I feel your pain hon. My son is 2 next week and for the last month or so has been up at 5am. Nothing we have tried has worked. He is hungry when he wakes but I dont think that is the reason he is waking. I think he's just had enough sleep and ready to begin his day - whether I am ready to or not. I have put it down to it just being a phase..it will pass. I have found tho - on a positive note - that it gives me more time with him in the mornings before anyone else gets up and also I get an extra hour to do those little things that always need to be done. I just go to bed the same time as him which is around 9-9.30pm and Im doing ok. I know what you mean tho about the day being half over.

I had to learn that my daughter is an early bird, I'm a night owl.  I can't change my sleeping habits and I can't change my daughter's personality either.  I just have to live with it.  I had to change things in my life and see the best thing in her habits.  It means I'm never late for work in the mornings as we are up at 4:30 or 5 each morning.  She's in bed by 6:30/7.  because she can sleep anywhere as i never 'trained her to sleep' so she never relied on me putting her in her bed to go to sleep, it means i can take her to staff meetings with a thick blanket and she goes to sleep on that and doesn't go to bed late.  i get my peace of a night time allowing me to continue with my studies and do everything around the house and pretty much just take a deep breath and relax!  I also decided that because she is a swimmer it's probably going to get to the stage soon where she will be attending swimming training in the mronings which means we would both have to get up at 5 or earlier to get her there.  She's only 3 now so that's a few years off yet.

Does he sleep the rest of the night?  My son had to be convinced that it was still night - especially in summer when the sun was up he thought he should be up too.  when he is screaming for you, is it for food or can you train him to play in his cot?  If you are really desperate and you are bottlefeeding you may be able to give him a bottle and lie him back down. Early risers sometimes sadly stay early risers.  Some things you could also try would be tinkering with how long he sleeps during the day, so he is tireder at bedtime and putting black out curtains on his windows.  It depends on why he is waking as to how you can improve it.  He may stay an early riser (but hopefully not that early). At one stage when my son was young we used to wonder why every light in our house was on when we stumbled out of bed.  Our beloved boy was waking up while it was still dark and getting up to put on the cartoons.  We were very firm that if the sun was not up it was still night time and he had to stay in bed . Needless to say - this works much better in winter!

I wish I could give you an answer that will solve all your problems.
The only thing I can say is the more I do with my son during the day the longer he may sleep in in the morning.. It depends on his amount of activity for the day before...

But in saying that. All kids are different. Before my son started day care his mornings were 5am... No matter what he did.. Then he started day care twice a week and on those days I found the next morning he will sleep in..   So i just have to keep him extra busy. Which I know is not always an easy thing to do.. Finally though he did fall into a routine and now wakes up at 7to 7-30am..

Like I said I wish I had an easy answer for you but I wish you all the best with it. I know it is not easy....

I share your trouble. My boy is 8mths and he is up 4 - 4.30 now and ready to play not hungry or anything like that he is just up. Also put him to bed later or skipped sleeps later in day none of that works! I think the only solution is you need to go to bed earlier, which is what I have been trying to do but havn't managed yet.

hi there some babies are just like that they dont want to sleep in no matter what its hard as u really would lie it to happen-but i have put roller shutters on my windows and daughter sleeps like an angel sweet......but 20mths they usually have less sleep than when they where younger .I know know not much in put but its sometimes does get hard expecially when u need to work .