Author Topic: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required  (Read 7175 times)

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Offline Ewan's Mummy

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14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« on: June 06, 2006, 15:29:11 pm »
Hello, I don't know where to start really.  My little one has always been a good sleeper and was on a perfect 2 naps, 11 hours at night schedule, going down straight away on his own in his cot. Then I posted a month or so ago because he was resisting naps and taking longer to go down at night.  Anyway, things have now escalated and it's really depressing me.  He now just stands up in his cot when I put him down (and this is irrespective of how tired he is) and he screams and screams when I leave the room.  I go back in and lie him down again but he's up before I'm at the door screaming.  Can anyone suggest how to handle it.  If I keep on lying him down everytime he stands up he just keeps on getting up and gets more and more worked up, if I walk out he goes bonkers..  (he's never been like this before but this has been going on for about a month now) (he's 14 months old).  It's taking so long to get him down it's 8pm sometimes before he's asleep and then he's still up at five but very cranky. 

Can anyone please suggest anything to help get him back to falling asleep in his cot when I put him down.  It seems like a million years ago that he used to do that - I can't believe how bad things have got.  He's now not going down to sleep easily for naps or night time sleep and I have no game plan whatsoever now - I've tried everything.    Sorry to waffle on - I'm desperate.

Any suggestions welcome!


Offline Florencia

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #1 on: June 06, 2006, 16:07:24 pm »
hi! Sorry things had gotten worse. You say that before this crisis started he was having 2 naps. How many is he having right now? what is his schedule?

I have just answered a similar post about a 14 month old where i placed a bet on teething. Maybe you should check that one out if you suspect that your ds is teething molars.

At around that age i had similar issues and the wi/wo didn't work for us either, cause ds would go bananas if i dared to even face the door LOL... so i restorted to Gentle Removal Plan which basically is placing a blow up mattress/sleeping bag next to your lo's crib and you both go to sleep then. As things get better you can slowly move your mattress next to the door until you're finally out. Since you're not having night waking issues and your problem is only "going to bed" i would leave the room as soon as he's sound asleep. If he wakes and cries for you, you go in and "pretend" to be asleep again. I did this for naps too and it took me 2 weeks before things started to improve substancially, but they did. Also, when he wakes early in the morning (say 5 am) you go in and lay in your mattress saying is sleepy time, we don't have to wake up yet...and you "wake" till your desired wake up tme. If he's not cranky or crying when waking you should let him be and only go to him at the desired wake up time or if he cries for you.

Also, are you giving him pain meds before bed? that would help him relax easier and if he's teething this could also play a roll on his upsetting.

Hang in there and keep us posted with his schedule to see if we can come up with something else!
Mom to Manolo, spirited monkey and Jose Miguel, an angel cupcake

Offline imsmum

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #2 on: June 06, 2006, 16:10:03 pm »
Resisting naps, shortened night sleep..that's exactly what my lo does when she is ready to drop a nap.  Sometimes the pm nap starts interfering with an early bedtime, they go to sleep too late and therefore wake early and cranky.  Any signs of teething or ear infection.  You probably want to rule any of that out first so if you are not adverse to it you could try giving pain meds and see if that makes any difference.

Offline Ewan's Mummy

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #3 on: June 06, 2006, 19:35:00 pm »
Hi there, thanks so much for the responses.  Here's Ewan's schedule (well I say schedule it's gone very astray recently).  There's kind of two schedules as sometimes he's not taking his afternoon nap but I just cannot keep him up in the morning after 10am.. he's foul.

5.00 - 5.30 wake up (and get up - there's no leaving him in his cot) usually cranky
7.00 breakfast
9.30 - 11.00 (ish) milk & nap
12.00 lunch
3.00 - 4.00 (ish) milk and nap
5.00 Dinner
6.30 (ish) bedtime

OR!!

5.30 get up
10.00 - 11.30/12.00 nap
6.00 bed (but then he'll wake up sometimes before five in the morning!)

Oh what a mess.

