time for a tweak? Ew's despite shortened nap

[lilisuze]

ds has been a great sleeper. Since the 2-1 at 18months he has done a 2 hour nap between 12and2 most days and 7-7night sleep. In the last 3 weeks he has changed bedrooms but still in a crib. Since then he has woken happy at 6am. I have checked for disturbances and its not heating or light. The only 2 mornings he has slept til 7 are on very short 0.5hour nap days.
Is it possible for him to drop 2 hour sleep needs in 3 weeks? Or could it still be the room shift thats upset him? He is textbook/spirited.
Tia
Lili xx

[sianie]

Hi there!

LO's sleep needs can change at around 2 yrs old. MY DD was still napping around 2hrs a day but when she was 2 but at around 26 mths we started getting BT resistance & earlier wake-ups so we capped her nap at 1.5hrs & that did the trick.

I would have thought that if moving your LO's bedroom was an issue that after 3 weeks he would have adjusted? Is his new room dark enough in the mornings (not sure where you are but mornings are starting to get lighter here...)

Is he generally high sleep needs, I see you mentioned he only went to 1 nap at 18 mths?

[lilisuze]

yes generally quite high, which is why i am surprised that dropping to 1.5hrs hasnt done the trick. I dont think it is the room, same curtains as before, and he has settled down well in there

[sianie]

Sorry, are you already capping his nap at 1.5hrs? Does letting him sleep longer make a difference to is WU time?

[lilisuze]

no it seems to be 6am every day now. I have varied the nap from capping at 2hrs. 1.5hrs and 1hr 20 mins. He has had 2 short naps at nursery one was 30 and one was 45 mins and both those days he did a 7-7 night.  when he stopped sleeping til 7am i immediately capped, knowing this was the likely cause! It just seems weird that he can possibly need so much less sleep all of a sudden like this.

[sianie]

Is there anything else going on that could be making him wake earlier e.g. teething? Have his 2 yr molars started to come through as these can affect sleep?

Is his BT still 7pm & his nap at 12pm? When you capped the naps did you keep to the same time for a few days as it does take a few days for LO's to adjust to routine changes.

[lilisuze]

nap has moved to closer to1pm. He refuses before then!

[sianie]

I would do a nap from 1-2.30pm & BT at 7.30pm. Try this for a few days to see if this makes a difference.

What about teething?

[lilisuze]

maybe...waiting for final 2 molars to come. The others have been there maybe 6 weeks now. Nap yesterday in buggy from 1 til 1.50pm, slept 715 to 645 last night. Trying 1hr15nap today, and 715 bedtime again. Grotty as hell this morning, keeps dissolving at the smallest thing and not eating.

[lukemom]

Following along.  My DS is doing practically the exact same thing.  He has been on 2 hr nap since last april (he is 26 months old too!)  The last week nothing but EW around six am. Just decided to shorten the nap yesterday to 1.5 and we got a NW around 330, up until 430 if not longer.  Sigh!!!  I think maybe it might be 2 yr molars for your little guy.  My DS started not wanting to eat, this last a couple of weeks then it finally dawned on me that it was his molars.  You think I would have figured it out by now!  LOL!!!!  Any suggestion Sianie?

[sianie]

From what you both describe my money would be on teething molars. My DD was a great sleeper & teething never really bothered her or effected her sleep until her molars started to come through. As they are blunt teeth they take a long time to come through & her sleep was quite badly disrupted whilst they came through (& the last one has only just come through now & she will be 3 in June!).

Unfortunately, with teething (& especially 2yr molars) there's not a huge amount you can do except medicate (make sure you use ibuprofen based meds...think it's Advil/Motrin if you are in the US) as it's anti-imflammatory so far more effective with teething. You can also try a dream med in the early hours (use a syringe) which may help with the EW if they are waking rom discomfort. Apart from that it's a case of riding it out the best you can. Teething gels & teething salts can also help.