18.5 month old sleeping a lot less at nap time

[Lulu m]

Hi all. My 18.5 mos old DD used to nap 2.5-3 hrs. Lately (for the past 10 days or so) she has been napping under 2 hours. A BIG drop in sleep. She seems just fine - happy - nd goes to bed at her regular time. So maybe I have no problem, but I just wanted to check as it seems a big drop in the amount of sleep she is getting.....

Thanks! 

[clazzat]

I think that 2.5-3 hours is quite a lot for 18 months, so she might just be adjusting to having had "too much" sleep for a bit.  Having said that, dd1 (now 30 months) went through a phase at a similar age where she slept less at lunch and is now back to a steady 2 hours - and would probably sleep more but I wake her to preserve bedtime.  As with most things, I would be inclined to say that if she is happy during the day and sleeping okay at night then there's nothing to fix - but worth keeping an eye out in case she starts needing more sleep again.

[Lulu m]

OK, thanks. Everything else seems to be just fine, I was just wondering about the big drop in nap time sleep. Today was only 1 hr 45 min, yesterday 2 hours, but like I said it used to be 2.5-3.0. I will keep an eye on it!!!

[Lulu m]

Hello there again. Well wouldn't you know it, DD was up more than an HOUR earlier this morning than normal. This is NOT ok with me - way, way too early. Now what?! 

[clazzat]

When my dd did this it was because she was OT - which I didn't realise until after I had spent a week cutting her sleep shorter!    Is there any way you can put her down earlier at lunchtime or let her sleep longer at lunchtime to let her catch up a bit?

[Lulu m]

Hi! Well her diaper had leaked this morning, which I did not know til afterwards (DH gets up with her). She usually sleeps through a leak, but this morning did not. We also live near an airport - and planes fly overhead all day and night,  and her latest thing is airplanes. She loves them! I know one of them woke her this morning too - again which she usually sleep through.

I can put her down earlier, but getting her to sleep longer? I don't know. She wakes when she wakes - iykwim?

[clazzat]

I do know what you mean - sometimes there is nothing you can do about it.  The only thing I can suggest is to try to make sure that her activities are pretty low-key if she has had a shorter than usual nap.  We always used to go for a long walk in the buggy - the combination of fresh air to make her sleepy and lack of exercise to conserve her energy often meant that we had a good nap/night and it helped her to catch up a bit.

[Lulu m]

OK, thanks. I will try and keep it low key.
I did put her down earlier for her nap - no fight and went down without a peep. BUT she only slept 90-100 min. UUGGHH. Now there is even a longer stretch of being awake before bed. I typically do not put her down at night earlier because whenever I do, all she does is babble until her typical bedtime and will then wake earlier in the morning. I do not want to move her whole day earlier at all!
I am leaving her in her crib for her nap for another 30 min for quiet time. She can play in there by herself for a while. I refuse to start the day before 7am or allow for less than a 2 hour nap so I leave her in her crib.
So I guess low key is the only thing I can do....

[clazzat]

What is your routine like?  I know that when dd1 was this age she was having quite a long A in the morning and then a short one in the afternoon.  We moved her nap a bit to make am and pm a bit more even - not sure if there's anything like that going on with you?

[Lulu m]

Hi there. Thanks for your help by the way!

Actually our day is pretty even.

7-7:30am wake up
12:30 - 2:30/3:00pm nap
8:00pm bed

So she has 5 - 5.5 hrs in the am and pm.

So who knows what is going on with my LO! 

[clazzat]

Not sure if I am helping in any way, but happy to try!

Is she getting any more teeth?  dd1's canines and second molars caused quite a lot of disruption even though none of the others had.  Also, just to be really sneaky, the second molars disrupted her sleep for a very long time before anything actually appeared.  Maybe you could try giving pain meds before her nap for a couple of days to see if that helps her sleep longer.

[Lulu m]

She slept til 6:55am this morning - better than yesterday, but still early for her.
DD is getting in her incisors. Early last week she was drooling and such a fuss bucket - driving me crazy. She actually slept more than usual. The fussiness must have worn her out. Then she seemed much better, in good spirits, and now sleeping less. Maybe it is the teeth?

[clazzat]

Canines really were a b***h for Milena - there's no harm in giving calpol for a while, even if there is not obvious pain, and it might help get her back on track.

[Lulu m]

Thanks again. I will try it. She took at nap today - woke after 1 hr 45 min, and went back to sleep for another 40! I let her sleep to catch up. Hopefully it helped.

[clazzat]

That sounds good.  Hope she keeps it up.
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