What does your 18(ish) months day look like?

[Kjv201]

Hi

I'm struggling with my little mans naps (this is nothing new so unlikely to be regression related). I want to know if I'm expecting too much so would love to see what other 18 month old days look like in terms of waking, nap bedtime etc and whether they have lunch before or after nap.

Our day looks like this:

Wake between 6 and 7

Lunch 11.30

Nap between 12 and 12.30 which lasts between 20 mins (!) and 1hr

Bedtime between 6.15 (if he's had a very short nap) and 7

[Kellyjs]

We had something similar...

Wu 6.30 (or slightly earlier)
Lunch 12
Nap 12.30-2.30
BT 7 asleep by 7.30 (always has taken 30mims to go to sleep)

Is there anything going on like teething etc that could be causing the wu after 20mins. That does seem a little off to me considering your routine looks good. Hopefully someone will have some ideas for you xx

[cath~]

When you say you're struggling with naps, do you mean the 20 min ones or do you feel 1hr is also too little?

There is a lot of variability at this age.  Both my DDs are LSN. DD1 was on about 45 min nap at 18 mos (to preserve BT at 7pm and a decent night length)  and DD2 is on about 1hr.  However, of course, lots of LOs get more like 2hrs still.

Do you feel your DS doesn't get enough sleep after 1hr?  If so, I'd try an increase in A time.  He might need more like 6hrs for a decent nap.  Do you find he naps longer after an earlier WU/later nap time?

Is there any teething going on?  How does he settle for his naps and BT?

[Kjv201]

Thanks ladies, he is deffo teething but he's never really been a good napper either. Hoping once these bigger teeth are through he may settle a bit. It's reassuring to hear he's not the only one that doesn't have a decent 1.5-3 hr nap in the day as all his friends do. I've been worried that he isn't getting enough sleep to keep him happy and healthy as we are getting serious tantrums but also may just be age related!

I would say on average he is getting about 12-12.5 hrs sleep in a 24hr period, does this seem okay? I have always been a bit of a worrier about sleep deprivation! In the past couple of days I've tried another nap at 4ish for him to catch up but he blankly refuses so I guess he can't be that tired!

He goes down for bed fine and hoes straight to sleep, naps are generally okay too and he goes straight to sleep but wakes up hysterical so could be tired still or in tooth pain? Any tips for extending naps at this age?

Thanks again
Kara

[cath~]

I would say on average he is getting about 12-12.5 hrs sleep in a 24hr period, does this seem okay?

For some LOs this is abosolutely fine.  Both my DDs got/get about this at this age and it's definitely not unheard of.  However, for others it is too little.  I think the biggest indicator is his mood.  Does he seem well-rested or does he seem tired?  If he's seems generally happy on this amount of sleep then it's most likely fine. 

It's tricky to tell though when there are other things going on (like teething).  When do the tantrums usually happen?  At any time or more when you'd expect him to be tired (i.e. close to nap/BT)?  Teething/development/OS can all be other things that can bring about tantrums so it's not necessarily tiredness, although tiredness is of course a big cause of tantrums.  Sorry, that's not too helpful really - there are so many factors!

he goes straight to sleep but wakes up hysterical so could be tired still or in tooth pain?

My DDs always woke/wake crying from naps, even when they've had enough sleep and aren't in pain.  Some LOs are like this.  It could be tooth pain.  Or just the transistion from sleep to awake is tougher for some LOs.  If my DD2 wakes early from a nap (usually due to teeth, at 30-45 mins) and is still tired then she will go back to sleep if I sit next to her, sometimes with a hand on her bottom.  If she's not tired or the pain too bad, then she won't resettle (she won't lie down, she sits or stands in her cot).  But usually she will if she's tired enough.

In the past couple of days I've tried another nap at 4ish for him to catch up but he blankly refuses so I guess he can't be that tired!

When my DDs need to catch up a bit I always find EBT works better than an extra nap.  If they have (had) an extra nap (usually only if we're out in the car and they nod off) then this just delays BT and so they don't get any extra sleep in the end (or they end up with less sleep because a 5-10 min CN can push BT back by 30 mins).  With EBT though, if they need it, they get that extra sleep at the start of the night and still have their usual WU time.

HTH