Need sleep advice for my almost 2 year old - Long but if anyone has advice i coulduse it.

DS has always slept 11-12 hours (in the last 6mos at least) at night and then napped about 1.5 hours in the afternoon - I always put him down about 4-5 hours after he woke up for his nap and then 5-6 hours to bed after he woke up from his nap. Sure we had bad nights and bad naps but mostly good.

For the past month or so he has been sometimes skipping napping when he sleeps over 11 hours during the night - and it was fine and not screwing with his nightime sleep but, not anymore.

For the past two weeks he hardly naps at all - i'm talking one nap per week - but, he is NOT sleeping through the night either - he hardly naps - then when we put him to sleep for the night - he wakes up about 5 hours later and sometimes multipe times. Most of the time I end up going in and he just wants to go downstairs and play, drink milk or watch tv - there is NOTHING wrong with him - this happens even when he is SEVERELY sleep deprived!

Here is the kicker too - one would think that when he skips his nap he would go to bed earlier- well NO - this is what is causing the problem - if we put him to sleep to early he is waking up for sure. Sometimes it was working the later the better but, even that isn't working these days.

I'm so tired (i am pg with #2) and we are going to bed late and waking up during the night for over an hour or more sometimes so DH is hardly getting any sleep either since he wakes up at 6am and i am up multiple nights a weekk in the middle of the night.

I have tried EVERYTHING - tired waking him up early in the morning even when he wakes up in the middle of the night to not throw off the schedule - tried letting him sleep until he wakes up - tried tiring him out like crazy. I just don't know what to do.

His schedule was bed b/w 10 and 10:30 and waking up around the same time...

If you have made it this far thank you
I am sitting here ready togo pick him up after he has just played in his crib for 1.5 hrs rather than napping

ETA: he is also clearly tired - he tells me multiple times before the nap he doesn't take and before bed how tired he is - that it is nap or sleepy time and that he wants to go to bed now. However, as soon as he gets into his crib for nap time all he does is talk, play and sing and run around in his crib.

Message edited 8/2/2009 3:32:34 PM.

Re: Need sleep advice for my almost 2 year old - Long but if anyone has advice i coulduse it.

Ladies I am bumping in case anyone can help on this rainy day.

Things are getting worse here. DS hasn't napped all week and last night he was up for over 4 hours in the middle of the night AND STILL he is not napping today even though he is telling me repeatedly all day how tired he is!

Thank you in advance if anyone has any ideas

Re: Need sleep advice for my almost 2 year old - Long but if anyone has advice i coulduse it.

What happens when you go in there?

He is old enough that you may have to CIO and leave him in the room when he wakes up during the night. Yes, he is awake and wants to play, but he is old enough that he knows you will come in and let him play if he cries/makes noise, etc.

I'd also try to get him down earlier. My DS goes to bed on the later side (9.30pm) on the nights that my DH works, but he definitly COULD (and does) go to bed earlier on the nights he is off (at least an hour).

As for naps, maybe he is phasing them out? Maybe if he goes to bed earlier and then gets up earlier he will nap again?

HTH

Re: Need sleep advice for my almost 2 year old - Long but if anyone has advice i coulduse it.

Neither of my kids nap anymore (2 1/2 and 3 1/2). When they were transitioning to their no nap schedule, they were having wacky nights as well.

I would try maybe CIO in the middle of the night, but I've never been good at that. For my kids, it was just a matter of a different routine and took a few weeks for them to "regulate".

Re: Need sleep advice for my almost 2 year old - Long but if anyone has advice i coulduse it.

Posted by KateDevine

What happens when you go in there?

He is old enough that you may have to CIO and leave him in the room when he wakes up during the night. Yes, he is awake and wants to play, but he is old enough that he knows you will come in and let him play if he cries/makes noise, etc.

I'd also try to get him down earlier. My DS goes to bed on the later side (9.30pm) on the nights that my DH works, but he definitly COULD (and does) go to bed earlier on the nights he is off (at least an hour).

As for naps, maybe he is phasing them out? Maybe if he goes to bed earlier and then gets up earlier he will nap again?

HTH

Re: Need sleep advice for my almost 2 year old - Long but if anyone has advice i coulduse it.

Message edited 8/2/2009 6:28:02 PM.

Re: Need sleep advice for my almost 2 year old - Long but if anyone has advice i coulduse it.

Posted by itsbabytime

Posted by Michelle1123

Neither of my kids nap anymore (2 1/2 and 3 1/2). When they were transitioning to their no nap schedule, they were having wacky nights as well.

I would try maybe CIO in the middle of the night, but I've never been good at that. For my kids, it was just a matter of a different routine and took a few weeks for them to "regulate".

When did they stop napping - how old were they? And, when they did how did it change their routine overall? Did you change up the eating schedule too? Thank you... I'm at such a loss here! Also, how do you get anything done during the day if they are always around?

I'm starting to think this is what it is. This kid has never been a great sleeper so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that he would give up naps b/f 2