28 month old sleep problems

[sio1228]

i`ll try to be brief. siobhan is 28 months old. we`ve been using Tracy`s techniques since she was 2 or 3 months old.besides a few bumps, things have been great.last 1 1/2 weeks have been VERY stressful. either a good nap or none for days in a row. sometimes it will take us 1 /2 to 3 hours to get her to go to sleep. tantrums when we put her to bed, screaming ( i think you see the picture ) few things. we`ve had a problem with her eating " adult  food". she eats solid snacks, cookies, etc. but only eats baby food besides that( i know it sounds strange) she`s been seeing a therapist for the past 6 weeks ( speech for food & occupational for some minor motor skill problems) she`s making slow but good progress.here`s her schedule ( through the tough time here we`re still sticking to it )
6:30 - 7:00 - wake up
7:30 - 7:45 - breakfast
10:30  - 10:45 - snack
11:30/11:45 - 1:00/1:30 - nap
4:00 - 4:15 - snack
5:45 - 6:00 - dinner
7:00/7:30 - bed
normally naps & bed she`ll take 15-20 minutes to settle, sometimes a little longer. also, she has " dee " her favorite teddy bear. lately, when she doesn`t want ot sleep, she throws him. we usually go back in after a minute, put " dee " back in the bed/crib & leave. sometimes once, sometimes 20 times. tonite went almost like normal. she threw her teddy 3 times but layed down & was asleep in 10 minutes ( she had no nap today) we also put her in at 6:45 tonite. is an earlier bedtime appropriate? sorry to ramble, but any advise would be greatfully appreciated - sio1228

[mari]

I would suggest a slightly later nap perhaps 12pm and for 1.5 hours.
Is it only bedtimes and naptimes that you hav a problem with?  Does she still sleep through the night.  What do you do to settle her and how does she fall asleep?

I would do an earlier bedtime if she doesn't nap, but if she naps then a bedtime 5 hours after waking from her nap should be ok.

[sio1228]

we`re having trouble with naps AND bedtime. if she cries or throws her teddy bear, we`ll go in give her teddy back & leave the room. lately, at times she`s been  so agitated or upset, we`ve stayed in the room w/ her until she falls asleep. sometimes she`ll go off in 20 minutes, other times it`ll be an hour or more. one night, she sat in the crib & stared at me for an hour before going off. she has a few tricks. 4 days ago it took us 2 hours to get her to go down. in that time she threw her teddy about 10 times, took her pajama bottom & diaper off 4 or 5 times, cried intermitently. its very frustrating. last night we tried to spend a little more time w/ her in the hours before bed & put her down at 6:45pm ( had no nap ) & she slept through the night. we`re not sure if we should stay in the room w/her or just do w/in - w/out. she`s also very defiant ( at times ) during the day( terrible 2`s ? ) we just want to make sure  we`re on the right track

[sio1228]

an update.its been about 2 weeks & the meltdowns have ended ( except for 1 night about a week ago ) another problem is arising. siobahn is taking 1-1/2 hrs to fall asleep & waking early ( 5:45 - 6:30am ) her naps have been erratic ( 1 - 2.5 hrs ) could she be slepping to much in the day/ would that cause her to not go to sleep at night? nap time is 11:30 or 12:00; bed is 7:30 or so. is she overtired? seems ok during the day but if she naps only an hour she seems tired & yawns a lot. should we put her to bed earlier ? maybe 6"30 or 7:00? any experience here or advice would be great

[mari]

I wouldn't allow her to sleep more than 1 hour 15 minutes. As for taking ages to fall asleep, I am having the same problem, but she isn't waking early.  Try an earlier bedtime, it might help.  Do a super winddown and hopefully she will drop off earlier.  Have you tried getting her back to sleep when she wakes in the morning?

[sio1228]

yes, we`ve just started ( last 2 days ) to put her down earlier ( about 7:00 pm ) she seems ok, then goes into her " throw teddy bear act " or opens the door from her bed ( it`s a sliding door ) so we have 15 minutes of quiet, 15 minutes of acting up & it the takes her another 25-45 minutes to go to sleep. almost seems like a ritual. she`s stopped screaming at bedtime, but this is very trying. amazingly, at nap time, she goes off in about 5-15 minutes. she yawns during bookreading before bed, but still won`t go to sleep in a reasonable time frame ( 30 minutes would be fine ) her naps are still 1 1/2 - 2 hrs.is it the naps are to long or she`s overtired at night? or both? my spouse   

[sio1228]

sorry, this the previous continued ( computer problem ) my spouse DOES NOT like the idea of waking her from a nap, no matter how long shes sleeping. i think after 1 /2 hrs we should get her up. shes sleeping until 6:30 am now, but i still don`t think she`s getting enough sleep ( 11 1/2 - 12 hrs a day ) are we looking for too much here? is 6:30 or so a decent wake time ? we`re going to try to get her in bed by 6:45 pm in the next week or so to see if it helps. thanks for the advice. helps just to hear we`re not alone- sio1228

[Layla]

Hi there, I agree with Mari in that you should wake her from her nap. Maybe start with 1.5hrs to see if that helps her settle at night quicker. Isabella takes 1.5hrs (dropped from 2) & I haven't had to wake her (yet) but certainly as she gets older, she won't be needing so much sleep during that day and its either waking her up from nap and having her go to bed at a much later bedtime......

I understand waking up a child from sleep is not "natural" (as my dear mother would put it) but its either that or letting her sleep all she wants during the day & face her going to sleep at night later, having less nightsleep and in turn getting overtired.

Both my girls are early risers, so in my opinion anything past 6am is acceptable, lol . So I think 6.30am is fine and overall average. That could be her biorthym.

hth a little
Layla

[sio1228]

thanks SO much for the advice. you`re right, i`ll wake her today after1.5 hrs. & we`ll try to put her down at 7:00 pm or a little before. also, we do w/in - w/out if she wakes early but it rarely works. i think we need to tackle the long period before she goes off at night before we deal w/ early waking. w/ early waking we`ve tried " wake to sleep " & it`s been somewhat succesful in the past. also, as i write , it`s 6:25 am & she`s been up since 5:15am ( early even for our little sio!! ) she`s quiet but this child just isn`t sleeping enough! thanks again. tata  -  sio1228

[sio1228]

we`ve tried waking her from nap after 1.5 hrs. been pretty successful so far. she`s been going to sleep after 30 - 45 minutes at night. still some early wake-ups ( 5:30 - 6:15 ) but shes sleeping a little later the last few days. slow but sure progress. no night wakings or bedtime tantrums or 2 hrs to fall asleep. just trying to be consistent. sometimes we expect changes in a day or 2 but they can take longer, just have to stick with it. thanks all  - sio1228

[Layla]

That sounds great!!!