I was thinking it might be his teeth (but I've been thinking that for over a month and there is still NO SIGN of any molars - anyway I give him pain relief before bed but to be honest there seems to be no difference whether he's had pain relief or not.  He had a cold a couple of weeks ago be I took him back for a check up and his ears/throat/chest etc are all clear. 
Today has been awful - he only had ten hours sleep last night, then he only slept for 45 mins this morning and then he refused to take an afternoon nap and it took me an hour and twenty minutes to get him down for his afternoon nap (cuddled him to sleep in the end!) - then we woke him up at 5pm and he was super cranky (dont blame him) then it just took about an hour to get him down tonight.  He finally fell asleep at about 7.30 but he'll still wake up at five so that will be only 9.5 hours sleep! then the chaos starts all over again. 

If he only has 9.5 hours sleep tonight and wakes up at five tired (but will not go back to sleep and believe me I've tried) what times shall I put him down for his nap(s)? 
Also tonight I did walk in walk out - I'd lie him down he'd stand straight back up but I walked out anyway let him whinge for about thirty seconds then went back in and lay him down again and walked out even though he stood up.  How does that appoach sound to you all?  I've tried lying down in his room but he just giggles his head off and throws teddies out of his cot etc.. 

AAARRGGGGHHHH - I'm sorry to waffle.  I know this sounds like chaos but it never used to be - it's all been so organised so far - but I'm at my wits end now.

Any suggestions?

Thanks again for your replies


Offline Alibobs

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #4 on: June 06, 2006, 19:52:36 pm »
I could have written this post until last week. Screaming fits at night, where we tried everything to settle dd - it was so bad, and she was so tired that she couldn't stand and she kept falling and banging her head which made the screaming worse. For weeks, we hadn't slept past 5am.

I attempted the walk-in/walk-out and, I probably shouldn't say this because she'll wake at 5am tomorrow, but the last few days, she's settled almost straight away and slept until 6am (our wake-up time). However, my body clock hasn't adapted so well, and I've been having trouble sleeping until six...

Good luck and hope things improve for you and your lo too.
Alison, mum to



Offline sa

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #5 on: June 06, 2006, 20:05:34 pm »
i am not sure if i can help but my 16 month old DS is doing the same thing. he is teething like crazy and i know he is ready to switch to 1 nap.

i don't have much solution about waking at 5am but when my DS wakes at 5am, i put him down about 8.30am, and he will sleep for about 2 hours. the morning nap is supposed to be an extend to his night-time sleep, because he only slept for 10 hours, he needs another 1.5 to 2 hours. so try put him down a little earlier. so if he has 2 hours morning nap, i will let him sleep for 1 hour (or 1.5 hour whichever if it doesn't intervre bedtime). it's a bit difficult to put him down in the afternoon, so sometimes i let him nap in the stroller. if not i do extra long (about half hour) winddown.

u may try some homeopathy remedy for teething instead of pain killer, i find pain killer making DS more alert instead of calming him down for sleep.

hth
« Last Edit: June 06, 2006, 20:12:38 pm by sa »
mum to samuel 25JAN05
textbook/angel baby

Offline Ewan's Mummy

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #6 on: June 07, 2006, 04:54:35 am »
Well he went to sleep at 7.30 last night but was up again at five to five this morning...  so I'll try and put him down earlier for his morning nap and see what happens..  Tried lying down in his room with him this morning but he just stood there shouting.  Right, keep any suggestions coming and I'll keep you posted!  Gosh I'm tired :-(

I dont actually mind getting  up at five am if Ewan was refreshed as apposed to waking up miserable and cranky..



Offline Harrisonsmummy

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #7 on: June 07, 2006, 07:56:10 am »
It sounds like he is definately ready for one nap. the second nap is late in the day so possibly that is why it is a struggle for him to sleep then, and when he only has one nap, he must be overtired, Harrison is a nightmare to get to sleep when he is overtired and I have to place my hand on his back to help him settle.

