Don't know exactly how long she sleeps

[irish3680]

Ella is 17 months old and LOVES her sleep. She has been on 1 nap since 12 months and we had a very smooth transition. For 3.5 months we have been on the same routine: wake sometime between 6:30 and 7:30 am (not sure when because she rest quietly until I get her up). I don't get her up until 7:30, sometimes having to wake her. Nap 12 - 2, I put her down at noon and is quiet right away (not sure exact sleep time), 95% of the time I have to wake her at 2 pm. Bedtime 7 pm. This was working wonderfully. For the past few weeks, she has either been waking early, or sleeping right until 7:30. Her naps have gotten shorter or she is super grumpy when I wake her up. It is great that Ella loves her crib and will play in there happily and quietly most times when she wakes early. It is almost impossible to know when she wakes in the am because she usually never makes a sound and just rests until I get her up, so I know don't exactly how much sleep she actually gets or needs. I tried shifting her routine forward, first to 12:15 nap and 7:15 bed and then 12:30 nap and 7:30 bed, but she just seemed to get tired. Not sure what to do. Part of me wonders about letting her sleep for her nap and then make bedtime later, but am afraid that is going to lead to other issues and a lot of inconsistency which she hates. Sorry this has gotten long, I know it's not a huge issue or anything but just trying to figure out the best thing to do.

Thanks!

[Layla]

hmmmm.... I guess the only thing you could do is check on her about 5-10mins after you've put her down for a nap to see if she is sleeping straight away or not.
Cause she might only be falling asleep at 1pm & then you wake her an hour later & she's cranky

Maybe you could start waking her up at 7am & then she'll go down for a nap at 12pm?

I guess its hard not to know what time they wake & how long they nap for. We have a video camera in both rooms... any chance you could get one of those

[irish3680]

HI Layla,

I do check on her (although not consistently) about 15 minutes after putting her down for naps and bed and most times she's asleep by then. We did have a video monitor, but the monitor got dropped 1 too many times and finally died a few months ago. Because I was getting a bit obsessed and spending a bit too much time watching it as she slept, and then worrying and calculating,  we opted not to get another one and just got the standard audio monitor. Although sometimes I do wish that we had one for times like this. 

[irish3680]

P.S. I wonder if I should just continue with the routine we were using, let her nap a little longer and make bedtime a little later (maybe nap until 2:15/2:30, then bedtime 7:15/7:30), or start waking her at 7 am (although selfishly this is my least appealing option because I get up at 7 am to get some things done or ready for the day  ). Also, our mornings are much more stimulating and Ella gets more physical activity and our afternoons and evenings are more low key. What do you think?

[Layla]

Maybe try checking on her about 10mins into her nap & then at least you know if you wake her by 2pm she has had at least 1.5... close to 2hrs sleep & then do bedtime 7pm & check to see when she falls asleep

Is it the fact that she's waking earlier that concerns you or that you might be waking her up too early from nap?

[irish3680]

My main concern is that I am waking her too early from her nap so she is not as refreshed as she would like to be and her sleep is getting off balance (too little nap = more tired during afternoon and very tired at bedtime, and then overall tiredness). It just seems the past 2 weeks she has been very tired and not getting what she needs because she is always trying to play catch up from something not being right.

[Layla]

ok, then maybe try leaving her to nap slightly longer .. like you said 15mins later. Then do bedtime 15mins or so later as well

I guess maybe checking up on her after you've put her down (consistently) for a week or so will tell you how long she really naps for as you'll know when she falls asleep

[irish3680]

Today fell asleep for nap about 12:20/12:25 and woke herself at 2 pm and was happy all afternoon. Put in bed at 7 pm, asleep around 7:20/7:25.