Do you wake your toddler/preschooler in the morning?

[Reneemomto5]

I was wondering what other moms did. We have a routine bed time but in the moring I usually let them sleep for as long as they want. Granted unless we have appointments or such.

Sometimes it seems like they just need more sleep some mornings and don't get up until 10 sometimes. Do you have bedtimes and wake times? And why?

[justmeNmine]

My first thought on reading the topic was heck, no! My second thought on reading your post was that if my kids ever wanted to sleep until ten, I'd surely let them; I have found that kids will get the sleep they need whether it is a bedtime, naptime or in between.... do they nap btw?

[mamallama]

My children are my alarm clock. :( I'd love to get to sleep in one day. One of my biggest dreams actually. LOL :lol: No really. My youngest goes to bed anywhere between 6:30 - 7:30 and my daughter goes to bed right at 8:00. So I guess that is why they both wake up early. I always try to get them in bed so that DH and I can have some "us" time at night. Occasionally my daughter will sleep until 7:00 am but it is rare. They are almost always both awake by 6:00 am. :shock:

[Reneemomto5]

My 3 year old takes naps only on a car ride if we are out and about. Those car rides work like magic. But my 16 month old takes 2 short regular naps. Their bed time is usually around 9:30-10, but never any earlier. They usually sleep until at least 9, which does make getting ready to home school nice. I can't complain during the summer time because I do enjoy some extra zzzz's.

Sometimes I wish my children had more of a schedule like yours mamatotwo Early to bed and early to rise seems refreshing.

[breezykc2]

My two year old has always napped well in the afternoon and then goes to bed between 8:30 -8:45 each night....and wakes anywhere between 6:30 and 7;30 depending on the day........I'd kill for a 9am sleep in day sometiem! LOL

[mommyto3]

never my ds is always up at 6 am sometimes even earlier. it is a miracle if we are allowed to sleep in until 7, my dd ages 6 and 18 months sleep usually until about 7 :30 or 8 am. i just look at it as some time i can spend with only him , we don't do much but cuddle and watch cartoons together.

[NZMummy]

I have to admit that I am finding it very difficult to get up in the mornings myself lately (largely because I have that pregnancy tiredness and also because it is so cold here at the moment). So, I have gotten rather lazy on the days that my 2 year old sleeps later. If he sleeps really late I will usually wake him up (for both mornings and naps) because otherwise the whole day is messed up - he won't want to nap or go to sleep at night. However, if he has been up in the night I tend to let him sleep much later (because I need the extra rest too by that stage :wink: ). We actually have quite a few things that we do in the mornings (playgroup, music group, library storytime and church of course) so on these days I often need to wake him up (he has always loved his sleep-ins, even as a newborn I had to wake him for feeds).

We have bedtimes but certainly not wake times!

If my two are still asleep it is an opportunity for me to open up the word or have a nice cup of coffee to myself and pray.

[SpiritFilledMomof2]

We have bedtimes but certainly not wake times!

If my two are still asleep it is an opportunity for me to open up the word or have a nice cup of coffee to myself and pray.

Ditto! :D

[JoyLynn]

Renee, your schedule sounds perfect to me. Preschoolers are supposed to get about 12 hours sleep per night, plus a nap if you encourage them in your house. So, if they go to bed around nine or ten p.m.... [OKOK] Mine have always slept 12 to 14 hours, as well. It IS great for getting ready for homeschool, isn't it? [OK]


Joy [welcomewave]

[tobikay]

Both of my children had colic when they were very small, therefore the following has always been my motto:

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER WAKE UP A SLEEPING CHILD!!!

OK, getting ready to go to school or appointments and such would be exceptions, but no other reason!!

[Godzgirl]

My daughters bed time is at 9 and i wish she would sleep for 12 hrs during the night. She sleep more like 10 hrs so she is usually up 7. Except for those priceless mornings like today when she wakes up at 9. :lol: I usually try to put her down for a nap but i don't always get so lucky. *sigh* I guess i'm just blessed with a very active child. :wink:

[love2bmom]

