2.5 yo early waking, dropping nap?

[rayasunshine]

Hi there! I have a 2.5 yo ds who has been waking up between 515 and 545am most mornings over the past couple of months. We've cut down his nap to 1 hr and at first that helped with the ew but not so much anymore. He has all his molars, is very active and physical. He is a bit behind in his speech but managing pretty well.

We are also having issues at daycare with him pushing/piling his friends but I think that is more of him becoming overly excited and not knowing what to do with his body. I am involved with the infant development program and the consultant is suggesting to find ways for him to use his physical energy throughout the day so that he has less of it to use on his friends.

Don't know if the sleep issues are related to the behaviours but daycare doesn't think that he could make it through the day without a nap...so basically I think he is dropping his nap but not sure. Any thoughts would be super helpful. He is a real fun guy but I am getting super annoyed at the  ew.  Thanks so much for any input!

[Buttonbobs]

What time does he generally nap and what time does he go to sleep at night?

My DD was definitely in the nap dropping phase at 2.5, and his behaviour does sound a bit like this, particularly if you've already been capping the nap for a while. There is a developmental leap for the half birthday that could be affecting his sleep but it may not just be that.

How many days a week is he in daycare? When my Dd first dropped her nap I kept it for a bit on the days she was at nursery as at is so much busier there, but with hindsight I just think that affected her sleep for the worse rather than the better.

Your DS may be showing different behaviours due to the developmental stuff but he may be not quite refreshed from his shorter night and dropping the nap (even if not every day) or capping it further might help with this.

What do you think?

[rayasunshine]

Hi Naomi,

Thanks for taking the time to respond. He usually naps for 1 hour between 1 and 3...he usually falls asleep pretty quickly but always has to be woken up at the hour mark, at which point he is not too happy.  We usually try to get him into bed around 730/8pm and he'll take about 10 or so mins to fall asleep. It is very difficult to get him into bed any earlier as we don't get home until 6pm. 

I hear you around the developmental stuff...he definitely is talking a lot more and is able to climb out of his crib over the past couple of months.  When he was unable to do that he would wake up and just lay qiuetly in his crib until I got him. Now he'll wake up, climb out and come to my bed ( as he sleeps in our room) and say 'mommy I climbed out' and so our morning begins.

He is in daycare 5 days a week and honestly the poor guy has started to fall asleep at lunch time in his high hair at least once a week. I was thinking of capping it a little more. Should we go small increments like 5 mins or go straight to 15 mins and stick to one capping for at least a week before capping again? I know when my  now 6yo dd was dropping her nap she stayed at a 20min nap for quite a while.  Anyways any further insight would be super helpful.

[Buttonbobs]

I was thinking of capping it a little more. Should we go small increments like 5 mins or go straight to 15 mins and stick to one capping for at least a week before capping again?

That sounds like a plan. That falling asleep in his lunch does sound like OT build up from not sleeping so well and possibly being UT at BT at least to begin with. If he is angel/textbook temperament I'd go with 15 mins but if he is more spirited then you can try 5 min increments if you prefer.

Good luck x

[rayasunshine]

Hi Naomi,

I'll give that a go...hopefully daycare will be on board which I know they will be but I know they appreciate it when he goes down for a nap lol...he has been getting up at about 630am the last few mornings so that's been nice for us and him, I will assume.  I'll keep you posted.  Thanks again!

[Buttonbobs]

Good luck - keep me posted x