Low sleep needs 24 month old

[dijjibob]

Hi.

I a stuck where to go next with dd2. My dd1 had pretty normal sleep needs so at this she was still having 1.45 nap and and an 11 hour night.
Dd2 has always been lower needs and from 18 m old I just accepted it ( wish I had earlier) she had 1 h 10 min nap and 11 hour nights. She had been doing this until she turned 2 a few weeks ago. Then she began to take until 8.30 to settle and awake at 6.30.

8pm was driving me mad with dd1 going to bed at 7 and we were just waiting to bedtime for dd2 an hour later so we tried 7.30 bedtime as a catch up. Got 7.00 awake time.
She naturally capped her own nap at 45 minutes, and a few days 30 minutes. Great.

Now she is taking till 7.45 to fall asleep and awake by 6.30
I am waking from nap at 45 instead of her waking herself.

So day  6.30 awake
            1 pm nap
            1.45 awake but quiet time till 2.30 in cot
            7.30 bedtime but starting to take longer to fall asleep

Is it really time to drop nap to 30 minutes or do you think going back to 8 pm bedtime again will get our 7am wake up again.

[*Becky*]

I would have said that sounds like OT tbh....
Have you tried an earlier BT i.e. aiming for her to be asleep by 7pm?

[dijjibob]

The last few days all usual routine has gone out of the window staring with a 1.15 nap Monday as I thought she was awake but returned 30 minutes later after quiet time and she was sleeping.
That meant a late night( put her down at 8.00)  8.30 till 6.45
Then grandmas Tuesday so 1.20 nap she woke herself
8.30 - 7.30am ( in car in way home and sang all the way from 7.30)
Yesterday she napped 45 minutes
7.30- 7.00 night
Today she took 35 minutes to go to sleep at nap timd so I woke her after 45( figured she didn't need a long nap as took so long to go to sleep)

I am not sure the best way to go, she has always been lower sleep needs and I know with my dd1 as her sleep needs. She doesn't seem OT at bedtime but not wild either she just gets into bed and chats to her soft toys.

Has anyone with LO sleep needs child got a routine to look at
Thankyou

[*Becky*]

I will try and find someone who has a LSN's lo to take a look. It is worth mentioning that there is a sleep regression at 2 so it may be developmental. DS went through it and while it did not affect nights too much, naps were awful.

[cath~]

Hello,
My DD is also low sleep needs.
We went through a developmental regression for a couple of weeks just after her 2nd birthday, where she took longer to settle at BT and woke once or twice during the night, but other than that, for the last two months or so, her routine is usually an 11h15-11hr45 night and a 20-30 min nap, depending on how tired she seems. We have to wake her from her naps. But if we let her nap, say, 15-30 mins longer then it can take her much longer to nod off at BT so she gets less sleep overall in 24hrs. Luckily, L is quite happy when woken from her naps but I know some LOs can be grumpy for the rest of the day if you wake them. What is your LO like if you wake her?
It sounds like you are prob going through the 2yr development sleep 'blip'/regression at the moment so my advice would be to hang in there for a week or so, trying to judge when she is ready for BT as best you can, but when she is settling better, try capping her nap and see if that helps.
You say you had some success with a shorter nap for a few days, then possibly the regression hit.
Some nights even now L can chat and sing for quite a while before she nods off. I thinks it's just her way of processing the day and so as long as she is happy, I don't mind at all.
HTH x

[dijjibob]

Thankyou cathn,
You seem to understand where I am coming from, sometimes the more LO sleeps in the day it cuts her overall sleep through the day.
I have been riding it out and remembered when I cut my eldest daughters nap she always gained alittle overal sleep in day, the routine at moment that fingers tightly crossed is
7.00am awake
1-2.00 nap I wake her
7.30 bedtime

Some nights she is chatting and others not. 45 may have been too short a nap for her yet.
I don't mind her chatting in bed at all but I do know if she chats for ages it usually means an earlier wake Im the morning. She loves her cot though and is very happy to stay and play with her cuddly toys in there.

It took over a year of Nap cutting for my dd1 to totally go without a nap and long may it last with dd2.
Thankyou for advice and nice to see its not too soon for shorter naps for some LOs.

[cath~]

Hi there - sounds like that routine is working well for you.

nice to see its not too soon for shorter naps for some LOs.

yes, we're in the minority but definitely not alone!

I've been gradually cutting L's nap since about 18 months to keep her total sleep/day as high as possible and overall this has worked well for L.  Although her nap is quite short now (20-30 mins) she def still needs it to get through the day so I am hopeful we can hang on to it for a few more months!

[michaeljacknnugg]

Hey!

I have a low sleep needs lo also - at age two his total sleep was averaging eleven hours in every 24. We cut the nap by taking it out completely and having him catch up on others - waking him was counterproductive as he sleeps pretty heavily.

Sounds like you are making progress!

[dijjibob]

Thankyou,
Fingers crossed my current schedule will keep working, been reading other posts again today and as my LO sleeps around 12 - 12 hour 15 in 24 hours she does what seems like average sleep needs but LO nap needs to keep the overall amount high enough. As I said the longer the nap the less overall.
I often read other posts and think other LOs maybe the same but as you say we seem in the minority so I don't always want to shout up.
Thanks for the support and advice, I'm sure ill be back for more again

[j.and.e]

:-) 12hrs is gd for my nrly 2yo. I used to cap nap at 1.5 but now aim for 1hr. He occasionally skips a nap or has 45min in the buggy if we are out. Otherwise bt gets too late xx

[*Liz*]

Yes the minority maybe - but I have 2 of them  .

My DD is 30 mths now, but dropped her nap completely at just over age 2. My DS dropped at 27 mths.

DD sleeps 11.5-12 in 24 hrs, her 4 year old brother sleeps 11-11.5.

Both of mine always cut nights if I let them nap, and I spent years thinking OT, and partly it was as the day is so long otherwise, but the answer was a consistent day rather than trying to force extra sleep and naps that just then robbed the night. It if is consistent they seem to self regulate after about 2 weeks.

My DS has had the same routine for 2 years now mind, so there is hope eventually