Bedtime later than mine!

[MommaStorms]

  DD is 27 months old. Our NORMAL routine is up at 7/7:30am nap 1-3 and bedtime 8:30pm. It's been that way for MONTHS. Well now, I am waking her up at 7:30-8am, she is hard to get up. I'm playing with her nap.... I've tried waking her up early (same nap time just shorter nap) and early nap plus early wake up. (But I think that will only work as long as she stays up late at night) Today she fell asleep about 12:45 and I woke her up at 2:30. Either way, she doesn't want to wake up from her nap, she's too tired. But by 8:30 she's ready to party... In fact, it's 10:40pm here and I think she just now fell asleep.

There have been a couple times recently, once last week, where she flat out refused to nap. She was asleep before I was finished singing to her at about 7:30pm but she woke from 4-4:50am but went back to sleep until 7:30am.

She went to 1 nap before she turned one, and that fixed her sleep issues, frequent NW & 45 minute naps. (Other than the one created by me but that is fixed now too (A lot of hard work)

So is this an age thing? A low sleep needs thing? A power struggle thing? Or a problem with her schedule?
Please help!!

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

If she was on one nap early maybe it is time to cap the nap a bit. Hard though if she is ot from late nights but then the cycle just continues if she has a long nap and a short night again.

[jessmum46]

I would agree - time for a shorter nap.  I'd cap the nap to 1.5h max, then 1h15 after that if no improvement.  Or if capping doesn't work, try throwing in some NNDs.  We were done napping entirely at 29 months

[kaipooi]

I think there is a developmental leap around this time. My boy just got out of it 2 weeks ago when he was 29.5 months... the sleep mess started around 27 months and got REALLY bad between 28 & 29 months... now he can seriously hold a conversation with me. I don't know which was worse, him messing around at BT or just being opinionated and talking non stop now :X

[MommaStorms]

I brought naps down to 1.5 hrs and the best asleep time I got was about 9:30.

Friday night she wasn't asleep until 10:15 or 10:30. I didn't set an alarm to get up so she woke me when she woke up at 9am! We spent the day at the zoo and I figured a nap wouldn't happen until too late in the afternoon anyway, so we skipped it. She was asleep at 8:30 and woke on her own at 7:30. Perfect. Sunday I tried a nap just a little over an hour I think she fell asleep about 1:15 and I woke her at 2:30 and she was still up until 10. Oh, I tried a longer wind down too, didn't help.

What matters more? The length of the nap or the time I wake her? I have been waking her at 2:30 without results but figured since she was awake a little bit longer the nap would still be shorter so it wouldn't matter.

I don't want her getting OT so I am continuing to put her in bed at 8:30 but my DH says I should let her stay up and run around for another half hour maybe she'll be more tired and go to sleep at 9:30 instead of 10. Does that make sense?  It seems like all the non-baby whisperer people I talk to think I'm crazy. I should let her stay up until she is tired and sleep in because most kids are "up at the crack of dawn" and "now you can sleep in too"  that just sounds like bad habits to me, but it's tempting. Then I can stop worrying. I'm starting to feel like I'm being too controlling.

[jessmum46]

It's totally up to you what you do about BT and waking up in the morning . Whatever suits your family is fine, there is no right way, as long as you are all getting the rest you need.  Personally I really value my child-free evenings (would prefer those to a lie-in in general) so would be cutting down sleep in the day in order to get LO down to bed by a reasonable time.  My suggestion if you want to do that would be to do some regular NNDs, or cap the nap to 30/45 mins if an hour is too long (which it seems to be).  Or even drop the nap completely and then throw in a catnap every few days to keep the OT at bay.  But I know others here kept the nap as long as possible with a short night, then when BT was regularly 10pmish dropped the nap and went back to early BT.  What do you think?

[MommaStorms]

Might think I'm gonna try some cat naps! I like my peaceful evenings!!!!

[jessmum46]

Good luck!  Keep us posted how it goes.

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

I agree with keeping catnaps or no nap days to keep bedtime at a reasonable hour...maybe get the best of both worlds and have a decent bedtime and no real ew's! My older two did that, DD3 not so much!

[MommaStorms]

Thanks so much for your replies!!
I did an early nap for a half hour. I put her in bed at 8:30 and she was asleep at 9. Much better!
The next day I had a harder time (APOP, I figure short little UT nap to fight crankiness won't hurt much since naps won't be around too much longer away) she napped off n on for 15-20 minutes.  And was asleep at 8pm. Which is great too.

These cat naps have helped a lot because she's actually easier to wake from them! She's been happy to wake up in the morning. And as far as crankiness goes for the rest of the day? Not too bad considering she is a 2 year old.

I'd like BT to be more consistent times but I think we'll get there once summer is over and we get back to school year schedule (I babysit for a teacher, so on school days we're up and dressed, etc & keep a pretty good schedule)

Again, thank you so much!!

[jessmum46]

Really glad to hear it's working well.  I also found DD was fine to wake after 15-20 mins.  Any more she was awful!