super short naps...help...prego mom needs to figure this out

[newmom11]

hello...my son is 21 months old.  he has suddenly started taking super short naps and it's about to kill me...especially considering that i'm prego with #2 (am super exhausted) and will need him to sleep longer once #2 arrives so that i can have some sanity.  he used to take 2 hour naps...sometimes as short as an hour and 45 mins and sometimes as long as 2.5 hours...but this past week, he's been taking as short as hour long naps.  i know he needs more sleep then this b/c my usually happy son falls apart in the evenings and is just overall more cranky before bed.  twice this week we've had to leave restaurants b/c of meltdowns and that is so unlike my son.  he usually is a 9.5 - 10 hour night sleeper (i know, i know...not much, but it's all he'll do) followed by a 2 hour nap.  now he's doing short naps.  please, please help me....i've posted before and didn't get any responses, so i'm trying again.  i have to figure this out...all my friends kiddos take like 2-3 hour naps in the afternoon and sleep a good 11-12 hours at night.  what am i doing wrong?  my son knows how to put himself to sleep and back to sleep, so i know that's not the issue. do sleep habits suddenly change around age 2?

[speechie]

hmmm... the age of 2 can = 2 year molars- is it possible that your previously good sleeper is teething??? I'd try a dose of pain meds at bedtime and 30 mins prior to naps to see if it helps...also, check w/MD for ear infections- that causes meltdowns/sleep disruption for us, but no other symptoms.
Could you post your daily schedule and so we can give you more feed back?
Hugs to you, I know I NEED my kid to nap at least 1.5 hours to get things done...hang in there!

[newmom11]

hey speechie...thanks for responding.  my son does have an ear infection...just found that out.  i guess my fear is that this will become habit since he's been doing the short nap/early waking thing for 5 days now.  what do you think...or do you think he'll get back on schedule again soon.  our current schedule is something like this (keep in mind my little guy has always needed less sleep than the average kiddo his age):

wake usually around 6:15...sometimes as early as 5:45 or as late as 6:30
milk when wakes
breakfast at 8am
snack at 10am
lunch at 12pm
nap...usually put him down around 1:20, asleep by 1:30 or 1:45
used to sleep till at least 3:45...wake at 4 if not already awake
milk upon waking
dinner at 6:30
bath at 7:45
pj's, stories at 8:10
asleep by 8:20 or 8:30 at latest

keep in mind this was the schedule prior to the ear infection.  now we have nap time at the same time, but wakings an hour later.  i've tried moving bedtime back by 10 minutes or so on the nights he does short naps, but that only makes him wake up 10 minutes earlier.  i'm so frustrated and at loss as to what to do. 

[speechie]

Hi- wow, sorry about the ear infection- hope the meds kick in soon...definitely give pain meds till he's feeling better. I have seen my son's sleep improve after about 2 weeks of EWs. SO fingers crossed it won't last.
I think that you could try to put him down for his nap about 30 mins earlier if you keep his morning activity busy. He may be too OT to go that long of an A time in the AM...

also, I'm now singing the praises of melatonin for helping with poor sleep. I used it on Nick after his hospital stays this winter. I give 1/2 of a 3 mg tablet of melatonin crushed in applesauce 30 mins prior to bedtime. Only do it for a night or two to try to help reset his clock...Melatonin is all natural, you can find it in the pharmacy or Walmart by the vitamins/supplements. Just an idea as you sound sooo tired!
Hang in there, I do think it will pass soon...hugs