low sleep need toddlers

[babyrose]

i hope you dont mind if i tag along here, ive posted a couple of times but im getting a bit lost with A's sleeping just now. i know he doesnt need alot of day sleep but only a few times has he STTN with low day sleep. just need to figure it all out!

[scucci1979]

tag along and ask questions.

I am so confused about bt now. Really, I don't know why she doesn't go down instantly as she used to. do I have to put her down earlier for her to wd in her crib? A is normally 5.5hours after her pm nap but lately is is creeping towards 6hrs and am thinking this is giving us our ews. then again, not sure if these wakings are UT or OT.

today
wake 6:15am
nap 11:55am-1:40pm
in bed at 7:15pm, think she fell asleep by 7:25pm.

Don't know what time she will wake up tomorrow.

[scucci1979]

I think OT. She woke up 20mins as her cough was bothering her and couldn't settle. sigh.

[babyrose]

i think she sounds UT.

i used to take A up to his bed at the 5hr mark. it took him 30 mins to get to sleep, now ive just let him sleep 1hr 15-30mins he goes to sleep within 10-15mins at b/time. the only thing i cant workout is we still get NW'S

[Kay Dee]

I am so confused about bt now. Really, I don't know why she doesn't go down instantly as she used to. do I have to put her down earlier for her to wd in her crib? A is normally 5.5hours after her pm nap but lately is is creeping towards 6hrs and am thinking this is giving us our ews. then again, not sure if these wakings are UT or OT.

It is confusing. I don't think it's as straightforward as OT or UT. For us it was both! If the nap was too long we'd get UT at bedtime so bedtime would be pushed out but then the day would be too long so we'd get OT too. I know a long nap and a later bedtime works for some toddlers but it never did with DS as his night's would be unsettled. It was like he needed a 12hr night to avoid OT and he needed a capped nap to get that 12hr night, so that's what we had to do. Timing of the nap was also critical for him in avoiding OT, he's always been a tricky one DD needs even less sleep but is less sensitive to OT so she's a bit easier.

Babyrose, what does your LO's routine look like? What age is he now?

K x

[babyrose]

hi KDee, A is 16 months and we usually only have one NW, on the very rare occasion does he STTN

Our routine went yesterday

6:10 awake
6:40 bfast & milk
8:30 small snack
10:45 lunch
11:50 sleep (1hr 15) he was supposed to be sleeping by 11:40
14:30 snack
18:40 b/feed & bed again supposed to be 18:20

[scucci1979]

wake up at 6am this boring. Got her back down for 10mins but that was it.  She didn't nap that well yesterday so am not sure what wu this was.
What do I aim for, a two hour nap with the same A for a while and if that doesn't work move bt out a little? Then cap nap as a last resort?

[babyrose]

do you do set naps or just c how things go?
do you let your lo's sleep a certain amount of time everyday?

ive been giving A roughly the same amount of sleep for about a wk now and dont c any difference, should i up his A time or less sleep?

[Kay Dee]

Boo Sabs. Yes, I think I'd do a 2hr nap at 12/12.30-2/2.30pm and see how she gets on.

Babyrose, I think A's nap is coming in a little early. If it's only 1hr 15mins I think you need to make sure it's later in the day so he's not OT by bedtime. When DS was on 1hr 15min nap he had it at 1-2.15pm with bedtime around 7.15pm. With the early nap it will be hard to break the early bed/EW cycle. The NW could also be OT from a long afternoon. How are you dealing with the NW at the moment?

Yes, I've done set naps successfully with both my LO's and capped them at the same length every day and then tweaked them as their sleep needs changed as they get older. It's really worked and kept them sleeping solidly at night.

HTH!
x

[babyrose]

 huge help thanks so i could maybe add 10 mins to his day and then keep the short 1hr 15 min sleep. set an alarm aswell to make WU time the same?

how often did you have to put up your lo's A time?
im not very good with NW'S i bring him in beside us, i made an attempt last night but failed
it doesnt really help that we live in a 1 bedroom house but thankfully moving nxt month to a 2 bedroom

[scucci1979]

I have noticed that once they hit 12months, the A times stay consistent for a while. 
Don't feel bad that you bring him beside you. No one will judge you. you have to do whatever it takes to get some more sleep. 

I am going to put her down a little earlier this morning as I think she needs to catch up. She normally doesn't give me a two hour nap. It is normally 1hr and 45-55mins.  Am I correct in thinking that I don't think she needs ore A to bed? I think 6hrs is quite long. 5.5hours is normally her max. I am going to blame teeth.

[babyrose]

ive been trying to write this post for ages! i felt like ive always had to put A's A time up to get him to have a good day sleep, which he did for awhile then the long naps just stopped.

i dont think i am getting anymore sleep! he is such a wriggler

[twogirlsmommy]

We've got the 2 yr molars coming and all I can say is that they are toying with our sleep big time.  Some days I don't know which way is up lol

[scucci1979]

in bed last night by 7:30am, woke up at 6am and I had to AP her back to sleep.  Going to stick with the two hour nap for a little more then reevaluate.

[babyrose]

KDee, when you said When DS was on 1hr 15min nap he had it at 1-2.15pm with bedtime around 7.15pm. what A time on and how old was your lo?

im going to have a look at A's old notes and c if i can spot anything the same when he STTN.