22 month old sleep has gone very very very bad-- help!!

[CRHMOM]

Hi,

My son has always been a pretty good sleeper -- last 6 months he goes to bed at 7:30-8Pm and wakes up around 7am and take a 2 hour nap right after lunch. However, in this last week his sleep has gone very badly and I'm not sure if its attributable to him adjusting to a new dayhome or the fact that just this past week he learned to crawl out of his crib ----or both.

It started when my dayhome lady said last week he only slept 30 minutes (instead of usual 2 hr) because he crawled out of his playpen. She tried putting him back to sleep but he would just crawl out again. My husband and I are expecting baby number #2 but were not planning the big boy bed transition until next month -- but his suddenly ability to climb out has us being concerned for his safety. He then started climbing out of his crib every night for the past 4 days this past week. We would try and put him back in his crib and he would just go hysterical and scream and climb right back out. Several times when we woke up in the morning we found him laying on the floor by the door sleeping so we assumed he slept on the floor all night. And everyday last week at the dayhome my dayhome provider said he has only slept 30-40 minutes MAX for his nap. She eventually moved him to sleep on the couch or a mat on the floor because she too was concerned for his safety crawling out of the playpen.

So last night we put him in his big boy bed. He went to bed easily and when we heard him stir in the morning around 7pm we found him laying on the floor again near the door. So this afternoon we put him down for his afternoon nap for the first time in his big boy bed and he screamed when we put him in his bed and slept again for only 30 minutes before he woke up hysterically crying.

Why is all of this happening -- he is not even getting near the recommended sleep for his age and it has me very concerned. Is this a stage they go through? He is definitely not ready to give up his naps. I'm also attributing it to him adjusting to his new dayhome which he has only been at for 2 weeks now. He is not even 2 yet and sleeping 30 minutes all day really concerns me as he is an absolute BEAR come dinner time. This has been going on for exactly 1 week now. He also seems very clingy and scared to be put down since he started being able to crawl out of this crib. We try soothing him, laying down next to him to help him fall back to sleep but nothing works. Please tell me this gets better? Any suggestions? Is it also normal for them to want to sleep on the floor next to the door rather than in their bed?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks
Carter's mom

[brenda2]

i think the move to the bbb was a good idea.  keep taking him back to his bed if he gets out and is crying and he will get used to it.  if he is happy to sleep on the floor i would leave him, he will eventually figure out that it is better to sleep in his bed.  is his door locked?  can he get out of the door?  is this a safety issue if he can get out of the door would he wander around the house at night?

if he does a short nap try for an early bedtime.  at about 2 yrs their sleep needs to decrease so it may be this in addition to the bed troubles.

[momtonb&ab]

does he have his molars?  could be partially related to teeth. 

i also think it is adjustment to the new day home.....stick to the bbb as you were going to do it anyway, but with all the changes i would be sure to be consistent with everything else.   and i would keep bringing him back to his bed - not with any emotion, just bring him back and tuck him in and leave again. 

i suspect the crying is to do with the new day home and just being insecure from the change..

[CRHMOM]

Thanks Ladies. You know when they say things come in three's -- well I think this is the case- - adjustment to the new dayhome, the transition from crib to bed and the fact that he has been teething ALL in the last two weeks.  I can tell because he is sticking his fist in his mouth quite a bit -- could it be his second year molars? . Last night we put him down around 7ish due to the 30 minute nap but he was up bright and early around 6ish (so an hour earlier than normal....he was still sooo overtired)...sigh. Today my dayhome lady said he did another 45 minute nap but was in good spirits all day. Tonight on night three of his big boy bed he went down fine around 7ish.

I"m so worried I will never get my good naps back. I'm also not sure of the set up with my dayhome lady -she stopped napping him in the playpen (understandably for safety reasons) and has him napping on the couch. The problem is all the older kids who don't nap have quiet time on the couch. I'm thinking he is also not napping well because he wakes up half way into his nap and sees the other kids not napping or watching TV or having their quiet time. This does not seem like a structured set up to me but where on earth is he going to nap then -- I understand her position of the playpen -- he tried crawling out of it last week and it toppled ontop of him (he wasn't hurt) but really wakes up the other kids trying to nap. Should I ask her to nap him on the floor in the bedroom away from all the stimulus.

So far nighttime hasn't been too bad -- other than the early 6ish wakening, but naps are horrendous. Do you think he will ever get his naps back. I'm worried he is going to get use to this little catnap that he has.  Thanks for all the advice!

[momtonb&ab]

Should I ask her to nap him on the floor in the bedroom away from all the stimulus.

yes, i would!  no wonder he can't get past the first transition - too exciting with the older kids there.

could it be his second year molars?

also yes.

i think you are totally in tune with your little one - hang in there - naps will come back.  i would work really hard with day home to get him napping somewhere quiet so when he transitions he can get through it in quiet/dark space.  remember that it is ok to ask her to do this for him - that is her job!

[brenda2]

at my daycare all the kids have their naps on a mat on the floor.  dd1 started in a playpen in her own room at 12 mo and then at 18 mo she was moved into the room with the other kids who were napping, all of them on the floor on mats.  i would ask if this is a possibility.  actually most of the daycares we toured  do this - the kids all nap on the floor on mats and the babies are in playpens.