With a 5am wake-up ( and I have been there lots!) I would put him down for a couple of days early, say 8.30am, but for a catnap only. 30 mins - 40 mins at most. Then with a bit of luck you should be able to get a lunch time nap in, 12.30ish, which will tide him over until bedtime.

I tend to go for a bedtime - 4.5 - 5 hours after wake-up from nap, earlier if they seem tired. The early bedtimes are essential when transitioning to one nap, as it is the overtiredness that causes night-wakings and early mornings in transitions! Once he has caught up with his sleep, you may find he sleeps in later and you should be able to drop the cat-nap. Give a snack at naptime to tide him over and plenty of distraction, and then you will probably need to shuffle the one nap and bedtimes about until you get to the desired point!

It can take several weeks for them to adjust, so hang in there.

With the problems at bedtime, once he is rested, you may find he settles ok, otherwise, I personally found a gradual withdrawal worked. I sat at the end of the cot, no eye contact etc, laid him down when he got up, completely emotionless otherwise it becomes a game! I would read a book until he settled to sleep. He still jumps up and down now, but it takes him 10 mins to settle like this, then 10 mins later he is asleep, so I don't stress about it so much. It's like he just needs reassurance I'm around.

Anyway, hope some of this helps, sorry for waffle, harrison is climbing on my lap trying to push buttons! LOL!

Justine

Offline Ewan's Mummy

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #8 on: June 07, 2006, 10:22:40 am »
Thanks for the advice Harrisons Mummy.  I'll try that...  I'm really looking forward to getting a one nap routine established!

s a  - what homeopathic rememdies are there for teething?

cheers everyone


Offline sa

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #9 on: June 07, 2006, 11:10:27 am »
i have tried two.
one is Nelsons Teetha, contains 6c Chamomilla.

the other is Ashton & Parsons Infant Teething Powders:
http://www.boots.com/shop/product_details.jsp?productid=1007559

i like this one best as it even calms baby's upset tummy when teething.

btw, this morning i tried sleep in the same room as DS, but he shout and shout, i then got out of his room, he calms down almost immediately ... how strange is this?? i really don't get this  ???
 
mum to samuel 25JAN05
textbook/angel baby

Offline Florencia

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #10 on: June 07, 2006, 17:29:43 pm »
Hi there,

Really great and thorough advice provided by our sleep experts, thanks angel dust, Harrison's mummy and imsmum!!!!!!! ;) you rock girls!

Sa and Ewan's mummy i just wanted to add that if lo's get more wounded up with you being in the room, maybe the gradual removal is not for you. I found it helpful cause my presence there would soothe ds and me leaving the room would make him go crazy when he was a young toddler (say 13-15 mo). Now that he's 23 mo, he gets wild for every second i stay in the room (as some young toddlers do)

Ewan's mummy you mentioned that at your 2nd walk out, he wasn't crying that much is that correct? if he stands up but doesn't cry when you leave, leave it at it. Only walk in after he cries for you, count to 10 (30 seconds i'm afraid it's too long and can become an hysterical crying) and walk in. Reassure, lay down say I love you something like that (so he knows you're leaving but not because you're abandoning him, you STILL and will ALWAYS love him and be there for him when he needs you, that's the main message for wi/wo) and leave. Only walk in when he cries for you. If he's mantra crying, whining, fussing, leave him at it, he'll learn how to work it out. Some moms find wi/wo too stressing and not working because they wi when they're not supposed to. You're not supposed to be wi until he's asleep but until he's settled. Eventually if he learns how to soothe, he'll go to sleep when he's ready and on his own.This should also help for early mornings, cause if he learns to stay in his crib, calmed and soothed, he'll lay there for longer periods without you needing to go to him.

Good luck! HTH!

PS i also used homeophatic remedies along with teething aids during our worst period of teething. And yes, it took us up to 3 months to finish with the 4 molars. YUCK!--- grandma also adviced some gas drops and to prepare his milk in chamomile/linden flowers tea for upset tummy... i did it all at once so im not sure what worked best... we all take all remedies in desperation LOL...
Mom to Manolo, spirited monkey and Jose Miguel, an angel cupcake

Offline Ewan's Mummy

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #11 on: June 07, 2006, 18:40:42 pm »
Wow, thanks so much everyone for all your advice.... 

