Does Your 2 yr old sleep LESS than 12 hours a day??? Support Here!

[mattandcindy]

Hi!
Abigail will be 2 next week. She sleeps 10.5 hrs at night (11 if I am LUCKY!) and sleeps anywhere from 1-1.5 hrs at naptime. Her total sleep for a 24 hr period is less than 12 hours usually.
She usually wakes happy, therefore I think this is just the amount of sleep she needs.
But.....It is very tiring having a toddler awake for so much of the day!
Our day started today at 5:55am (Actually it started at 5am as ds is sick right now!)

Anyway, anyone else have a toddler who just doesn't sleep much?
Can we all share stories and help keep each other sane?

[kiersten's mom]

Hi
my dd is exactly the same and she will be two on sunday.. I feel what you are saying, I am totally exhausted by the end of the day and it really is hard to keep her occupied all day long.. she is an only child so when we are not at play groups/ classes I am her best friend.

I went to the bw activity board and got some toddler activity ideas and try to do a couple each day.  I really found those helpful and it leaves me from trying to decide what to do next.

Hugs to you I am right there with you.. Coffee has become my new best friend!

[Layla]

I'm in! My dd will only do 10.5 hrs at night (I've had to push her bedtime to 7pm, asleep by 7.20) and is wide awake at 6am. She will occasionally take a 2hr nap but 6/7 days its 1.5 hrs. I am also pulling my hair out. I really can't go out for long because the baby takes her morning nap at 9-10.30am so that leaves me 1-1.5hr window to take the girls out to the park. Then we come back in time for toddler to eat and go to sleep. The baby is still awake for another hour and by the time the baby goes down to nap, 1/2hr later the toddler is awake. We then have to wait for the baby to wake up from her nap and we have another 2hrs or so before dinner and bedtime routine. The baby's bedtime is 6ish so I more or less have to be home by 5pm.

Mind you all the times that the baby is asleep I am trying to keep the toddler quiet and that is just sooo hard.

I cannot wait for the baby to go down to 1 nap (but knowing my luck by that time the toddler will outgrow naps altogether  ).

Layla

[mattandcindy]

Yeah! Okay, I am not happy that your lo's are not sleeping but I am glad there are other's in my boat!!!!!

Layla-I am EXACTLY in the same boat! Sam takes a nap from 9-11:15 and then Abigail eats about 11:30 and they are both down by 1pm. Then Sam sleeps until 3:15 and goes back down at 4:30! So unless I am willing to ruin one of Sam's naps than we don't go out ever! I am blessed with a great sleeper in Sam but it is almost a curse because he sleeps ALOT and therefore we can't go out!!!! I totally feel your pain. And I think the same thing, "Oh my gosh-Once Sam goes down to two naps Abigail isn't going to be napping anymore!"

Kiersten's Mom-Welcome. I too am now a caffeine addict!!!! What time does your lo get up in the morning???


We are going to Laguna Beach on Sunday. We will all be sleeping in the same room so I guess we will all start our day at 6am! Ugh!

[Mum to cool dude]

Last night, DS was asleep by 9.15 pm and he was up this morning at 6.15 am. I told the staff at nursery to let him nap longer than their allowed 2 hours in the hope that he's not overtired at bedtime and can fall asleep without struggle.

Oh yes, the days are long and I need the nap more than he does !

[imsmum]

My dd who is 28 months has ALWAYS slept at least an hour less than "average" if not more.  Before she turned 2 she would do a 10 hour night and 2 hour nap but lately it's down to 11.5 hours, in any combination ranging from no nap and an 11.5 hour night to a 2 hour nap, 9.5 hour night sleep.

Although Margot usually falls asleep between 8 and 8:30 and is up around 6:30 I keep my sanity by putting her in her crib no later than 7:45 and not getting her until as close to 7 am as I can push it.  Her older sister who is 6 has always needed more than the average sleep and still sleeps at least 11 hours at night--I figure that once Margot drops her nap the girls will likely be on the same schedule although my older dd is 3.5 years older!!

Until then we are as quiet as a crypt during Margot's nap and sleep times, since I swear she wakes if someone sneezes 3 houses over!  I hate making the rest of the family be so quiet, I feel like a big meany, but Margot slips into overtiredness so easily that I feel like I will do anything to protect what little sleep she does get, including being up half the night to poke dh whenever he snores too loudly!  I'm looking forward to the days when sleep isn't such an obsession.

[mattandcindy]

Hi Sophie and Imsmum. Welcome!!!

I know what you mean about being quiet. This morning dh got up at 5:40 to get ready for work. He stepped on the floor and it squeaked and thus Abigail was awake for the morning. (Two rooms over with all the doors shut!)
Has anyone tried a white noise machine? I am getting desperate as 5:40am is TOO early. So she did 10 hr night and I know she won't do more than a 1.5 hr nap....

[PeepersMom]

PJ is 18months and I fear we are in the same boat.  He sleep more then your lo's but I betcha by 2 he'll be on 10.5 hour night and 1.5 hour nap.  He does that now on some days.  Other days he sleeps 12 at night and 2 hours nap - go figure.  But the days are so long and uncertain!

But like imsmum I put PJ down at bedtime 7-7:15 and some nights he is asleep and some nights he is up until 830, also I never get him out of the crib before 7 am.  He is still sleeping pretty close to 7 am, but even if he was up for the day at 5:40 I would leave him in the crib until 7.  He seems to know that, too. 

