Is my 2yr old telling me he is ready to drop his nap??

[* Paula *]

Hello ladies,

I am wondering what my 2 yr old is trying to tell me.

He goes to bed at 7:30 and listens to his CD and used to be asleep by 7:45 - 8:00pm the latest.  Now things have changed. 

When he naps in nursery or even at home now, he will not fall asleep until after 9:00pm - which is just way to late for him.

He has started waking a bit later due to the late night, but it seems to be a reoccuring things.  I dread him actually napping in nursery now.

Last Friday we were out on a nursery trip so he missed his afternoon nap - he got a bit grumpy at around 12 (usual nap time), but am not sure if that was cause he was tired or cause he could not get his own way. 

When we left he fell asleep in the car just before 3 - minutes before we pulled up at MIL's house.  I picked him up without waking him and tried to put him to bed, but he woke up almost immediately.  He was completely refreshed after only having his eyes closed for about 5 minutes, and was happy for the rest of the day.

We put him to bed at 7:30 and he was asleep within 15 minutes, and slept until nearly 8:30 the next morning.

Do you think this was just a one off?  We are going to try this again tomorrow, as it is his birthday and are taking him to the zoo for the day!

Or do you think he is telling me he is ready to drop his nap?

Thanks for your input.

Paula x

[* Paula *]

That does make sense.

Perhaps I should try and limit his naps to around 1 hour and see how it goes.

Thanks Stacy.

[mum101]

I am in a similar situation, though DD is more difficult for day sleep.  99% of the time, she will drop off easily at night regardless of day's activities.

She is getting about 10-11 hours at night.  I think I will try the 1 hour nap during the day.

My personal feeling is a) I'd want to be sure she is well refreshed for the arvo even with a shorter nap as I'd hate that feeling of running on empty and feel she won't enjoy/learn all she wants if running on empty b) i need that break

It will be interesting to see how the change from 1 nap to none will go.   

[* Paula *]

Well today he did not have a nap - it was his birthday so we were out all day.

He fell asleep on the way home in the car for about 10 minutes, as soon as we got home, he opened his eyes and was raring to go.

He went to bed without any problems tonight. 

So i am really not sure what to do 

[andibig]

sasha can be very similar but i don't think she is ready to cut her daytime nap (ok neither are we ).although if we are going out for the day then she can happily miss her nap.
we have found that her nap can't be any longer than 1.5hrs for her to fall asleep at a reasonable bedtime and get 11 hrs at night.
I think its more of an age thing once they get past 2yrs old.If she was fighting her nap or it was moving later and later in the day then i'd drop her nap but we found she just needed the time limited.
Andrea

[* Paula *]

Believe me I hear what you are saying.  I personally am not ready to drop his nap at all.  Only did it today cause it was his birthday and we were out for the day - cannot force him to nap in a pram.

I am just unsure how to limit his naps i.e. the length, when he will sometimes only nap for an hour in nursery, and still only fall asleep at 9pm.

Am I putting him to bed to early?  Should I consider putting him down at 8?

I am really confused, as he used to be the perfect sleeper.

[* Paula *]

Well nap times we really do not want to mess with, as he is on a nursery routine, and seems to like it pretty much.  They put them down at 12:00, and he is usually asleep by 12:20.

Wake up time all depends really on the time that he acutally fell asleep.  When he was falling asleep at 7:45 - 8:00, he was waking at around 7:30ish.

Now with him going to sleep later he tends to wake up at around 8:00 - 8:30.

But if he falls asleep any later than 9:00pm - we have a early riser on our hands - and he will probably wake anywhere between 5:30  6:30ish.  If he wakes at about 5:30, i can usually settle him back to sleep, and he will probably wake again at around 6:45.

Any thoughts??

[* Paula *]

Sounds like a plan.  Will give it a try tomorrow and see how he goes.

Thanks Stacy.

[* Paula *]

Update......

Thomas had a good nap in nursery (DP forgot to ask them to limit it), anyway, he napped for an hour and 35 minutes.  He was showing tired signs at about 6pm - he is teething so is a bit grumpy today.  Anyway after some teething gel he perked up, and I managed to keep him awake unti 8pm without getting overtired.

He was in bed for 8 and was pretty quiet almost immediately.  It took him 1/2 an hour to get to sleep - so that is much better than the past couple of days.

Do you think 8pm bed, 8:30pm asleep is an acceptable time to go to sleep for a 2 year old?

[* Paula *]

This morning we had about a 7:40ish wake up which was fantastic.

Today, he was a little off schedule as we went shopping.  Went down for a nap at 12:45 and fell asleep immeditely.  He slept for just short of 2 hours.

He is currently singing in his bed right now, so thing he might go to sleep a little later.  I don't mind though as I let him sleep longer today as I really needed to rest.

Will kee you posted.

[* Paula *]

Well the big nap yesterday definitely made things bad for us  He only fell asleep at 9:45pm and was awake this morning before 7am 

Today was his birthday party, so we let him have a long nap (again 2 hours but he was tired from the early morning).  He seemed to need it, and was in a good mood for his party. 

We had a melt down at bed time, but think that was a combination of being so overwhlemed by his party and a bit too much sugar. 

Anyway, he was in bed by 7:45 and was asleep before 8:00pm 

Fingers crossed he does not wake too early tomorrow.

[* Paula *]

Thanks for the birthday wishes Stacy.

I was thinking that too.  You may be right.  I defo think that if he sleeps any later than 2pm everything goes haywire.

Will see how our routine goes when he is back in nursery next week.  He tends to nap shorter there as if he wakes up, they don't let him resettle, they will get him up and move him so he does not disturb the others. 

Will keep you posted.

Thanks for the support 

[* Paula *]

I had to wake him up this morning at 8:00am - he was still fast asleep    Must have been due to all the excitment at the party.

He only napped for an hour in nursery from 1:00-2:00, and I put him down at 7:55pm this evening, so will see how it goes.  He is very quiet, so guess he will be alseep soon - It is now 20:08 - fingers crossed.


Update...... Just checked on DS now (20:13) and he is flat out.  I think this could be working - lets see what time he wakes in the morning.

[* Paula *]

I think you have hit the nail right on the head Stacy.

Thomas slept until 7:15 this morning without waking, and settled really well last night.

Today he napped for longer from 12:15 - 1:40, and was still fast asleep by 8:15 this evening.

Will keep you posted throughout the week.

Thanks again for all your help 

[* Paula *]

Well I definitely think we have settled into a new routine.

We go upstairs at 7:50, brush teeth, tuck teddy and barney into bed, put shoes on, tuck into bed, put radio on, and I leave the room.  He sings and chats for a few minutes, and is asleep by 8:15.

Thanks again for your support Stacy.

Paula x