Took Ewan up to bed ultra early this evening and managed to get him to sleep for twenty past six.. but it had taken about forty minutes to get him to sleep.  The Wi/Wo advice was really helpful Florencia.  When I do wi/wo he is stood up and screaming before I'm at the door, so I go out into the next room, wait a short time, then go back in and lie him down again, but he's still up before I even get my arms out of the cot, if I keep lying him down he just gets more and  more worked up.  When I lie him down he often reaches for me to pick him up and give him a cuddle and I often relent and do this (just for a moment) until he is calm again then I lie him back down - is this a mistake?? I'll try and leave less time between going back in to stop him getting upset.  Often he's doing a whingy mantra type cry maybe I'm going in too often?? AARGGGH I'm confused.  I really don't want him to feel abandoned though. 

Even if I stay in the room standing over the cot he stands back up but doesn't cry, he does however start laughing and gets giddy if I stay.  As I said if I lie down in the room he just stands there trying to get my attention and will not lie down, he giggles like mad at me.
Anyway, I'm waffling again.  Just praying that he doesn't wake up at 4.30am now I've managed to get him down before half six!!

s a - I have some of the teething powders - they are still in the box on the side of my bed!! Must try them out!

Hopefully I'll get a lie in until 6am tomorrow - that is my fantasy! (never thought I'd think of six am as a lie in!)

Thanks again everyone. 



Offline Florencia

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #12 on: June 07, 2006, 19:13:30 pm »
It's ok to hold him till he settles and then put him down (it's like pu/pd for babies). The only reason we don't encourage this is because most toddlers get more wound up when held (not the case of your baby, so that's ok). Another reason is because holding a toddler then pd him is exhausting for your back but if you only need to do that for a couple of times, or don't mind do it as long as needed (go for a back massage NOW LOL) then, again it's ok.

You say he gets giggly when you stay in the room, so that's the moment for you to walk out. He's ok, he's not crying for you so you may say something like, i see you feel better now, I'm glad, see you tomorrow sweetie!... and wo. Wait for him to CRY for you (whining mantra cry can be worked out by himself, you just have to listen carefully if it pitches to a higher cry or slows down to a waaaaaaaaaaa waaaaaaaaaaaaa with "silent" seconds). The moment it gets higher, you count to 10, wi, reassure, pat (minimum body contact and language, you have to be BORING so he gets that there's no point in waking, the less emotions you show, the quicker he'll get it... don't shout, don't get angry, don't cry (you can do it outside the door... LOL) ). Don't over explain, just a few words like mommy and Ewan need to sleep so we can play in the sun tomorrow bye bye. The I love you part is pretty useful to me, since i started using it i noticed I would manage better and he'd be less upset by me walking out. I usually go with: it's ok, go to sleep, see you tomorrow (while i put him down patting back) i love you (while i head to the door).

I hope i made some sense... fingers crossed for a super late waking tomorrow!!!!!!!!
Mom to Manolo, spirited monkey and Jose Miguel, an angel cupcake

Offline Ewan's Mummy

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #13 on: June 08, 2006, 06:15:29 am »
Thanks Florencia.. but you obviously didn't cross your fingers effectively enough as we were up at 4.45am this morning!  Tried until six to get him back to  sleep but to no avail  :'(

I am so tired and miserable with this :'(

Anyway, we'll see how today goes...


