u/digitlagegirlnxtdoor

I’m desperately seeking ideas for my baby’s early wakeups. She’s sleep trained for nights (falls asleep independently), but naps have always needed patting/rocking.
Until 3–4 weeks ago, her schedule was:
7:30 pm–5:45/6 am night sleep (no MOTN wakes except illness)
Nap: 12:30–3/3:30 pm (~3 hrs)
Then we had sicknesses, jet lag, and daycare start in the last month, and since then I’ve joined the 4:30–5 am wake-up club.

Current schedule:
Night: 7 pm–4:45/5 am
Daycare nap: ~11:45 am–1:45 pm (varies 1.5–2.25 hrs; assume 2 hrs)

I saw lots of varied advice on the previous post by someone else. Thanks for creating it! I’m making a more specific one because I need ideas and help understanding how to experiment.

1. When trying a new bedtime, how long do you stick with it before deciding it’s not working? Yesterday I moved bedtime earlier (6:45 instead of 7), thinking overtiredness may be causing early wakes. Instead, she cried longer, woke at 3 am, and was fully up by 4:30. We didn’t get her until 5:30, so she cried for an hour. Should I abandon this or try it for a few more days?

2)Any ideas I can try immediately? I’m planning to try overnight diapers. Bedtime is really the only thing I can adjust right now—should I move it earlier or later?

My 17 month old sleeps in daycare for 1.5 to 2 hours. 11:45 to 1:45 pm most of the days.
She sleeps by 7 pm and has been waking up 4:45 to 5 am!
Any ideas for helping her wake up later?

She has always been an early riser with wake-up 5:45 am to 6 am and that has been difficult too but this is even more difficult. How do I break the cycle?
Note: she started daycare since the past week. Until sometime last month or so, his night sleep was 7:45 pm to 6 am. And 2.5 to 3 hours nap 12:30 pm to 3:30 pm.

If we need to start bedtime early, how long should we try that? What if he wakes at 4 am? Also, I am ready to Co-sleep at this point at 5 am. But she doesn’t want to. If she is up, she is up. I cannot get her back to sleep at 5 am. Nursing/co-sleeping/ rocking nothing works!! If I leave her to cry, she will stand and cry for an hour which seems absolutely Terrible. Even night time sleep training was not hard. SHe cried and then began sleeping independently (for night time sleep only) naps were always rocking and patting. Now at daycare they help her too. For the 5 am wakeups the cio doesn’t work.