Taking a long time to fall asleep at night

[Chloevalentine]

It's been taking my 2 year old about 45 mins to fall asleep at night.  He's just in his crib rolling around talking tying to get comfortable. He's not upset or crying so I'm not overly concerned but then he sleeps later in the morning because of it. Last night he went into crib at 8 fell asleep at 845 and slept today until 8!! He went down for a nap from 120-250 1.5 hrs and then into crib a bit later to see if that was the issue but it still took 45 to fall asleep at 9! I just think that's way too late for a 2 year old but we are in a vicious cycle and can't get out! I've tried waking him in the morning and waking from nap but we get a miserable cranky kid and it just doesn't seem worth it. Today he was happy and rested.

[cath~]

If he wakes from his nap at 2.50 then asleep at 9, this is about 6hrs later, which isn't at all unreasonable for a 2 yo.  It probably takes so long to settle because he's just not tired enough yet any earlier.

You have a few options you could try if you want an earlier BT:
- cap nap
- bring nap earlier to see if a longer A time to BT helps (this might also lead to shorter naps, which could also help)
- go with the later BT

I think you're prob in the start of the 1-0 (although it could still be quite a while until he's on 0 naps - it's a long process).  There are some more ideas here:
The 1-0 transition...Advice and Tips to help you through.

What time have you tried waking from nap?  If you wake when he's in deep sleep he might be more likely to be grumpy whereas some ppl find if they try waking at a different time (e.g. at the end of a sleep cycle) then their LO is less grumpy.  Might be worth experimenting.

[Chloevalentine]

I do find with him that it's more about a 13 hour day then A times so it's usually determined on when he wakes in morning yk. The earlier shorter nap seems like the better option for us although if he's not tired enough at nap time we get resistance with crying where as bedtime he just entertains himself happily. I've tried waking from naps at different times Either after an hour or by 230 neither makes a difference still get a grumpy guy lol. And bedtime just seems to take him 45 mins to fall asleep lately no matter what time he goes down. This used to be 30 mins. I think he might wake earlier today as he usually does going to sleep as late as 9 so hopefully it will straighten out eventually.

[cath~]

I do find with him that it's more about a 13 hour day then A times

so I guess if you want an earlier BT you'll just have to make sure you wake him in time in the morning.  esp if capping the nap isn't a good option.

although if you can get him to take an earlier, shorter nap then that might work too (and perhaps give you a longer night overall)

[Chloevalentine]

What do u do on a day where we need to be out of the house in morning and we have lunch out. I've tried to then put him down right away for nap as soon as we arrive home (as he wont sleep in car) but it never works. I find myself saying no to morning outings because I don't want to give up the nap lol

[cath~]

mine would always nod off in the car so I'd do a nap that way.

Is the change in routine that makes him resist a nap once you get home?  What if you waited a little and had some kind of winddown would that help?

It's a shame to miss all morning outings and lunches at this age (how old is he exactly - just 2 or closer to 3?).  IIWM and you can't get a nap at home I'd either try to APOP a (shorter) nap later in the afternoon (to prevent OT at BT) or just go for a NND and do EBT.  It might all go wrong but worth a try and then you'll know for next time.

[Chloevalentine]

Just turn two just turned to ! It is a pain! But he won't apop a nap later in day I've tried. I just woke him at 7:30 and spent a half hour crying and screaming hysterical

[cath~]

oh, that's not a nice way to start the day

looks like your best bet might be trying (if possible) for an early nap since waking him doesn't go well.  If you can't I guess you'll just have to take the later BTs for a bit..   Or maybe some one else has another idea..

ETA:

Is he LSN?  It's not that uncommon for LOs to drop the nap at age 2. (my DD1 just had a 15 min CN at 24 mos and by 27 mos she'd stopped napping completely)

Something that you might want to think about trying is that if one day he wakes quite late, don't offer any nap at all that day but just go for EBT.  That might help get you back on track with earlier WUs and BTs for a bit..  Do you think he could handle that as a one off?

[Chloevalentine]

I was thinking of doing that the nnd and ebt. I'm going to see how today goes thank you

[cath~]

great.  Let us know how it goes.

Since he doesn't like being woken, having a mix of nap and no-nap days might be a good option for this transition for you.

[Chloevalentine]

So a 13 hour day when he naps 730-830 and maybe a 12 hour day or shorter on no nap days say 8-730? I put him down for nap at 1245 he was exhausted!

[Chloevalentine]

He napped from 1245-210 woke happy went into crib at 8 cried for a minute then fell asleep by 825!

[cath~]

You might find you need a shorter than 12 hr day on no naps, at least at first. See how he seems.

13hr might also be a bit short when he naps

But of course each will depend on other factors like how the last couple of days and nights have gone as well so it's not really possible to have a set rule for every day.

Sounds like he was tired yesterday from you waking him after a shorter night perhaps.

[Chloevalentine]

He did end up doing a 13 hr day yesterday and is still asleep at 645 am. How much longer of a day do you suggest?

[cath~]

That was after a shorter night the night before wasn't it, since you woke him yesterday morning? Or is that not right?  Seems like it was about spot on for yesterday.

If he's had a longer night previously though, then he might not be so tired and could need 30 mins more or even an hour, but you'd have to experiment.