Taking Forever to Fall Asleep!

[newmama12]

Hi Elf! Glad to know things are working with your 2 naps. We're still keeping with 1 and then early bedtime (although I have not been brave enough to put her down before 6:15pm).

How is everyone else? Our current issue is even shorter naps! LOL...things just keep getting better...LOL! NOT! Over the weekend she was only napping 1.15 hours. So, we'll see how today goes. The only good thing is that she's been sleeping 11-12 hours at night and waking up after 7:00am. So, that's nice, but this short one nap is not so good. I don't know if I'm missing the window now or if it's too early b/c nap time has been pushed back and hour b/c she's been sleeping 'in' later in the morning.

[momtothomas]

Our schedules are non-existent at the moment...  His double ear infections still won't go away, and now he's got a virus that's causing him to have sore blister-like patches on his throat.  He's had a moderate to high fever for 3 days now.  He's been miserable sometimes, but when the motrin is working, he's pretty ok.  He got a shot of rocephin this morning, so maybe that will knock out the ear infections so his body can fight the virus.  The only good thing about him being so sick is that he's taken super long naps the past few days while trying to rest.  Yesterday it was 3 hours and 20 minutes, and today it's been 3 hours and 10 minutes.  I'm just waiting for him to return to normal so we can start "battling" about naps again!  You learn to appreciate the little things when they're feeling so puny.  I can't wait for him to want to run around again and play like my usually rowdy little buddy.

[newmama12]

Oh my goodness. Poor Thomas. My mom had a virus like that a couple of months ago. Hopefully, his will go away quickly now with the meds. Poor little guy. Hugs to you both!

[momtothomas]

Thanks.  He slept 3 hrs 55 minutes, and the only reason he got up is because I woke him up!

[newmama12]

WOW! That's a great nap! Little guy needs it though so he can get better. How's he doing today?

I feel like we're regressing. For the past 4 days she's only been napping about an hour and 15 minutes. I have no idea why she's sleeping less now. She's also taking a bit longer (again) to fall asleep for the nap. Is she ot/ut? She's been waking later in the morning 6:45-7:15. So, I've been putting her down for a nap anytime between 11:45-12:15, thinking 5-5.5 hours like she was doing when she woke at 6am and napped at 11:30. And I thought we were finally getting somewhere....AHHHH!!

[momtothomas]

He had a much more "normal" day today - 1 hr 30 min nap.  It ended at 1:45, so I would have loved to have put him down at 6 or 6:30, but DH had an aunt visiting from out of town that came by at 5:30... ugh.  He ended up asleep at 6:40, which is better than I expected!  Of course, I had to be the nagging/annoying mom that said, "Y'all can stay if you want but Thomas is going to bed now" and take him upstairs.  Anyway, he goes back to day care tomorrow, which should be interesting.  He's been sleeping until 7:30 or 8:00 when sick, and tomorrow is time to wake him up at 6:30 again.

As for your little one, I would be doing the exact same thing.  People here would probably say she's OT, but it could be anything... a milestone coming up, teeth, who knows!?!  Just keep doing what you're doing, aim for an early bedtime, and keep on trying your best (which I know you are!)!!!  I think we both have to remind ourselves to try not to stress out about it too much and enjoy our healthy, happy little ones as much as we can!

[elf]

