Is my DD OT?

[maybell245]

Hello,
My DD is almost 4.  She has been on the same schedule since she was 2.

7:00 Wake up and have a little milk
8:00 Breakfast
11:45 Lunch
1:00-3:00 Nap
3:30 Snack
5:45 Dinner
6:30 Bath
7:30 Bed

Since she turned 3, she usually doesn't fall asleep for the nap until 1:30 and she gets 90 minutes regularly.  Most days she wakes up on her own at 2:55 and if not is woken up at 3:00.

We have a nap and sleep routine - potty, story, song, lights out, kiss, white noise on, goodnight

For the past few months, she has taken almost until 9 pm to settle to sleep.  She will sing, flip flop in her bed, hang out of her bed, tell stories and more in that time.  She typically doesn't get out of bed unless she has to go potty (and she does go when she says she has too). 

Question/Issue 1:  Could she be OT and that is why she can't settle into sleep?  Or is the nap to late into the afternoon?  Should she not be napping?  (She is so grouchy when she misses that nap rarely and so am I or Grandma)

This week, she has daytime summer camp.  She doesn't get home until 1:15 and it has been taking her until 2:15 or 2:30 to fall asleep for nap.  Yesterday was the first day of camp, but this will occur all week.  So yesterday, I woke her at 3:00 anyway and she was out cold!  She got up and was in a good mood and had her snack and played.  After dinner, around 6:15 she was a disaster - whining and just having melt downs and that isn't like her.  My DH and I thought that meant she was really tired so we sped up the bath process and had her in bed by 7:15 thinking she would go right to sleep instead of messing around until 9:00.  Nope!  She didn't fall asleep until 8:52!

I am worried about this because her 4th birthday party is this Saturday (today is Tuesday) and Sunday is a family celebration of life party for the passing of her Great Grandpa...so I don't want her to already be OT going into such a busy weekend that will likely make her OT anyway!

Question/Issue 2:  If she wasn't OT before, is she now??  Do I let her nap longer?  Or do we skip bath and go to bed right after dinner? 

Bath time usually winds her up, but she gets all clumsy at the end and it's obvious she is tired. 

Question 3:  How much sleep does an almost 4 year old need in 24 hours?

Any advice on all matters would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

[ginger428]

Hi maybell,
I just wrote and lost a detailed response to your post! My computer ate it up. Argh. So here is the gist as I must go in a few...

I think DD was UT for bedtime because her nap was too long and ended only 4.5 hrs before bedtime.  At the 3-5 year range, toddlers either have no nap or about 5-6, sometimes 7 hrs to bed. 4yo is a typical age for nap dropping and usually day sleep will interfere with night sleep. That particular day she had a 30 min nap was probably due to stimulation from camp and an overall less total sleep for the day (10 overnight, 30min day). I would actually recommend skipping nap (and bath) if she isn't asleep by 2:00, and make bedtime 6:30 for the first few days of no naps. Then push this out to 7:00 or 7:30 as you gauge her tiredness level. I think DD will sleep 11.5-12 hrs overnight, if not the first night within a few days.

She is probably displaying some OT signs bc her nights have shortened (from the front end) and for her, it's not as restorative. However, pushing through this is ok as at this age, they can regulate quite well.

Hope that helps!


Avg day/night sleep:
https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=85130.0

Article on dropping the nap:
https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=244514.0