Sleep struggles of 15 mo

[cjzmom]

Hello everyone.  I want to start out by saying "thank you" to all the moms and dads (other caretakers too!!) who post and contribute to this forum.  I've just spent the past hour reading posts, and re-energizing myself with all of the wonderful feedback and ideas.  It's so nice to have this place to come back to when you're almost at your wits end    I can't tell you how many times I've been back just to get some quick advice.

My most current dilemma is with my 15 mo DD.  Though she's never been a great napper (she's always been more of a catnapper), she has always been a relatively "good" sleeper, with disturbed patterns around teething, illness, etc.  But for the most part, she's been a 7pm-6am sleeper.  However, recently (about 2 weeks now), she has started NW. 

Here's a little background: she is enrolled FT at a daycare.  When she was first enrolled, she was in the infant room where the teachers follow a schedule provided by the parents so she was getting a morning and afternoon nap (usually 45-60 mins. each).  That was working out ok (once she got adjusted).  Then when she turned 12 mo, they moved her up into the "waddler" room, where the toddlers are on a 1 nap schedule (naptime anywhere from 11:30-2pm).  Since then, her naptimes are hit or miss.  There are rare days that she will nap for 1.5-2 hours, but more commonly, she will only nap about an hour.

I try to keep her schedule consistent on the weekends as well.  At home with us, she will nap closer to 2 hours.

Here are my questions: is one 1 hour nap enough for a 15 mo???  she has begun NW, is this a result of the poor naps during the day?  is this a vicious cycle I'm fighting?  If so, how do I break this vicious cycle?  Since the NWs, I've noticed she's had more "meltdowns" where she is pretty much inconsolable.  She is also more sensitive and whiny, which is probably due to the lack of sleep. 

any advice on how to keep her napping longer at school?  Her teachers are great, and I'm sure would try to work with us, but there is only so much they can do about the environment, noise, etc.  But I've been told she is always the first one up from naptime so there is no other stimulation or other children to wake her.

I'm sorry this post is soooo long, but I'm just feeling so badly for her!  I know she's tired, tired, tired!!!  Any help, advice or shared stories would be awesome!!!

[lyndsy_p]

I don't think 1 nap of 1hr is doing it for your daughter. That is what is causing the NW's for sure. The transition from 2-1 nap doesn't happen overnight, there are many bumps along the way.

My LO is in daycare too and always has slept poorly there. You could ask the childminders to put her down 30 mins earlier than previous, to see if that helps. If it doesn't, the solution to this is to put her to bed earlier on those days, so she can make up the sleep during the night. She may be past having 2 naps, but it wouldn't hurt to try to implement that when she has had a NW the night before.

In time she will be able to deal with less daysleep. It has gotten better in the last month or so for my LO and she is 20mo.

[lin7604]

i agree she needs more sleep.  most 15 month olds are on one nap a day but not all of them are.  some kids do need a lot more sleep then others.  since she is on the daycare schedule and is on 1 nap there i would do a super early bedtime to compinsate the difference missed that she needs.  MY ds started daycare in sept at 22.5 months and he was one a stong one nap a day but when he started daycare it was a huge change for him and he wasn't napping well there or for very long, we started a 6:30-7pm no later bedtime and it got straightened out but it did take him 2 months to adjust to daycare and nap better there too.  He was never a good napper either until he hit the one nap a day and that took him a few weeks to adjust to, but once on it i got those 1.20- 2.5hr naps that i always dreamed about   Until we started daycare that was, so it was a short lived phase