Hi newmama, yes, holding on to two naps but really only just and to be honest it is very frustrating as I often feel as though I am just waiting for the 'tired signs' so I can put her down.  The thing with us is that she can only really stay up around 3.5/4 hours in the morning but after her am sleep she can go and go and go...  The other day she had her pm nap at 4.10pm and I woke her at 5.05 and I was lucky in that she did still go to bed at 7pm but to me it is not an ideal situation.  This morning for the first time ever I woke her after 20 minutes of her am sleep.  I actually hated doing it - she looked so peaceful in her cot and I woke her up and I really felt as though it took awhile for her to 'wake up'.  Then I thought she would want to go back to sleep maybe 2.5 hours after...  Well to cut a long story short she has only just gone to sleep now at 3.45pm (was up from am nap at 11.05am)  The weird thing is if she had slept an hour this morning then she usually needs 4 hours and will do an hour in the pm, so maybe she got ot - who knows, she certainly wasn't crying or anything, just a little bit of eye rubbing which is her tired sign, I'm  not sure how long she will sleep for now but I intend on leaving her as I know in the past even if she sleeps til 5pm she still goes to sleep at 7pm - geez I hope that is the case tonight!!!!!!!!!  I think that the best scenario for us is a mid day sleep - and knowing that she will only probably do 1.15 mins because when I keep her up til 11.45pm she is a bit ot and I think that is why we get the 1.15 naps, but the other day when she did this and I then put her to bed at 5.40pm ( she was asleep the moment she went in the cot!) she slept til 6.30am and she was laughing in her cot when she woke - she was so well rested, who wouldn't be after 13 hours sleep!  When I tried the one nap about a month ago I gave it 7 days but I think the mistake I made was not doing the early bedtime - think I did 6pm/6.30pm...  so maybe that is the way to go for us until her body learns to sleep longer during the day.  I think I had ot issues last time because she wasn't getting enough night sleep on top of a short nap and we created a vicious cycle.  I know I should probably hold on to my two naps but some days they are a bit hit and miss, like yesterday she did an hour in the morning and 40 mins in the afternoon...  dd really likes her sleep, so when she doesn't get enough she gets really cranky...  The only thing I don't like about the early bedtime is that my husband will miss out on seeing her but in return maybe he will get a happier wife in the evening who doesn't talk about sleep!  5.30pm as a bedtime is really not ideal in our household but I feel as though I am driving myself crazy wondering when she will go to sleep!  The other thing is sometimes she shows tired signs and I put her in the cot and she doesn't go asleep so I get her up and then put her down a bit later and she goes to sleep - again, really not ideal as I then feel as though I am constanly waiting for her to be tired again.  This afternoon I had to pat her forehead to get her to sleep because I knew she was really tired and I don't like having to do that, especially when she is a good sleeper...    Momtothomas - I agree with not stressing, I try not to as I adore and love the time I have with dd, and today I was smiling at her so much as she was enjoying herself (even though I was thinking - aren't you tired???) but because dd is so friendly and happy  I want her to be on a mid day nap so she can be out and about in the mid morning and the afternoon with friends - when we go out all the babies of our age are sleeping!  Maybe she will be one who won't be able to go to one nap until 18 months...  Anyway, think I will see how she goes tonight and what time she wakes in the morning and might be tempted to try a mid day sleep tomorrow again...  Don't get me wrong, I am very grateful for our happy, healthy daughter who sleeps well though the night and don't want to sound ungrateful - we've been on quite a predictable routine since birth so it's me that needs to chill out a bit more about it all 

[newmama12]

Alright ladies, tell me what you think. This schedule (give or take 30 minutes) has been going on for almost a week now. Not sure what is up with it or why??

6:15am: wake
11:45-1:00 nap
6:30pm: in bed
7:15: asleep

This was yesterday:
6:20 wake
11:55-1:30 nap
6:55pm in bed
7:35pm asleep

I still can't figure out why she's back to taking 45 minutes to fall asleep at night and shorter naps. Previously, she was napping at leass 1.5 hours and mostly 1.75 hours. Yesterday, I got the 1.5 but for the past week it's barely been 1.15 hours. Is the 5 hour A time in the pm too much?? Today she was up at 6:10am (so she slept about 10.5 hours). If I get anything less than a 2 hour nap should she be in bed by 6pm??

[momtonb&ab]

how is she?  is she cranky?  are you working to keep her awake until lunch time?

[newmama12]

She is cranky, crabby....but she has always been. LOL! Seriously, though, she is a fussy kid so sometimes it's hard to distinguish if she's tired, bored, teething, tired, etc.

In the morning, she starts yawning around 10 or so, but we have tried going back to 2 naps and it's a total no-go. She will not take a second nap at all. So, I keep her up till lunch around 11/11:15 and then to bed shortly after. That's a good 5-5.5 hours of A time. This is what we've been doing all along (for the past 6+ weeks) of the 1 nap transition.