Offline Florencia

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #14 on: June 08, 2006, 17:25:20 pm »
I'm sorry to hear things didn't go to well... but remember that they say that the second night is the worst... some setbacks are to be expected. You just keep up the good job consistantly and things will get better. Good luck and keep us posted!
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Offline Ewan's Mummy

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #15 on: June 09, 2006, 05:06:43 am »
OH Help - Seriously.  Yesterday he got up at 4.30. Then I put him down at 8.30 for his nap and he slept until 10am.  Then at 2.30 I tried to put him  down again for a nap as he was tired out....at 4.30!!! yes 4.30pm he finally went to sleep.  He then didnt' go down until 7.30 last night and awoke at 4.30 this morning absolutely shattered, but despite trying to get him back to sleep until six no luck.  I am exhausted and cranky and so is Ewan.. Does anyone have ANY suggestions!?


Offline Harrisonsmummy

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #16 on: June 09, 2006, 07:24:34 am »
I would try 8.30am nap until 9.00am max.(or 30 mins). Then shoot for second nap of 1pm, earlier if he looks tired. Then an early bedtime. It sounds like the poor little fella is so knackered he "can't" sleep.

The early nap is no more than to tide him over with such an early wake-up and because he is now chronically sleep deprived!

Normally if DS wakes up at 5am for example I will still put him down for nap at 12.30pm - unless he has been under the weather, or we have had night-wakings etc. 

Offline finleyfoo

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #17 on: June 09, 2006, 14:18:47 pm »
Ewans Mommy - I am certainly no expert, but for what it is worth, my 12.5 month old is transitioning to one nap a day (he takes 1 nap at day care Mon-Fri from 11:30 to 1:30. However, at home, we were still putting him down for 2 naps (9:00ish and 1:30ish) but that is started to go to bust. He is starting to refuse the second nap and therefore is awake too long before bed time. And he started waking up early about 6 weeks ago (5:15, 5:30 or 5:45 in the morning) when before he was waking up at 6:00 to 6:30 am. His bedtime was 7:30 (in bed at 7:15, asleep by 7:30). I thought this was a very reasonable bed time.

So I started an experiment by putting him down to bed earlier, 6:30, asleep by 6:45. We are only 4 days into it. The first 2 nights, there was no change, he was still up early. But it also coincided with an ear infection. The last 2 mornings, we have seen some progress. The first morning he slept until 6:00 and this morning until 6:30. What I think is that my son is programmed to go to bed early and rise early. He is really tired by 5:30/6:00 pm and ready for bed. And he needs more than the 10 hours at night he was getting. I think he needs at least 11 hours, on top of the 2 hours he gets for a nap.

I'm wondering if you should just skip the morning nap altogether, go for an early afternoon nap, try an early bedtime and see if that works. It will probably take a few days to see any results.

We are going to keep at our experiment for at least a few weeks to a month to see if it improves his sleeping overall. It's not easy to get him down that early with our schedules. But what can you do? Good luck.

Offline Ewan's Mummy

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #18 on: June 09, 2006, 18:11:23 pm »
Thanks again everyone, it's good to feel like I have support out there!

Ewan awoke at 4.30 today after only 9 hours sleep...  He was worn out and cranky all morning and I finally put him down at 9am thinking he'd do his usual 1.5 - 2 hour sleep - but he woke up after 45 mins! At least, I thought, he'lll now have a decent nap after lunch - but NO he wouldn't go to sleep at all - I tried for an hour and a half and he would not go to sleep (I'd given him his milk and some teething pain relief just in case).. so he was awake from 10 this morning until six tonight when he went to sleep. This is ridiculous!   :'(

Just hoping he gets 11 hours tonight..


Offline imsmum

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #19 on: June 09, 2006, 19:16:48 pm »
I wonder if that early nap is reinforcing the early waking.  When my dd was still on three naps and ready to switch down to 2 that's what we were finding.  Since  he's refusing that second nap I think you have no choice but to start moving that early one back.  You can either do it by increments or just go for a late nap say around 11.  If he's having alot of night wakings etc.  I think I would make the jump to 11 and then do a super early bedtime.  I think you'll find that without that am nap the early bedtime won't result in an obscenely early (4:30!!!) wakeup.  Good Luck!

