fall asleep by 5, she will be up until midnight and still get up at 5 am. For weeks at a time, if need be. She just doesn't wake later.

In the morning I simply cannot keep both of them quiet and/or stay in bed. If I get one to be quiet the other will wake up. They just don't.listen. if I tell them we have to lay there until it's light out. It's stupid cos now we'd be lying in bed for like four hours. If the time change comes it'll be like 2 am when they wake up. I'd reverse cycle but they go to preschool during the day so I can't do that. I am at my wits' end. They don't get that we sleep when it's dark and wake up when it's light. They just don't get it. Theyr'e 3 and 4. Shouldn't they get it by now?

[seawitch]

Also, they both know their numbers and have a clock and will even talk about how we're not supposed to wake up before 6 am (that's my limit, I'll be OK with 6, it's still dark but whatever... 6 is fine) but then they will try to be sneaky and get up... and then when they hear me coming they will run back to bed and pretend to sleep. And there is nothing sneaky about 3 and 4 year olds. I can't ignore them because they will get up to stuff if I don't supervise them. The other week DD went into the bathroom cabinet (out of the way) and ate a tube of toothpaste for no freaking reason. So I can't just let them play quietly. If they're up, I'm up. I explain to them in that our bodies need to sleep at night to be healthy etc. They don't care.

[KnitLady]

Do they sleep with white noise?  That can really help light sleepers get more sleep.

[Zimbah]

I don't really understand what time they go to bed - do you mean they either go to sleep at 5pm and wake up at 3am, or they go to bed at 12pm and wake up at 5?  Am just trying to understand what the situation is.

On the early waking though, these are just some random thoughts I've got which you might have already considered/discounted/tried, but it's worth a go.  Is there any way you could rearrange rooms so that they don't share a room?  Even if it's only temporary, if they're waking each other up it might help. When you say they get up to mischief if you're not up, can you confine them to their bedroom (our house has high door handles which helps...) and make sure there is nothing they can cause serious trouble with in there?  How about rewarding them for if they do play quietly - might work well with sibling competition, if the 3yr old gets a reward for playing quietly the 4yr old might try harder.  You'd probably have to start in small time increments though e.g. if they're waking at 4am, realistically 30mins of playing quietly would be quite a challenge at that age.  Or, give them earphones and story CDs/music to listen to in their rooms, on condition they can only have it if they're quiet.  Failing that and in desperation, put a video on for them to watch so at least you can doze.

You have my sympathy, I would be going absolutely demented having to wake up so early!

[DaisyMae08]

If you could get them to lay quietly in their beds, do you think they'd fall back to sleep?  What if you lay down on the floor in their room so you can make sure they stay put?

[anjsmama]

Absolutely no ideas just .

My DS is 3. He's gotten up at 6 his whole life. I've always given that a huge whatever, because he goes to bed at 7. 11 hours of sleep? Fabulous.  In the last 6 months that changed to 5, and then 4.  DD is 7.5 months and is a really lousy sleeper. When she hears him up and a goin at 4, she gets up too (and they're NOT in the same room). Then she's ALL cranky until her first nap. DS wants to go to the park and I'm like... ???? It's 5 am now kiddo, the park literally isn't open. I've tried keeping him up crazy late, tried 'ignoring' him in the morning, or giving him a snack/drink to go back to sleep, but it's just a no-go. My DH leaves for work at 445, so he typically tries to turn on a cartoon so I can sneak another half hour after he's gone, but without fail, DH walks out the door and DS comes hopping onto my bed. The only thing that helps (a little) is having the bookshelf next to his bed. On occasion, he will get up around 4, hang with DH while he gets ready for work, and then read his books for a few before coming to get me & DD. DH & I are now taking turns getting up with the kids on the weekends while the other "sleeps in " - aka 6:30. 

Did put a white noise machine in the room for DD and it does help her STTN (or at least, wake less frequently) like a PP mentioned, but it hasn't helped with early wakings for us. I swear my kids' internal clock is just all sorts of wrong.