2 years and crazy sleep

[aelight]

I know this is a very covered topic, but I just need some kind of plan with my crazy DD. She's always been a tough sleeper, average sleep needs, IS for nights, but now she is hardly sleeping at all! Our current schedule is:

WU: 6:10-7:15
Nap: 1/1:30 (I try to make it 6.5-7 hours after WU or she fights the nap)
WU: 3/3:30 (I was capping at 1.5, but I've sometimes let her go since her nights are so short)
BT: pd at 7:45, often not asleep until 9

Our days are crazy long. By naptime, she is a total mess, and she just can't wind down at BT. She stays in her crib and talks and sings and jumps and just goes crazy in general until she finally passes out. Last night, she fell asleep at 9, had a OT cry at 9:15, 9:30, and then sometime after midnight. Then she was up at 6:10. This just is not enough sleep for her!

Basically, when she has a night like this, I WANT to let her nap as long as she wants (can be 2.5-3 hours), but is this just making it all worse? Is this developmental and I should let her sleep when she can, or should I stick to a 1.5 hour nap schedule? The other day, she only napped 1 hour 10 min and fell asleep within 20 min that night....but her night was still only 10 hours.

Any advice? What should I do about her nap today, since she really only slept 9 hours with 3 (quick) NWs? This has been going on since the day before she turned 2, 2.5 weeks ago. It's driving me nuts!!

TIA!!

[Lindsay27]

Do you find any difference in her nights on the days when you let her nap longer?  To me it looks like OT behaviour and I would probably let her have a few days of napping as long as her needs to catch up.  But that's us, my DS still takes a 2hr nap every day, but many LOs this age are dropping the nap.

[aelight]

My instinct is to also let her sleep as long as she wants today. She sometimes sleeps better when I let her nap a long time, and then after a few days, she's caught up and is UT and this starts all over! I will try letting her go today and then capping tomorrow or Friday. I definitely don't think she's ready to start dropping her nap, but 1.5 hours after a good night is probably going to have to be it after these shenanigans are over!

Thanks!

[aelight]

Ugh, she only slept 12:45-2:30. Definitely not long enough to catch up. Grrrrr.

[aelight]

Last night she fell asleep at 8:30 and woke up at 5! She talked for 45 min and finally fell back asleep and us still sleeping now at 7:15. This is going to send me over the edge!

[michaeljacknnugg]

How much sleep does she average in a 24hr period? If it's low, it might be worth considering nap dropping. I know it feels early, it did for us, but if she is getting UT quickly after catching up then she may be a LSN child.

At 2 my DS was averaging 11-11.5hrs in 24, and he started nap dropping. It was worth it (long slow process, over 6 months) to consolidate his sleep and get us our evenings back.

[aelight]

I was worried someone might say that!  I've never really been able to pin her sleep needs down....I think she's pretty average, but lately it has been anywhere from 10.5-12.5 in 24. I'll try and get a better idea this week and see if it's averaging less than 12. I'm going to try a shorter, later nap for a few days and see where that gets us. It's always something!

Thanks!