22 month old's nights are getting awfully short :(

[BareFootMomma]

DD has been having some sleep troubles lately. Nothing too major since we got rid of the pacifiers. She figured out how to go back to sleep without them, and I thought we were back on the road to good sleep. Only there were a couple things.....

* She was taking FOREVER to go to sleep before her nap and bed.
* She was waking a few times in the night (usually after midnight) to make a little noise and go back to sleep.
* She was waking about an hour earlier than before the paci weaning.

When these didn't go away once she was sufficiently weaned from the pacifier, I decided to try extending her A time before her nap to see if that would get her to go to sleep easier for her nap. It didn't. She is still taking about 15-20 minutes to quiet down, and I usually end up going in and reminding her that she needs to go to sleep. Because of the longer A times her nap had to be shortened from 2-2.5 hrs to 1.5 hrs. This also moved her bed time back from 7:30-8 to 8-8:30. Then it takes her about 30 minutes to finally go to sleep which means she is awake until 9pm.

Are mornings have also been getting earlier. Her usual wake up ranges between 7:30 and 8:30. Since all this sleep weirdness she has started waking as early as 6:30 some mornings!! That makes some of her nights as short as 9.5 hrs. Here is a rough sketch of her days lately:

Wake: 6:45 (the most common wake up time for her)
Nap: 12:15-12:30 - I put her down after 5.5 hrs and it takes her another 15-30 minutes to go to sleep.
**This is where her day gets "flexible"**
Wake: 1.5 -2 hrs after she finally goes to sleep - I never know if I should let her sleep longer on these early wake up days or keep to the 1.5hr nap. She often cries when I wake her from her nap, but I feel like if I let her have a longer nap her day in general is too long.
Bed: 5.5 hrs after she gets up from her nap.
 
I can't figure out if she is OT, UT, or if something else is going on. She has always been on the high end of sleep needs, but now it seems like she never wants/needs to sleep. To make it even more confusing she will at random go to sleep without a fuss, sleep late, or get tired after only being awake for 2-3 hours in the morning.

I don't know if I should extend her A time even more (she has been at 5 hrs of A time for a LONG time) and give her a super short nap, or try to let her get caught up on sleep...or...Or...OR?  Can you tell I am a bit lost on what I should do?

[babybarr]

are there any teeth on the way?  They can cause EWs.

Otherwise I'd try later bed and see if that helps.

[BareFootMomma]

I keep checking for her 2yr molars, but haven't felt anything yet. I have tried Motrin a couple times and it didn't seem to make a difference.

Later bed than 9pm?! I think I might go crazy if she is up that late at night.

[babybarr]

Sorry I got confused somewhere along the line 

Ok, have you tried an earlier bedtime esp. as you say she's high sleep needs?  OR let her have the longer nap and keep bedtime the same?

I think if she is taking a while to fall asleep at nap time (or is that normal for her?)  I would push nap to 1pm, let her sleep 2hrs and then bed at 7.30pm asleep for 8pm

[BareFootMomma]

Her taking a while to go to sleep for both nap and bed started about a month ago. I let her sleep for 1 hr 45 min today for her nap, and I will be putting her to bed at 7:30.

The problem with her having a longer nap and keeping bed time the same is that then she takes even longer to fall asleep. The last time her nap was 2 hrs long it took her over an hour to go to sleep for the night.

We will see how tonight goes after her nap today.

[~inbalance~]

I think a 2hr nap is appropriate for her age, especially if she is high sleep needs.  What about putting her down a little earlier for her nap so that she wakes earlier, but then keeping bedtime the same?  Hopefully it will give her more A time in the afternoon to make her properly tired.

Also, any chance she has had a language explosion or leap in comprehension lately?  DS1 always took longer to go to sleep after developmental leaps, like it was too hard to shut his brain off, kwim?

[BareFootMomma]

So, should I try putting her down for her nap after 5 hrs, let her sleep for 2, and then put her down for bed after 5.5-6? Or should I try different A times?

Here is how today went:

Woke: 6:45
Nap: 12:45 - errands ran a little longer than I had planned. She went right to sleep for this nap!
Woke: 2:30 - I woke her, and she was VERY deeply asleep. Usually she wakes as soon as I open her door, but this time she didn't wake up until I had stroked her hair a few times.
She was such a happy girl during the afternoon and evening! Most days she has been pretty cranky and tantrum-prone in the afternoons.
Bed: 7:30 - I decided to try the earlier bed time, but it took her almost 45 minutes to go to sleep.....and 1 reminder from DH.

I have a horrible feeling she is going to wake up even earlier tomorrow than she did today. Crossing my fingers that she randomly sleeps in.....I could use the extra sleep!

[babybarr]

I know Martina and I have given you slightly different suggestions so I guess the choice is yours!  The fact that she went straight to sleep after a longer morning A time would suggest perhaps she needs it - so you can work on a longer morning A and a shorter afternoon A - so maybe something like
6hrs from wake till nap
5hrs from nap till bed (I wonder if you are missing her sleep window - it may even be worth trying 4.5hrs esp. as you said she is high sleep needs)

[~inbalance~]

Yep, you know her best so it's up to you to decide what you think will work!  Mummy instinct is almost always right.    Sorry, I didn't mean to confuse you with a different POV.  I think it depends a lot on which A time you think she can handle being longer. 

[BareFootMomma]

Last night was rough. She woke at around 3 and was up talking, singing, giggling, and moving around until after 5:30. DH and I went in several times to tell her to go back to sleep, but it didn't make any difference. Once she fell back asleep she slept until 7. Now I am at a total loss of what to do. She seems happy enough, but I don't know if I should plan for a really REALLY early nap, or push her for the 6 hrs of A time that worked so well yesterday.

I have a feeling she needs a shorter nap....like 1.5 hrs instead of 2. It seems to be that her bad nights are after she gets a longer nap. But it also could have been the earlier bed time.

As for her sleep window, it is REALLY hard to tell when she is ready for sleep. She is usually on her second wind by the time we realize she might be tired, she has always been that way.

So I guess I am flying by the seat of my pants for today.

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

Just tagging along since we're having similar issues over here.  Two days ago I started capping his 2.5h nap at 2h and moved BT up a bit.  (We were also having 9pm BT after tons of chatter. )  So far he hasn't slept much later in the morning but he has been asleep about a half hour earlier than he had been so that's something, maybe?  I'm going to give it a week before I decide if it's the way to go or not.

Hugs. It can be so frustrating and being pg makes it harder on you for sure!

[BareFootMomma]

I really hadn't been loosing my patience over this issue until last night. It was pretty ridiculous, and I have to admit I thought I was going to lose it a couple times.

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

It was pretty ridiculous, and I have to admit I thought I was going to lose it a couple times.

BTDT for sure!!! Hugs. 

[babybarr]

At around 2yrs we cut my DS nap to 1hr, but he isn't a high sleep needs bub.

Perhaps you could do 1.5hr nap and bring bedtime forward but only by 15mins otherwise you won't get the extra A time in iyswim?

[BareFootMomma]

Well, today was the most decent day we have had yet!

Wake - 7:00 - after our horrific night
Nap - 1:00 - She went right to sleep again!!
Wake - 2:30 - I woke her, but she seemed happy to get up
Bed - 8:10 - meant for this to be 8 sharp, but bath took a little longer than usual due to sand from the play ground - She again went right to sleep!

I did try something new when putting her down for sleep. I sang her a couple soft songs and held her hand. I don't know if I should do this, or if I am just introducing another prop. I am more worried about the hand holding than the singing. My mother is going to be watching her tomorrow, so I am hoping things go smoothly for her!