Early Wakings - Baby Waking Up At 3:00 am?

Baby waking up at 3:00am, 4:00am, 2:00 am.... Early wakings, known as "the witching hour," is a common concern among sleep-deprived parents. It's a topic that sends shudders down their spines as 3am feels as sleepless as 10pm.

With sleep training being a popular topic among parents, it can be frustrating when progress unravels with pre-dawn wake-ups. Before starting sleep training, investigate underlying causes like developmental milestones, regressions, sleep amounts, hunger, or temperature regulation. In other words, if you thought parenting was complex before - my sympathies! Early waking can complicate things further and cause sleepless nights…pun intended.

What is the reason for early wakings?

While there could be several answer to the question why your baby or child is waking up early, the solution remains very much elusive for many parents! In other words: Early morning wakings can be complex, but it doesn’t mean you can’t overcome it.

With kids, it's always something! Just when you think they've outgrown one issue and are a breeze to take care of — bam — another problem arises. We all know the straightforward solutions like switching on air conditioning or administering some pain relief meds if needed, but what do we do with those more tricky difficulties? Like sleepy babies who turn into night owls come bedtime - energy levels suddenly soarin' high without any explanation whatsoever. It can be quite maddening for parents trying to figure it all out!

A typical night with an 18-month old can turn into quite the 'roller coaster'. During the day, they're content and snoozing like a pro - but when bedtime rolls around it's almost as if that child was hit by a caffeine injection! That increase in energy might come from cortisol, nature’s own stimulant. It helps us cope with stress during bear encounters and beyond; this sleepy hormone provides more than just morning run energy.

Our bodies are like well-oiled machines - melatonin is the nightcap to our evening relaxation and cortisol, aka coffee for the soul, kickstarts us in the morning. But just like any good machine there can be some hiccups along the way! To make sure we get a full 8 hour sleep cycle during sunlit hours our bodies produce more melatonin earlier on at sunset which makes sense as it would want you nice an energized for sunrise activities. However without turning off those screens or avoiding late night caffeine these clever systems become confused leading to sleepless nights.

Despite a full day of naps, Baby can't seem to help having one last burst of energy just before bedtime. Her body has the internal clock down pat - it's releasing melatonin in anticipation for sleep… But wait! Why is she still up? No Internet browsing here and no Bachelor-watching either; but whatever keeps her awake must be intense enough that cortisol kicks into gear like an ancient reflex if there’s even so much as a whiff of danger – most likely coming from bears!

When baby’s system starts producing cortisol, she starts acting cranky. Playfulness and energy are often signs of this. Basically, baby missed her window and now she’s going to have a hard time sleeping, but her behavior doesn’t indicate that.

Thanks to cortisol, 3 A.M. wakeups often become a dreaded part of parenthood! Three hours before the baby's scheduled 6 AM start time, the body starts producing a hormone that disrupts melatonin production, leaving the baby feeling slightly awake without a sedative. As a result, they struggle to return to sleep without sufficient independent sleep skills. So be prepared: you may get an extra call from your little one at around that witching hour!

So now for the big question you probably hoped I might have an answer to.

How to solve early morning waking?

• While there is no quick fix to regulate your baby’s hormone production schedule, you can certainly help her by taking her out as much as possible during the day. As I said earlier, natural light during the day is the great cheerleader for melatonin production at night.

• Ensure a dark room for the baby at night and gradually dim the lights in the house before bedtime. Simulating the sunset helps stimulate melatonin production to be in full swing when she goes to bed.

• Avoid any kind of TV, iPhone, tablet, or screen time during the same hour before bed. Avoid using devices that emit blue light as they stimulate cortisol production, hindering sleep. The key to helping your baby sleep through the night is establishing a predictable sleep pattern and teaching self-soothing skills.

Because the truth is, you’ll never stop waking up at night. We all wake up at night, regardless of our age. As adults, we calmly assess the situation when waking up in the dark, realizing it's still night, and easily returning to sleep. We usually don’t even remember it the next morning.

While we can't prevent nighttime awakenings, we can assist your baby in learning to feel secure, familiar, and capable of self-soothing back to sleep.

Download my "5 Sleepy Secrets to Transforming Bedtime" guide to learn more.

And even though I know I’ve shed some light on it before, you should always check and make sure the baby’s room is absolutely, positively, 100% bear-free. Waking up to a snarling grizzly bear will drastically reduce your baby’s sleep patterns.

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