Nap time I put him down at 12-12:30 and i try very hard to leave him in the crib 2 hours if he is up before the 2 hour point.  That is much harder to do as he seems to be a kiddo that wakes from his nap cranky.  No matter how much or little sleep he gets at nap he usually wakes up at least a little grumpy and sometimes screaming bloody murder and always needs lots of cuddles when he wakes up, so pushing him to 2 hours in the crib if he only slept 1h20min is usually hard.

Anyway, that is what we do now.

Meg

[kim&savannah]

We also have a very active, not so sleepy girl   Although I have to say that she's actually been sleeping more at night the last few months--sometimes 12 or 13 hours (of course, that's because she now only takes a nap a couple times a week if we're lucky), so maybe some of your LO's will grow into that as well--we used to be awake between 5 and 6 pretty much every day, but now get up around 7/7:30 most days.

I agree that it is totally exhausting to just not get a break--so many days I'm counting down until we can get her into bed just so I won't have to listen to the constant talking--even during "nap" time, I can't get her to be quiet--she stays in her room, which I'm grateful for, but she's singing at the top of her lungs most of the time and our house isn't all that big so there's not place to escape her!

But at the same time, I do love her energy! 

~Kim

[Carys' mom]

My dd is the same. She will be 2 this week, and always wakes somewhere between 5am and 5:45am. We put her down at 7:30pm, so she usually only gets 10 hours or less sleep at night. She almost never wakes up "happy" - she cries out for either dh or me and wants to go downstairs immediately. Her naps aren't great either usually. Often she'll wake at an hour and 10 min. or so, and won't go back to sleep in her crib, so I bring her down in the rocking chair, and she sometimes will go to sleep in my lap for another hour! She's a spirited little girl, and has lots of energy during the day. I just wish she would sleep!!! I've got another one on the way, and I don't know how I'm going to handle it .

[mattandcindy]

Hey Melanie-HUGS to you. You must be feeling exhausted these days being only 12 weeks pregnant. I remember the sheer exhaustion I felt in the first trimester. It does get better-I promise! And you will figure it all out with having two. My saving grace is that my ds LOVES to sleep so I am only only dealing with one non sleeper!

Kim-Sounds like our girls are the same. Sometimes I just want Abigail to STOP talking for 5 minutes. I swear the girl doesn't stop for a breath all day long!

Meg-Abigail wakes up grumpy alot too. And if that is the case I have to go up there immediately or she escalates to the point where I can't calm her down. Isn't it a bummer??

We have an alarm clock in Abigail's room with the minutes covered with a sticky. We put the number 7 on it and told her she couldn't get up until the numbers matched. So for the last week every morning no matter what time she wakes I don't go get her until 7 am. Most mornings I don't have to go in before 7 but she has a cold now so sometimes I have to go in and give her a tissue and sing one song...

[Alison_3]

Right there with all of you.  On a good day Ben sleeps 10 hours at night and a one hour nap.  He's an early riser.  We've played around with his bedtime, but nothing really seems to work.  Last night he was asleep at 8:00 and woke at 6:20.  That might have been the best night of sleep he had EVER!  It snowed here yesterday and he was outside playing so I think he was exhausted.  (also took a 45 minute nap yesterday!!)  I can't wait for warmer weather so he can burn some energy outside.  I think that is part of the problem. 

What time do you have your active 2 year old take a nap?  The reason I ask is because sometimes Ben gets up at 5:00 a.m. and other days 6:00 and anywhere in-between.  Today he napped at 12:50, but when he wakes at 5:00 a.m. he can't make it that long.  I just  can't figure him out! 

He does need more sleep because he is miserable when he gets up from a short nap.  I'm exhausted too because I have a six week old!  I did get Ben back to going to sleep on his own so I thought that would help him sleep longer, but no luck!

It is nice to know I'm certainly not alone.  My mother keeps reminding me that one day I will have to drag him out of bed.  Right now I don't ever see that day happening!

[imsmum]

Alison

One thing I do with Margot that seems to work for her is on the days that she has had NW's or an early wake up I put her down for her nap about 20-30 minutes early and then put her down for bed about an hour early.  Sometimes the nap is a bit short but I found that if I try to push her to her regular time she may or may not nap great but in either case it prevents her from going down early to bed that night which is what she really needs to catch up on sleep--nap time doesn't do that for her anymore, it just keeps her going during the day. Not sure if that would help with Ben but it sounds like you should stick with that 8 pm bedtime!

[mattandcindy]

Alison-HUGS to you. It is hard with the two so young and one that doesn't like to sleep!
I put Abigail down for her nap at 12ish. I used to do 1pm but she was taking 45 minute naps and
the only thing I could figure out was that she was overtired. Now I feed her lunch at 11am (which
seems freakishly early to me) and I put her down anywhere between 12-12:30. But I must admit
I play around with it some depending on what time my ds (5 months old) is going down. If they
don't go down together and I don't get a break then the day seems awful.
And Abigail wakes up at 6am most mornings and goes down at 7:30pm.

[lilmonkey]

Can I join?  Dd has always required less sleep than the average for her age.  Her night time sleep is roughly about 10 - 10.5 hrs long depending on her nap.  It is so funny as I used to PRAY that dd would consolidate the naps into one so we could do things outside of the house.  Now, I'm praying that dd would nap more often or at least go to bed earlier or sleep in later just so I can take a break or clean the house of her toys!  It's also hard now being pregnant as I can't seem to get enough energy to play with her.  I can't imagine what her naps would be like when the baby is here.