Offline Ewan's Mummy

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #20 on: June 10, 2006, 06:13:30 am »
Finley Foo & imsmum - thanks for the skipping the early nap idea - I keep thinking that myself and resolving to do it every day.  The problem is that it's only 7am now and he's already rubbing his eyes and yawning and crying.  He's already been up for two and a half hours and everytime I try and skip the early nap, by 9am I just give in because he's sooo tired.  I even tried taking him out and about to distract him but he was miserable..  I'll try today and put him down as late as possible but it's such a long morning when he's so miserable.

He's woken up exhausted this morning - I think it must be teething...

going to try and get him in bed around half five today and asleep for six ish....   you've all been great. I'll keep you posted.

I am soooo tired!


Offline Ewan's Mummy

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #21 on: June 10, 2006, 11:25:43 am »
Well, here's a little update - managed to keep Ewan up until 10.40am this morning!  and it's now 12.20 and he's still asleep so this is looking promising for a nice early bedtime without too much crankiness in the evening - and who knows perhaps a lie in until 5.30am in the morning! ;)

thanks again for your advice folks...


Offline Ewan's Mummy

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #22 on: June 11, 2006, 11:03:14 am »
OH NO!! Look I know that this topic is starting to drag on a bit now but I'm getting more desperate by the day. 

Ewan had one nap yesterday from 10.40 until 12.30 and then I finally got him to sleep for 6pm last night, but he awoke at 4am!  I tried until five to get him back to sleep but no luck.  He has been foul all morning and cranky and would have gone back to sleep at 8am this morning if I'd put him down but now I'm really not sure what I should do (go for one nap or two)? I am so worried about his lack of sleep and obvious crankiness about it.  I put him down today at 10.30 (aiming for one nap and early to bed again),  but he was really really tired by that point and I'm now wondering if it was bad to keep him up? 

Does anyone have a little one out there around Ewan'a age who actually seem to cope quite well on such little sleep?  He's 14 months and probably gets between 12 and 13 hours in 24 if I'm lucky. 

Anyway sorry to still be harping on about this but I'm confused.

Thanks


Offline Harrisonsmummy

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #23 on: June 12, 2006, 11:52:10 am »
I kept a sleep log for Harrison from about that age when he started to transition to one nap. He never slept more than 13 hours (total) and averaged 12.5 hours. In fact I can literally count on one hand the number of times he has slept for longer than 10.5 hours overnight!When we transitoned he dipped to 11.5 hours(total) and that caused night wakings - so I knew then that wasn't enough sleep, but now he sleeps no more than 12 hours.

Some just need less sleep, and if they seem ok with it then that's fine. If your lo wakes up chirpy at 4.30am after 10hrs sleep then he's ok I'm sure. If that's the case then you just have to try and tweak the routine to get an acceptable wake-up time. harrison goes to bed (asleep) by 7.30pm and I live with 5.30 to 6am wake-ups, but DH gets up at that time anyway so would disturb him regardless. I always think they're tired when they wake crying after night and naps, if they are chirpy then they've had enough.

hth

Justine

Offline imsmum

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #24 on: June 12, 2006, 15:06:50 pm »
Don't panic--sometimes the late to bed--I know too weird to think of 6pm as late but it is for them when they've been up for 5.5 hours after nap time --causes the early wakeup.  Just keep pushing the nap back in increments.  This is a rough transition, they typically have shortened sleep for a while until they can get into a good rhythm, so expect the early wakeups for a while yet! :(

Offline finleyfoo

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #25 on: June 12, 2006, 16:43:39 pm »
I second the fact that my son doesn't sleep at much as the "sleep books" say. He gets between 12-13 hours in a 24 hour period, sometimes even more like 11.5. It's tough I know. I'm convinced he really does need 13, but I struggle with how to get it for him. Right now, the early bedtime seems to be working well for us.

Ewans Mommy - have you tried just letting him sleep whenever and whatever he wants during the day (i.e., even if that means different times each day and multiple naps)? Or is that what got you in this situation to begin with? Some kids seem to really need structure (my son), others do better if they get to regulate their own sleep.

