2.4 years old - separation anxiety and nightmares

[SarahE]

Hi everyone,

Just after some advise on how to best manage my daughters night sleep. Currently she's up around 7am ish, naps between 1/1.30pm for 1-1.5 hrs and goes to bed between 8/8.30pm. She's currently getting her last molar through.

Over the last months she's been waking once or twice a night. On a couple of occasions she's been awake for a couple of hours but mostly she asks for one of us and is easily settled. A couple of times she seems to have had a bad dream (she has a very active imagination), but mainly she says she just wants us, so thinking separation anxiety.

Is this typical development at this age? Should we be considering cutting her nap? She had had a few days over the last 4 months of no nap and she copes very well with it.

We are focusing on reassurance and trying not to create any bad habits.

TIA

[Haribo2012]

Hi there, I’d prob try cutting the nap down a little to see if it’s a little UT causing wake ups.

You say she copes well on no nap so maybe try 45 mins?

[SarahE]

Awesome, yes she does cope very well with no nap on the odd occasion she's not had one. I still think she needs some sleep/rest as other that a few weekends of resistance about a month ago when she ended up not napping for a while (we always offered but after 15-20 mins was frustrating for all involved!!) she still sleeps - and on occasion she has a good 2.5 hr nap  : Will give 45 mins a try.

Funnily enough since posting, she's slept through both nights without wake up, though her days have been busier.

Thanks for your help

[Haribo2012]

Oooh maybe just a blip don’t try fixing if all ok x

[creations]

Funnily enough since posting, she's slept through both nights without wake up, though her days have been busier.

We used to have to have a full on physical activity session just before the BT routine.  Could it be that she needs something like that?  A chance to just get rid of any left over energy from the day?   Things we have done:
- toddler band where we get a musical instrument and play it or sing as we march around the house, then switch instrument and go again, and again...and usually it resulted in DS jogging or running for about 5-10 mins.
- What time is it Mr Wolf or Gradma's Footsteps generally results in jogging/running (played with Daddy, Mummy can't be bothered with this)
- wrestling (the nice safe no hurt way) for 10 mins on the living room carpet (always Mummy wrestles, Daddy can't wrestle)
Hmm...there may heave been others. Each thing was a long period or of being the same thing every night for ages, then we switched.

The other thing I was going to say was your DD sounds a little like my DS in that they both seemed to try out resisting their nap but then decided they were not ready and started taking proper long naps again.  Mine napped 2hrs daily until one day he was poorly so napped 2.5hr instead and then stopped napping altogether, just like that.  Yours could be similar, suddenly dropping the nap cold turkey.