I HAVE ALSO BEEN BLESSED WITH A VERY ACTIVE LIL' BOY. HE ONLY SLEEPS ABOUT 8 HOURS AT MAX, AND DURING THOSE 8 HOURS HE PROBABLY WAKES UP AT TWICE. NAP TIME IS NOT SO DELIGHTFUL AROUND OUR HOUSE. WE STRUGGLE WITH SLEEP. WE SWEAR HE WAS BORN TO BE A FARMER. UP AT THE CRACK OF DAWN, PLAYS AS HARD AS ALL GET UP AND WON'T FALL TO BED UNTIL 10. MY DAUGHTER SLEEPS AROUND 4 HOURS AT A TIME BEFORE I HAVE TO FEED HER. DURING THE DAY SHE WILL SLEEP FOR TWO HOURS & THEN BE AWAKE FOR TWO.
IF I COULD HAVE A ROUTINE WITH MY SON I WOULD BE DELIGHTED. I HAVE HAD SOME INTERESTING SUGGESTIONS.. I WILL SHARE IN ANOTHER POST.

[ThreeRedheads]

Renee,
Just thought I would add my two cents...we have a schedule and set bed time for our kids. They (ages 5 and 2) go to bed by 7:30. My five year old does not nap and my 2 year old still takes a 2 hour nap. I NEED them to go to bed early, since I need that down time. My five year old is really tired come 6pm..so we send them to bed by 7:30. This has always worked for us. Both kids sleep about 12 hours. So, if I want to get up before them, I get up by 6am. If my daughter is really tired, she will sleep until 8am.
This is just what works for us.
But, honestly, I could not have my kids up so late. I really need some ME time at the end of the day. My patience is gone come supper time.
I guess it comes down to whatever works, right??

[MomFromCanada]

We used to let our now 14 month old dd sleep in as late as she wanted but then her bed time would be so late. So we started waking her up and the odd time we will let her sleep in late, e.g. if she was up through the night for an extended period of time. We might also cut her naps short and not let her sleep past 4 pm so she will go to bed easily at 8 pm. I get irritated if I don't have some mommy time later on before I go to bed.

We don't have a set bedtime or wake time in this house... something that I need to do (bedtime)...
It just seems by the time we've had dinner and cleaned up and all that it's usually 9.30pm.
I just let Abby sleep until she wakes up on her own. Except for if I have to go somewhere (midwife etc...) and I have to bath her beforehand. Then we usually are up at 6 or 6.30am.
I think Abby went to bed at about 9.30pm last night and slept until 6.45am...
I have the same problem as NZMummy being pregnant and because it's so cold. I find it really hard to wake up early or to just get out of bed.

I know young kids are meant to have 12 hours sleep at night but that just doesn't work for us. The earliest I could get her to bed would be about 7pm. And she doesn't ever sleep for 12 hours. She normally sleeps 9 maybe 10 hours. So if I put her into bed at 7pm she would wake up at 4 or 5am. And I am just not getting up that early. Like when she was a baby... I was told she should go to bed at 6pm. She would have been awake at 3 or 4am and I'm sorry but that was not going to happen! LOL
I don't see the point of a young child waking up before 7am. Even when they start school they don't need to be up that early.
I never slept 12 hours at night and NEVER went to bed at 6 or 7pm.

If it works for you that's great. But from what I have seen with Pauls best friends kids (their bedtime is 7pm) they just play and talk in their room and don't go to sleep until 9pm anyway.

And I prefer to have a late night and a sleep in in the morning rather than to have an early night and wake up real early.

I think when baby comes there will be a bit more of a schedule... because I'll want baby to be in bed asleep at least 1 hour before Abby goes to bed. So baby will probably go to bed at 8pm and Abby at 9pm.
I don't want to put baby down at 5 or 6 and have her waking up for a feed two hours later when I am getting Abby into bed because then Abby won't go to sleep.

[ThreeRedheads]

Again, whatever works for you personally...I perfer to have my time at night. My kids are in bed by 7:30 and I have a few hours to "myself" per say. I need it to feel refreshed. I don't like to put my kids to bed, then hit the hay myself...I need down time. My kids have always been great sleepers and seem to need the 12 or more hours of sleep. Hey, if your kids don't then great!
I just like the routine. AND my kids love the extra treats of staying up late and watching a movie or something. Since they don't do that regularly, it is a real treat to get that.
Anyway, this is just what works for us. We like the routine of it. I also do like the option of getting myself in bed early, and getting up early. Last week I was getting up at 5 am! I had laundry done, paperwork done and all this by 7am! It was cool!!

