OT with early waking at 20 months- any suggestions?

[emmanoellesmom]

Hi there,

My 20 month old daughter has slowly gotten overtired. She is waking early b/w 5:30 and 6 am and usually sleeping 1 1/2 hrs during her nap.

We just started putting her to sleep aroud 5:30 , she is waking at the same time but at least getting 12 hrs or so at night.
She is at day care pt and doesn't sleep so well there, sometimes just under an hour, sometimes more.

I can tell she is ot b/c her emotions are more raw and she puts her head and sucks her thumb while I'm cooking dinner and todya she feel asleep in the car on a short ride.

She just transitioned to 1 nap about a month ago. We have had some days where she has had 2 plus hour naps but that hasn't happened in a while.

Not sure if I should offer her a morning nap again to try and catch up or if the early bedtime is the best thing.

Any suggestions would be lovely.

Thanks so much,

Les

[*Becky*]

Hi there,
I think as you are already doing an early bedtime there is not much else you can do with that tbh.
What time is she napping?
Could you post your routine and we can take a look. Hugs 2:1 is tough!
Becky x

[emmanoellesmom]

Hi Becky,
Thanks for your response.
Here is our routine;

Wake and bottle around 6:00 am
Play
Lunch 11:30
Nap 12:15 ish- 1:30 or 2 ish
Play
Snack 2:30 ish
Play
Dinner 4:30 ( lately b/c of early bt)
Bath/bottle/book/bed 5:30 ( lately)

Wondered  if I should move her nap earlier on days when she is home, even  by 15 mins or so?

Thanks so much,
Les

[*Becky*]

Yes I would make nap no later than 12pm. She is doing a long am and then a short pm so maybe even it up a bit. I def think she needs more A time after the nap too but because she may be going for her nap a bit late she is probably doing an OT nap and that is why she is grumpy. How about this...
A - 6am
S - 11.45/12pm - 1.45/2pm
Bedtime - 6.30ish.
I reckon after a good nap she could even do more but don't want to push her if she is OT.
What do you think?

[momtonb&ab]

i would be even more bold and push that nap closer to 11:30.  at that age our guys couldn't do even a second more than 5.5 hours A time in the morning.....anything beyond was guaranteed OT.  maybe you can get a longer nap by going earlier with it.  then as the nap lengthens you may be able to push bedtime a bit at a time and then that will fix wake time... before you know it nap will be back at 12 or 12:30 like it should be

[*Becky*]

yes it really depends on the lo. IMO 5.5 hours for a 20 month old is low but that is probably because I have a low sleep needs kid!

[momtonb&ab]

yes it really depends on the lo. IMO 5.5 hours for a 20 month old is low but that is probably because I have a low sleep needs kid!

and mine were probably on the  high sleep needs end so i guess maybe right in the middle would be a good guess

[emmanoellesmom]

Hi Girls,

Thanks so much. I do think Emma has a hign need for sleep. I will try pushing her nap back to 11:45 and then try 11:30. We are always playing a bit of catch up b/c she doesn't sleep well on her day care days. Do you think I should still put her to bed at 5:30 for the first few nights if she is having an earlier and longer nap. Hopefully she will get at least 2 hrs in if her nap is 11:30 -11:45, or should I move up bedtime to 6:00 ish if she's had a good (2 + hrs)?

Thansks so much,

Les

[momtonb&ab]

i would put her to bed 12 hours after wake up for the first few days until she is starting to seem more like herself.  if the nap is much longer than 2 hours keep an eye, you might find she will be UT for bedtime and then you can adjust accordingly.

it won't take long....hang in there!