BabyWhispererForums.com
SLEEP => Sleeping For Toddlers => Topic started by: Carmela's Mom on May 13, 2006, 13:02:16 pm
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We're having the same problems now for what seems like awhile. When DST first hit, things went great. She would wake up at 7ish, take a nap from 1-3 and then go to bed at 8:00. She wouldn't fall asleep until 8:45 or 9 but waking up at 7-7:30 was fine. We aim for at least 10 hours of sleep at night and 12 for the day. She was happier as well.
Well now for the past few weeks, she is still not falling right asleep. She goes to sleep after 30-60 mins but now is waking anywhere from 5:50 to 6:15 a.m. She naps at 1:00 and usually falls asleep on her own after 15 minutes. If not, then I put her to sleep at 1:30 by patting her back for 3 minutes. She's getting about 9 hours and napping for 1.5 hours. She wakes up rubbing her eyes, yawning, etc. She is clearly overtired as well.
Now she did get her two bottom molars and her ped said that the two top aren't far behind. But right now she has no signs of teething. She plays with her ears but she does this when tired as well. And really that's our only symptom. She won't let me get a good look at them but I don't feel anything.
She's almost 25 months old and her routine is as follows:
6 a.m. awake (I don't go in to get her until 7)
7:30 breakfast
11:30 lunch (after lunch she seems to get a second wind..though I'm wondering if maybe I should give nap before lunch and just give snack at 10:30ish???)
12:30 clean up toys, read books for 15 mins, brush teeth
1:00 in bed
1:15-2:45ish asleep
3:30 snack
5:30 dinner
6:00 outside play
7:00 bath
7:30 clean up toys, read books for 15 mins, brush teeth
8:00 in bed
9:00 asleep (the latest)
My only real problem is the waking. I know its not that early but its only 9 hours of sleep. I am afraid to put her in any earlier because I'm afraid that she'll just play until 9 anyway. I have considered not putting her in her crib until 8:30 and see if that helps her fall asleep faster (it seems when she takes longer to fall asleep that she gets herself more overtired)....but then I"m afraid that it will take her an hour from there -- and that won't solve the problem.
Any suggestions????
Thanks!
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we have always done nap before lunch and his has worked well , the times have changed along the way as he's got older but nap has never been later than 12.30pm . we went through a phase that Ryan would take up to an hour to fall asleep at bedtime , he wasn't playing up , he just couldn't nod off , tossing and turning . we figured it was either he was overtired at bedtime or his nap was too long . because his nap had moved as late as 12.30pm he would sometimes sleep up to 3 hrs which was heaven for me but i paid the price at bedtime ( i stay in room till he sleeps ) i had to stay for up to an hour at bedtime , i was losing my evening time.
we moved nap back to 12.00pm and didn't let him slepp any later than 2pm , we had to wake him at 2pm for a while , now he wakes up after 1.5hrs and bedtime is 20mins/30mins before he is asleep.
you could try a snack and then nap before lunch to see if it helps.
Ryan would wake at 7.30am , nap at 12.30 pm - 2pm and bed at 7.30pm . he had 5hrs in morning and 5 hrs before bed it worked well . now he wakes 7/7.30 am , nap at 12.00pm-1.30pm and bed at 7.30pm . he has a longer stretch after his nap till bed but copes o.k , if he's really tired then i put him to bed at 7pm.
it sounds as though your LO is tired around 11ish and lunch seems to keep her going , then she's overtired .
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I would move her nap ealier and put her to bed earlier, not later. I know when Henry is up late (like last night ::)) he wakes early the next morning (like this morning ::)).
You might also try black out blinds or aluminum foil on her windows to block the light. That may be a problem, although I know this is not a new problem for you. It can't hurt to try.
HTH!
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Thanks girls. I'm not sure what to do. We had her going to bed at 7/7:30 but then she was waking at 5:30 each morning. That's why we pushed it back and in the beginning it did work.....
I put her to nap at 12:00 today and she slept until 1:30. So tonight I'll probably put her to bed earlier just because she woke up earlier from nap and we'll see how that goes.
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if you prefer the earlier bedtime , i would stick with it and try and work on the early wake up . at least you get more time to yourself in the evening , especially with another baby on the way .
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I actually prefer the later bedtime in the summer. 8:00 is just perfect so we can play outside with her daddy a litlte bit after dinner....
I put the aluminum foil on her windows. I did that last summer too. We look trashy but if it gives me just 30 more mins sleep either in the beginning of hte night or morning, I'll take it :)
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The foil gave us an extra HOUR!!! I am so happy! We put her in at 8:00. she was absolutely exhausted because of the earlier nap. She was asleep by 8:15 and then slept until 6:50 this morning!!!!!!! I am so happy! What an awesome Mother's Day. I just hope it continues and wasn't a fluke!!!!!
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that's good news , i hope she keeps it up ! ;D
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Hi, I'm tagging on to the end of this thread (hope you don't mind) as I have a similar aged LO with a similar problem ie waking at between 6 and 6.30. Consequently she's shattered by 11 and wants to go to bed. I've been keeping her up until after lunch (midday) and then putting her straight down as I feel if she had a nap before lunch she'd never keep going until 7pm (her bedtime). We just seem to have got stuck in a rut.....how do I break the cycle?!
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Laura -
I'd put her down for her nap early - like 11:30am or so - and put her to bed early - like 6:30pm or so. Believe it or not, an earlier bedtime can lead to later mornings.
HTH!
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Hi Sarah,
Yes, I've been a follower of that belief in the past too. Thanks for the advice. The only problem is that DD would barely see DH when he comes home from work with an earlier bedtime, although I guess we could trial it and see if it kick-starts her back on track
Thanks
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It is hard to put your child down earlier when your dh comes home later BUT would he rather spend a short amount of time with a happy child or a larger amount of child with a tired, grumpy child? That's my take on it - and why I put Henry down early regardless of when his daddy gets home. I figure they can see each other and spend time together on the weekends when everyone is well rested and relaxed! ;)
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That does make perfect sense! Thanks for posting! :)
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Laura be careful...the earlier bedtime worked great for me when Carmela was transitioning to one nap a day...and even a little later, but now that she's 2, it simply does NOT work anymore. The earlier I put her in, the earlier she wakes. And since she's usually up around 6:30 when I put her in at 7:00, she's up at 5-5:30....
I just can't figure out a good napping time. It seems she just wants to fight them when I put her in too early, then when I put her in later she's overtired and wakes cranky. It's such a tough spot but I am trying to stick with the 12:30 nap and 8:00 bedtime and see how it goes. Today I put her in at 12:30 and she fell asleep at 12:55. She was awake at 1:45!!!!! I am thinking maybe her molars are bothering her because she is CRANKY today.
The other issue I have is with her fighting naps, I've been putting her down and then going in to resettle her. I am thinking maybe that's interfering wiht her going to bed at night???? Who knows.
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I know - its like a minefield, isn't it?! I guess we all do what works (or what we think will work) for ourselves. Maybe in your case it IS the molars that are bothering her - the only time I know Megan is teething is when she has disturbed sleep and is cranky. Poor her, and poor you! I hope you find a solution to your problem soon (I guess in the next 16 days would be good, heh?!! ;)) Good luck with everything... :-*
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I don't have 16 days...I only have 5! I am getting a csection on Tuesday!!! HELP!
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oh bless you! Good luck with it all - have you got anyone on hand to help out at home when you come out of hospital?