How do you get up at 5am??!! I just can't go to bed early... I lie awake for like two hours before I fall asleep. I'm a night owl LOL I can't get to bed before 9pm... I usually don't go to bed until 10pm.
And when Paul wakes me up at 6am I just can't get out of bed. I'm still half asleep and unless he makes me a coffee (which he doesn't) I just can't get up. LOL And it's REALLY cold right now!

[ThreeRedheads]

Well, my husband gets up at 5 am and so I start to stir. I don't go to bed at 9 pm either..I get in bed about 10. I figure that is about 7 hours sleep. Believe you me, I didn't want to! I had a deadline to meet for my business, so I had to get it done and there was no guarantee with the kids awake, I would get it done!
Anyway, a shower helps me wake up. Here in New England, the sun is up and if it is shining at that time, it is much easier to get up! If it was the middle of winter and still cold, I would be comfy cozy in my as long as i can.
When are you due??

Yeah that's the problem... it's too cold! LOL A shower would help if it wasn't freezing at 5am LOL Paul also gets up early. He gets up at 5.15 or 5.30am. I have actually got used to his alarm going off and I sleep right through it. So I don't even know when he gets up and leaves for work. I sleep through all that noise LOL I am a deep sleeper though....

Due date is 27th August... only 7 1/2 weeks left! Then I am sure I'll have to be up early anyway to feed baby LOL

[ThreeRedheads]

Hey come winter here, I am in bed as long as possible!!
Are you having a boy/girl??
Hey, if you can sleep do it... you NEED to stock up, right??
Soon, you won't be sleeping!!

:lol: exactly! Because I'm bfing this time I am guessing I'll be up every two hours at night. Or more.
It's going to be a huge adjustment for me because Abby was ff and she slept through the night at one week old onwards.... :shock:

We're having another girl! :D

[ThreeRedheads]

as far as nursing goes..yeah, you will be up a lot (my son actually nursed every three hours!) and at night if they are sleeping..let them sleep! They say no more than five hours at night. It passes quickly though! I miss my babies being so little!!
So all that to say...SLEEP as much as you can now!!!!
God bless!

[meg]

I laughed too when I saw the title of this thread :lol:

Our boys have always been early to bed, early to rise. Dh and I just really savour that time in the evenings when it's just us, catching up on the day. Our kids are usually in bed between 7-7.30pm, and up between 6.30-7am. As one other poster said, ours love to stay up late as a treat, and because they don't get to very often, it is a treat for them when they do :D

Plus, now that they are both at school, they need to be up by 7am so that we're not rushing like wild things :lol:

But hey, whatever works!

[ThreeRedheads]

I am with ya! I like my ME/HUBBY time.
It is fun too, planning those special movie nights!
Bummer is when I want to get up BEFORE the kiddo's...I have to get up before the SUN!

as far as nursing goes..yeah, you will be up a lot (my son actually nursed every three hours!) and at night if they are sleeping..let them sleep! They say no more than five hours at night. It passes quickly though! I miss my babies being so little!!
So all that to say...SLEEP as much as you can now!!!!
God bless!

I plan on doing that! LOL If she is gonna sleep I'm not going to wake her. If she is hungry she'll wake up! LOL My mum told me that all the time.
And my midwife told me to wake her after 5 hours too but I never did. I told my mum what the midwife said (mind you she was ff not bf and formula takes longer to digest) and she said to just let her sleep. She slept through the night (8 hours) at one week old. :shock: She has always been a great sleeper. :D
And she thrived too. You know how babies generally lose a bit of weight after they are born? She never lost any weight ... just gained it.

[ThreeRedheads]

Looks like everything worked perfectly!
I was a nervous first time mommy...wasn't sure how to do things, when, where, all that jazz...I lightened up with my second one!! I had heard so many horror stories of babies never sleeping at night...that I wanted to wake mine up to feed them before they woke me..silly, I know!

I always felt bad as a new mother... because I am a deep sleeper so I'd sleep through Abbys crying (even with the monitor going!) and Paul had to jab me in the ribs every night to wake me up LOL :oops:

I think Abby is taking after me with the deep sleeping! :D

[wesleysmom0604]

I let Wes sleep as late as he wants, unless we have apts. Up until recently, he got up pretty early anyway, but the past couple weeks he has been sleeping past 8am every day.

[7thHeaven]

No, but working on it. She is a night owl and will stay up until as late as 1:00 in the morning if you let her, but we have been bumping up her bedtime (we're at 10:00 these days) and let her sleep until she's ready to wake in the morning.