My oldest wakes up at 5:30am. Nope, I didn’t stutter. That’s right, 5:30-A-M!

Anyone else feeling my pain?

My kid has done this since he was a baby. Before he was weaned, I nursed him back to sleep for another hour. He’s 3 now and I know lots of moms are all about nursing their kids til they’re, like, 5, but that’s not for me. So we all wake up at the ass-crack of dawn.

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Correction. The #RockStarDad in my life wakes up. So I can sleep in. This is his loving gift to me: morning sleep. Day after day he offers up his comfort so that I can sleep. There’s also a survival aspect to this: sleep is his secret weapon against a visit from raging, grouchy Mommy Dearest. But LOVE for me and for our boys is what truly rallies him every day.

Hubby’s a good sport about this early morning-ness. And he’s building an amazing treasure trove of memories with our little guy. Like walks through the woods on the way to the deserted playground. Or trips to Starbucks for milk and croissants. Or hearing our kiddo announce, “Look, Daddy! The sun waked up!”

But, let’s be honest. 5:30 is ridiculous. Plus, my husband is a night owl, so he’d really like to stay up til 1 every night. Not feasible if your kid is yelling for you to help him potty just four hours later.

We bought him a clock

We finally invested in one of those kid’s alarm clocks. We were skeptical but several friends told us their kids now wake up at 7, all because of some gadget. How could we not try that? Uh, well, cost perhaps? The one folks recommended costs, like, $120. What the what?! Total cheapskate here, I think I’ll pass. Luckily, we found a cute little digital one for $30. What the hey, we’ll give that a whirl.

We said: wake up when the “tick-tock” turns green.

And we set it for 6am and explained every night to the, then, 2.5yo, that “when the tick-tock turns green,” he could come out of his room. Makes total sense, right? Who wouldn’t understand that rule?

Well, sometimes we changed it up on him, telling him “when the tick-tock turns green,” he could get out of bed. Same difference to me, not so much to a literal toddler. Those mornings weren’t too fun. Instead of him climbing out of bed and occupying himself til the blessed green moment, he would wail and carry on.

And then on day four we decided to set the clock for 6:15, and then on day seven at 6:30. Guess what happened? The kid still woke up at 5:30. He’d tolerate playing alone in the dark for 45 minutes, but a whole hour? Forget it. You gotta ease these little people into a new routine. So we moved the time back to 6 again. Now, seven months later, we’ve worked back up to 6:15.

And that is amazing. An entire 45 minutes more of sleep. That’s over five hours more each week! Occasionally little man still wakes up at 5:30, but he’s content to play and entertain himself. Which is another success. He’s the first born, the one we doted over and entertained con-stant-ly. To play by himself is like, well, winning the lottery. Especially if it means more sleep for us. Sleep = $1 million.

Are you about to stab out both your eyes because you, too, have an early riser in your life? Give the clock thing a try.

Tips for early morning success

Fingers crossed, these tips will keep your wee one occupied so you can SLEEP MORE (even if he’s WIDE AWAKE).

1. Be consistent

We adults like to know what to expect. Children are the same way. In fact, our brains crave routine and predictability. So set the clock for the same time every day. And tell your little one the same message every night: You can get up when the clock turns green, when the stars turn into clouds, when the mouse says “wake up,” whatever your gadget does.

2. Work towards your time goal

After a couple weeks, inch the time closer to your optimal wake up goal. And repeat your message of choice per #1 above. You can keep inching the time up every couple weeks. RESIST THE URGE to speed up this process. Your kid will not oblige. You gotta help them build up their stamina to hang out without you for a while in the morning.

3. Keep the kid busy

Make sure their room is full of enticing toys: blocks, books, trucks, dolls, dinosaurs, kitchen paraphernalia. So they won’t take the bed apart or trash the closet. If all else fails, slip them your laptop under the door. They’ll find something to do with it. They’re one of those digital natives, right?

4. Give the kid a flashlight

So they can play with all the items in #3 above. Make sure you get a kid-safe flashlight that has a battery compartment an industrious little one can’t figure out how to open (with all that morning free time on their hands, who knows what’ll happen.)

5. Invest in a toddler port-a-john

If your kid is potty trained, stick a kiddie training potty in their room. So they can do their thing. You can clean it later. But don’t forget to put a water-proof pad underneath it. To prevent puddles.

6. Keep the kid fed

You know, the whole early bird gets the worm thing? They expect breakfast, so hook ‘em up with one of those college dorm fridges so they can serve themselves. No, really, we recommend a Thermos full of water (just a little water or they will keep you up all night because they have to pee.) We also offered a bowl of cheerios for a while, but once we noticed the ants, I mean, he wasn’t eating them, we cut him off.

7. Turn off the video monitor

I know you want to know what’s going on in that room. But this is your time to SLEEP! Resist the urge. Seriously. What’s the point of the clock thing if you’re just going to start watching videos at o’dark-thiry? They will probably give a running commentary of all the fun things they’re doing anyway, so you can just rest your eyes, catch a little REM sleep and listen in. In our house, we hear lots of stories about bears and boats. Plus the occasional lion roar.

8. Hold up your end of the bargain

When the little dear announces (loudly), “Tick-tock turns green!,” that’s your signal to get on with it. Out of bed, your morning has begun. Give that cutie a big hug and give that clock a thank-you pat. You’re on your way to a new dawn.

Share your early morning sleep tricks below or on Facebook at MothersRest.

Photo credit, featured image: Ziviles Arunus from Unsplash.com