Offline Ewan's Mummy

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #26 on: June 12, 2006, 17:36:40 pm »
Hi Guys...

It's good to hear from others whose little ones get less sleep than the sleep books tell you.  Today we've had a better day.  He slept six until 4.50am which is nearly 11 hours (Yippeee) and then he took a 2 hr 20 minute nap from 10.30 until 12.50 (great).. so I'm feeling a bit more chirpy today and positive  :D  but I find sometimes it's two steps forward one step backwards so who knows what tomorrow will bring.


Finleyfoo - I think letting him sleep whenever he wanted so having one nap some days and two on others at different times with consequently different bedtimes has made the situation worse - he's a definate creature of habit so now we're going for the same bedtime and roughly the same naptime each day and see how we go.

Thanks Harrisonsmummy and imsmum it's good to know that typically they get a bit less sleep as they are transitioning to one nap!

Hoping for at least 11 hours tonight!!



Offline finleyfoo

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #27 on: June 12, 2006, 17:50:12 pm »
I hear you. Mine is a creature of habit too (so am I)!

Offline Ewan's Mummy

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #28 on: June 15, 2006, 12:02:45 pm »
Hi all, just thought I'd feedback on Ewan's sleeping as we're making progress and I wanted to say thanks to everyone who gave me advice. 

Switched to a consistent early bedtime (asleep for about 6pm) and a consistent one nap at around 10.45am (instead of fluctuating between one and two naps at different times which interferred with bedtime).  Last night Ewan slept from 6.15pm until 5.45am which is amazing I feel like I've had the worlds longest lie in!  (I know it'll be up and down though as we've been up at bang on 4am for the previous two mornings).  He's also doing a 2 - 2.5 hour nap, which is great.

So thanks again as the advice was really useful and it was good to hear that it's not just me who struggled with the one nap transition, but I think we've cracked it!!

 :D


Offline imsmum

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #29 on: June 15, 2006, 13:34:31 pm »
Wow--an 11.5 hour night sleep and a 2.5 houp nap--that's awesome!  Don't be upset if the night sleep and nap shorten somewhat after he has caught up on sleep.  The only other thing I wanted to mention was that  if you wanted to get a later wakeup you'll likely have to move both the bed time and nap time forward in 15 minute increments.  But if this schedule works for you--great! 

Offline Ewan's Mummy

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #30 on: June 16, 2006, 06:06:19 am »
Yeah, we only manged 10 hours last night :-( 6.20 until 4.30.. oh well, and here's me thinking I was on 5.45am get ups now ;-)

No this schedule doesn't work for me - i want to lie in bed until 6am so I thought we'll get this routine established with the one nap and the set bedtime and then we'll start gradually trying to move it all so that it's an afternoon nap and a later bedtime.  When he woke up at 4.30 he was desperate to go back to sleep but just couldn't for some reason.. maybe teeth. 

Anyway, there's definately an improvement.


Offline imsmum

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Re: 14 month old sleep troubles - help required
« Reply #31 on: June 16, 2006, 14:46:42 pm »
When a bunch of us were going through this a while back someone posted that the early wakeup was actually as a result of them having trouble transitioning from the lighter sleep that occurs in the second half of the night to a deeper sleep which can occur for about an hour before wakeup time.  When my dd transitioned we were stuck on a 7:30 to 5:30 night sleep and a 1.5 hour nap at 12:30 for a long time so you may find that he's in a similar pattern for a while. 

To get a workable schedule during this transition we worked backwards.  We figured out that Margot needed tp be asleep 5.5 hours after waking from her nap or she would wake in the night or get up super early.  Her typical nap was 1.5 hours.  We would have loved an 8-6 night but it was too late for her so we had to settled for 7:30-5:30.  Working backward from her bedtime, she would need to wake from her nap by 2 so that meant a 12:30 nap.  So if you are 10:30 nap 6:30 bedtime just shift both bed and naptime forward in 15 minute increments until you hit a 7:30 bedtime and a nap around noon.