21 month old EW!

[eogan0622]

Hi,

My DD is 21 months old and has been a pretty good sleeper for the past year (with moments here and there).  However for the past few weeks, we've been having EW of 5:30-6...  She is AWESOME at going down for naps and bed and we feel so lucky but wish she would sleep longer, as when she does, she's SO much happier in the AM.  In general, she's not a fussy or cranky baby which is great, and she also doesn't give a lot of tired cues (no eye rubbing, fussing, yawning) which has made me have to be stricter to the clock since she was little. 

Here is what she *was* doing
645/7: WU
12-2: nap
715/730: asleep

However, since she started waking earlier, we've been putting her to bed around 7, and her naps have been shorter as well (although maybe once a weeks she'll do 2-2.5 hours, most of them are closer to 1.15-1.5)

Now, her schedule looks more like:
5:45: WU (I always go in, tell her it's not time to get up yet, and I leave, but she usually sobs and cries so it's pretty much a lost cause...)
12-1:15/1:30: Nap
7:00: asleep bedtime

I would like to get back to 730 bt and a 630 or later WU, but every time I push bedtime back, even by 15 mins or so, it seems she's up earlier (like today- she went down at 720 last night because she had a longer nap, and was up at 530!)

Is there any routine change you think might help with this?  Or is this a factor of being a toddler and I should just get used to it?  Any tips for dealing with EW?  She's still in a crib...

I'm newly pregnant and SO tired!

Thanks!

Emily

[Lindsay27]

I'm thinking hun that you might actually need to push the nap and not BT.  So instead of 12 try 12:15/12:30 and see if that helps.

[eogan0622]

Thanks for the insight!

I actually had been trying to push the nap back gradually, and it seemed like I was getting OT wakings- 1 hr wake ups from naps and had to be convinced to go back to sleep, which sometime worked and sometimes didn't....should I stick with that?  She seems to nap longer when she's down at 12.  Esp because she's tired from waking up so early! So hard to break the cycle!

[eogan0622]

Hi-

Just wanted to follow up and see if anyone has any suggestions about handling these EW.  We seem to be hitting some really EW every few days.  Our DD is almost 22 months, always goes to sleep independently and has always been good with a routine.  She has been on 1 nap since 16 months.  As I wrote in previous post, she has started waking before 6 most mornings which is brutal...plus she wakes sobbing to get out of her crib.  A few days ago, she woke at 4:20 and my husband and I took shifts for 2 hours trying to get her back down.  After that morning, we agreed that our presence makes the situation way worse, so we agreed that we would go in, let her know that it's nighttime, and leave, going back every 10-15 mins as necessary.  For a couple days after that, she was back to "sleeping in" until 615/630...and then another morning of 4:20.  I went in two times to let her know it was nighttime and she eventually fell back asleep (around 4:40) until about 6.  But then it was 5:55 wake ups for a few days and then 5:20...I tried going in that morning as well and she never fell back asleep...and when she's crying at these times she is SCREAMING and SOBBING.  I try not to get her out until at least 6:15 but it feels like I'm torturing her.

1) Does anyone have advice on how to handle the mornings when it's so early?  Does the walk in with quick verbal reassurance sound like a good plan?

2) Also, I have tried to push the nap back a bit to 1215/1230 and I feel like most of the time it backfires and she only sleeps an hour, wakes up SOBBING again.  Is this later nap time something I should just stick to, like keep it at 1230 regardless of when she wakes up and hope it sticks?

3) Is this a natural time for a toddler to cut back on sleep needs? My gut tells me she's overtired- she's been whinier and more sensitive than usual- but my husband is wondering maybe she needs less sleep? 

THANK YOU

[Mum2lucy]

I'm no expert at all but when my lg wakes early in the morning, she is similar to yours in that she cries. If I say the sleep cue words and leaves she goes crazy and it isn't beneficial to us so I lie beside her cot and just occasionally say the sleep cue but with no other interaction. It doesn't always work but I can't bear the screaming otherwise.

My lg is nearly 20 months and we are having an awful time of naps too. Used to sleep 2 hrs which dropped to 1.5 hours for a while and now with the sr, she won't do more than 40mins to an hour. She seems to be managing to pick sleep up during the night with 12+ hours night sleep which is good for now.
She doesn't nap until 1.00pm or later so I would think pushing your nap out may well help? xx