Early Morning Wake Ups: What they are & how to fix them

by | May 27, 2021 | Baby Sleep

An Early Morning Wake Up (EMWU) is when your baby wakes anywhere between 4am and 6.30 – 7am. They are classed as part of the night sleep cycle and can be caused by a variety of factors.

Early Morning Wake Ups are not normal, and can be tricky to fix.

In this guide, I’ll give you some solutions to use to overcome Early Morning Wake Ups.

Myth

Putting your baby to bed later will fix Early Morning Wake Ups.

WRONG! It only leads to overtiredness which is a cause of EMWUs.

How To Fix Early Morning Wake Ups

Step 1 | Check the baby’s bedroom environment. (Read more about this here)

Step 2 | Baby should have 50 grams of protein per day between 6 to 10 months at lunchtime, and from 10 months old, add another 50 grams at dinner time.

Step 3 | After 6 months old, naps should not be before 8.30am. (For more information on age appropriate routines, download my Training Handout).

Step 4 | Morning naps should be 30 to 45 minutes long from 6 months old.

Step 5 | Make sure your baby is on age appropriate night feeds and is dropping them at the correct age.

Don’t give up too early, it can take up to 3 weeks of consistently addressing EMWUs to solve them.

How Do I Know What I’m Doing Is Working?

Keeping a record of any changes you notice is a great way to be able to monitoring whether or not these steps are working.

Make a note of things like:

  • Baby cries less
  • Baby starts to go back to sleep
  • Baby starts to lie down as you approach the cot/bed
  • Toddler starts to stay in bed longer
  • Baby / toddler sleeps until 6.30am/7am
  • Baby / toddler wakes happy

The important thing is to be consistent and keep going.

If you feel you need more help, my Guide to Fixing Early Morning Wake Ups contains 4 different step by step solutions to fixing Early Morning Wake Ups and is available to download here.

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