In the early evening she starts yawning and getting fussy around 5pm. Again, this is totally normal for her as this is her "witching hour" until she eats dinner and then she's totally fine and re-energized. It's so odd b/c dinner completely re-energizes her and she's good to go again for awhile. Maybe I should consider feeding her earlier?? Normally, I like her to eat 5:45-6pm and then to bath around 6:30, but maybe I should try 5:15-5:30 so she can get that extra energy out for the last hour before bath....I don't know! I know this is dumb, but my fear with an earlier dinner is that she'll wake earlier in the am b/c she's hungry from not eating for like 13+ hours. Stupid concern??

It totally baffles me! Can you believe this??? I have a friend whose almost 2.5 year old is still taking 2 naps a day and each are 2 hours long!! Then she sleeps about 9 hours at night. But still....I can't figure out how a 2.5 year old naps 4 hours during the day??

Anyways, back to dd....I figured after 6+ weeks of the 2-1 transition we'd be sort of in a better situation, but I guess not. I suppose the only thing I can do is to continue trying different things.

[momtonb&ab]

you know, i think you should consider an earlier dinner if you can.  even closer to 4:30 or 5, let her run it off, then offer a yogourt or something right before bath/bed just to give her that little extra to tide her over.....

if you go from the 12 hour day theory, what seems to be happening is that her dinner is so late that it is giving her a second wind instead of her getting wound down.  so when you are giving dinner might be a better time to be giving bath and winding down.   dinner at 4:45, then at least an hour to run from then until you start the wind down toward bath and bed (assuming 45 mins for snack, bath, books etc. and bed) so that she is in bed by 6:30.   my mom always said with little ones this age taht somethink like a yogourt that is so balanced will help tide a little belly over.  also, she suggested (and i thought she was nuts at first) to put a sippy cup of water in bed with them at night so that when they wake, if they think they are hungry, they will drink a bit of water which will make the belly feel slightly full just long enough for them to fall asleep.  they don't wake from hunger necessarily, but if they wake as a normal part of sleep and are awake, they may recognize hunger or confuse it with tired (much like adults do).  does that make sense?  earlier dinner, snack (or healthy dessert if you prefer to think of it that way ) and then bath.  for what it is worth, my kids have dinner at 5pm, then don't have anything again (except water) until breakfast around 7:30 or 8 am.  they are fine, i am just ready to feed them right away when they wake up if they are starving.

don't torture yourself comparing sleeping children.  it is SO unique to each child.  with two the same age, i can really see how different their sleep needs are and i spend a lot of time balancing the difference.  and for that mom with the 2.5 year old still sleeping twice a day, that is wonderufl in some ways, but very limiting to child and mom in terms of playdates or scheduling activities, and it would be awful for a daycare situation .....  so there are good and bad bits to each situation.   we did our transition in june, and we still have some tough days with short naps.....but it gets slowly better.  hang in there, adn don't forget to enjoy her !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you are doing a WONDERFUL job watching her cues and wanting what is best for her! 

[newmama12]

You know, reading your post back to me, it just dawned on me...if dd is eating lunch at 11 or 11:15 and doesn't get dinner till 6pm that is a long time without a big meal. Sure she gets snacks and she's a huge snacker, but it's certainly not a meal. Tonight I am going to try your suggestion. Going to do 5:00 dinner and then if she needs it a snack at 6 (the latest) and right to bath and bed by 6:30.

She has just fallen asleep now at 11:50 (took 20 minutes today). So, we'll see how long it lasts. Thanks again!

[momtothomas]

I agree that dinner should be earlier.  Thomas gets lunch about 11:30, and even though he gets a snack, he's still SO ready to eat by about 4:30.  I usually aim for dinner by 5:00 or 5:15...

[momtonb&ab]

how did it go this evening?

[newmama12]

Well, wouldn't ya figure....she took a 2 hour nap! So, here's what I did....she slept from 11:50-1:50. Then we went out and about and played at the park and she was really hungry at 5ish, so I fed her dinner about 5:20. Oddly, after eating tonight she was still really crabby. That usually does not happen. She must have been tired. We went up to bath and everything and she was in bed at 6:40. Didn't fall asleep till 7:10 (30 minutes). Not great, but I could have probably gotten her in bed earlier b/c she was pretty crabby. I just kept thinking to myself that she slept for 2 hours and was up right around 2pm and that she should be able to make it till 6/6:30. Guess not today! We'll see how tomorrow goes, but I am definetly going to be doing an earlier dinner. I totally agree with you guys!