My 15 month old daughter has been a very good sleeper since she was 5 months old when we followed the Weissbluth sleep method. She goes to bed at 7:00pm and usually wakes up around 6:30am. Her naps have typically been 8:30-10:00am and 1:30-3:00pm. Recently she has been waking up at 6:00am and is not her happy little self. I can tell she is tired still so after having breakfast and playing for a while, I put her back to bed by 8:00am. She will sleep for about 45min to an hour and when she wakes up, she is happy again. I have continued to put her back down around 1:00pm and she will sleep for about 2 hours in the afternoon. My question is, isn't she supposed to be dropping to one nap in the next couple of months and if so, why is she so grumpy in the morning? I think if I try to stretch her a little bit at a time like the Weissbluth book says, she would be really grumpy. Any advice is welcomed and appreciated.
Thank you!
Hi,
I have a daughter who is around the same age and has a similar sleep pattern. I wonder if your daughter has gotten her 12 months molars? If she is getting her molars that could be causing her to be grumpy. My daughter went through something similar to this and it lasted about a week. I'd check your daughter's mouth to see if her gums are swollen. Good luck and hag in there.
Do try pushing that am nap back a bit, maybe to 9am. This may help her to sleep a little later in the morning and maybe wake up happier. It might take a few days to adjust to the new schedule but it should work. I found this worked with my 2nd daughter. Good luck.
Our daughter is 16 months and we have had our share of issues trying to figure out if she needs 1 or 2 naps and I have read and re-read Weissbluth's book multiple times. Just this week I tested the 2 nap thing and her first nap was from 9-11 and for the next nap I put her in bed at 3 and she fell asleep at 4:45! I then woke her at 5 to eat dinner--the whole thing totally backfired!
Whe she wakes at 6:30am is she happy? She might put herself back to sleep if you don;t go to her right away.
Have you tried putting her to bed earlier then 7pm? Supposedly by getting more sleep at the front end helps get rid of the a.m. nap.
Another thing to try is start moving the a.m nap later and later by 15 minute increments until you are at an 11am lunch and 11:30 naptime with the goal being a 12:30ish naptime. I have found that getting out of the house by 9am and keeping busy seems to help. Not sure where you live, but Kohl's museum has been our regular hang-out!
Another thought is, your daughter might be getting too much daytime sleep and it could be effecting her nighttime sleep therefore she wakes up cranky in the morning.
Unfortunately it's all trial and error!
I second the molar theory. My 15-month old (almost 16 months now) was all messed up and I couldn't figure out why. Then my husband noticed one morning while feeding him breakfast that one of his molars was coming in. It was tough to see unless he had his mouth wide open and there was good light. Sure enough, the gums were red, swollen and you could see the little white points. I don't think the other ones are coming in yet but I expect his sleep to be screwed up whenever they do. I too thought the one nap transition was already upon us but there's no way -- he gets TOO cranky (and wobbly and squealy) to go more than three and a half hours without napping. Good Luck!
Hi M.- I am a SAHM of 4 and although I haven't followed any sleep book am blessed with wonderful sleepers. I was wondering if possibly your daughter may need to sleep in later in the morning and drop that am nap. Maybe if you give her some "fussy time" in her crib she may put herself back to sleep and wake up happy closer to 7/8 ish and then move to one nap at 12/1pm. Just an idea/. I have always thought if my child woke a little earlier than normal- but happy- to go with the flow but if they were cranky they may need more sleep.
Best of Luck with her schedule and know she will even out eventually!
Beth
My advise is....
Books are there for advise they are not rule books.
Listen to your gut and your child's actions.
Your child will let you know when she is ready for the transcition from 1 nap to 2.
K.
