Taking Forever to Fall Asleep!

[newmama12]

DD (16 months) has been doing one nap a day now for a good week and half or so. Ever since completely switching to one nap she has a very hard time falling asleep at night for bedtime. I have no idea what's going on! The only link is that it started when we completely changed to one nap. She use to fall asleep within 15-20 minutes max, but now it's taking 30-50 minutes every night. I don't get it! Has anyone else experienced this and figured out what is the issue? Is she ot?? She can't possibly be ut. Her schedule today was up at 6:10am, napped 11:30-1:45pm and I put her in bed at 7:05pm for the night and it's 7:50pm and she's still rolling around. I'm not sure what I need to do about it! TIA!! I appreciate all the advice/help I get on this board!

[becky1969]

My guess is she's overtired.  It's tough during the 2-1 nap transition because when they move to 1 nap they aren't *quite* ready, and often are exhausted by bedtime. 

I'd move her bedtime earlier by 30 minutes (closer to 6:30) and see what happens! Give it a good 3 days before giving up on the earlier bedtime. We may need to move it even earlier -- when my DS first went to 1 nap, he had a 6 pm bedtime for a bit! But don't worry -- he quickly got back to a 7:30 bedtime over the next month or 2.

Let me know how it goes!

[nickinoodles]

Our DD was doing the same exact thing right after the 2-1 switch!  But she would be awake for 30 minute to 1.5 hours!!  And not crying either, just AWAKE!  Playing, talking, rolling around.  Sometimes she would end up crying which was the worst because she would go down at 7:30 and we would be downstairs trying to relax, but you could hear her awake up there and then at 9:00 she would finally get bored and start crying and I'd have to go and do WI/WO or GW for a little while.  I thought at first she was OT, I mean we DID cut out a nap.  So we tried putting her to bed a little earlier, that made it worse.  VERY surprisingly it only got better when DH suggested putting her down for bedtime LATER.  I thought he was nuts, but agreed to try it.  Sure enough, we held her out till 8:00 and she went to sleep much quicker and after 2 days was going right to sleep.  We did that for about a week or so and then gradually moved her back to a 7:30 bedtime, and she has been doing fine since.  I know this is not the norm!! But in case the earlier bedtime makes it worse for you too, at least you know some babies are wacky like mine! LOL!!

[anniedooday]

I have one like that, she rarely gets crabby because of not enough sleep. Sometimes she won't take a nap(she is 23 mo) she will just babble and play and never sleep but when bedtime comes she is out like a light! other nights with a good nap she might have trouble.

[Nicole-Momtomegan]

I agree....an earlier bedtime....maybe 6:30?

[newmama12]

Bumping for more help!!

We are still having falling asleep issues!! DD is still taking 45 minutes or so to fall asleep at bedtime. I have put her down earlier, but it's not seeming to matter.

Here's what happened today:

Wake: 6:50am
Nap: 11:50-1:20pm
In Bed: 7:05pm
Asleep: 7:45pm

ETA: There have been about 2 nights these past few weeks where she hasn't gone into bed till closer to 8pm and has gone right to sleep. Now, this is just weird b/c that is a very LONG day for a 16 month old who is normally up around 6:15am and doesn't normally nap for more than 1.75 hours. Also, now that she doesn't fall asleep till close to 8, she is waking closer to 7am. Is she just changing her schedule?? I don't really want her to have a later bedtime, is there a way to figure out how to move it back so that she is sleeping by 7:30pm, the latest?

I don't get why she's taking so long!! This is a fairly new thing and seems to be associated with the one nap transition. She never took this long to fall asleep when she was doing 2 naps. And...it's not like she's napping 2.5-3 hours during the day. It was barely 1.5 hours today! Is she ot?? I have tried putting her down at 6:45pm, but we run into the same thing! I'm at a loss here.

[momtonb&ab]

just marking my spot, we seem to have the exact same issues going on lately.....we did the nap switch and for the first month and a half all was fine, but lately it has been taking a long long time for them to settle down.  tried earlier bedtime tonight (6:45 instead of 7) and they settled by 7:20 instead of closer to 8pm......waiting to see what a couple of days of this will bring.

[skatty]

I would guess it is OT too especially if her nap continues to shorten, did you try the 6.30pm bedtime for a few days? When you put her down at 8pm she could have been so OT that she fell straight to sleep, do you ever hear her call out in the evening between sleep cycles? My DD does this when she is a bit OT, usually after 3 or 4 hours, she resettles herself but I know that I have to watch her A times then. For a few months after the transition you have to really expect OT to be only a blink away and watch for any little sign, my DD would only sleep 1hr15 max when first transitioned but would go to bed no later than 4½ hrs after waking from the nap so as early as 5.30pm most nights but we avoided OT completely, like your DD she also started waking later in the day which happens for some LOs after the transition, luckily for me she tacked her sleep onto her nights so wouldn't wake earlier with an early bedtime. A great piece of advice I was given over the transition was to have DD in bed 12 hours from when she woke unless she had a 2hr plus nap which never happened for us! There is also the possibility that she needs some time in her cot to unwind so if you put her in early then at least she will eventually sleep earlier too.

HTH, Katt 

[newmama12]

Katt, no I have not tried a 6:30pm bedtime. I think the earliest I've gotten her down during this transition is 6:45 or 6:50pm. I will try for a 6:30 tonight! Last night she fell asleep at 7:45 and woke today at 6:40, so I will try for a nap around 11:45 and then bed at 6:30 hoping she'll be asleep by 7. This is all sooo frustrating!! LOL!

Oh and it doesn't help that she's cutting both her bottom eye teeth. These teeth seem to bother her more than any of the others.

[becky1969]

I agree with PP -- you need to try earlier bedtime.

Yucky teeth! They do throw a wrench in thing! I know for my son he gets more easily OT while teething. I automatically put him down for naps and betime 30 minutes earlier when he's getting teeth. You may find after these teeth come in that all your sleep troubles disappear! 

[skatty]

Oh yeah teeth really muck everything up, we have had OT naps for a few days now which I think are due to teething 2nd molars but I put her down 30 mins early with some meds and she took a good nap. Hopefully when the teeth are through she will be back to normal 

[newmama12]

Thanks ladies!! She fell asleep for a nap at 12:15, so we'll see how long she sleeps. I'm still going to go for a 6:30/6:45pm bedtime. This way, if she only sleeps 1.5 hours (which seems to be the norm lately) she'll have 5 hours of A time should be plenty for 16 month old.

[momtonb&ab]

we are doing the same thing here today newmama12.... we are doing 12:15 for nap (which is upcoming) and then early to bed.  we did early to bed last night and actually had a solid good night's sleep with very little chatting before they fell asleep.  we'll see if it is the same tonight.   

[Nicole-Momtomegan]

momtonb&ab......I can't imagine coordinating bedtime for TWO babies!!!!!!!!!!! you're my hero! lol

[newmama12]

Momtonb&ab, how did nap go? J only napped 1.5 hours like I guessed. She woke at the first 45 minute mark and fussed and cried for about 7 minutes. Then went back to sleep for another 45. She's not feeling well though. Teething, runny & stuff nose.

Ok ladies, DD woke close to 2pm after almost a 1.5 hour nap. Should I still shoot for a 6:30-6:45pm bedtime or later?