Hi Fellow Moms. My 18 month old has never been a good napper. He has had chronic colds since he has been 6 months old. I have had him tested, etc. Everything is fine. I believe his immune system is weak because he is not sleeping enough. I have read "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." but he does not discuss this. My 18 month old will wake up after 1 hour or 1 hour and 10 minutes of sleep. When he was younger and his 3 year old sister was still taking a nap, I would run in there and nurse him back to sleep. I did not want him to wake up his sister. Now his sister is not napping. For example today he woke up after 1 hour. I let him cry. He cried for 3-4 minutes and went back to sleep for another 15 minutes. Then he woke up screaming and I did not think he was going to go back to sleep. So I went in to his room and nursed him for 15 minutes and then he was up. He is still tired. At night he sleeps from 6:45 pm-6 am. That is 11 1/4 hours which is right on from my reading. I wish he would sleep longer in the morning, but he doesn't. I have tried to put him to bed later and he still gets up around 6 am. How do I sleep train my son to take longer naps?
Actually, if you want him to sleep later in to the morning, HSH,HC says you should put them to bed earlier rather than later. I've seen this work. I've also seen my son take longer naps when I put him down for a nap earlier - even just by 15 minutes.
How does he fall asleep for naps? If he isn't falling asleep on his own, that's probably why he isn't napping long enough.
I know there are recommendations for how many hours of sleep kids should get, but mine never slept that many. Mine simply did not need that much sleep. They would either sleep for 8-9 hours at night and take a 3 hour nap or sleep 11-12 hours at night with a 1 hour nap. I did my best to follow their cues and to create a sleep friendly environment, but I concluded that they were getting the sleep they needed.
What time is his nap? Maybe moving the nap earlier by an hour would result in more sleep?
i dont think hes getting sick from lack of asleep. mine slept less than that and had her first cold at almost 3 years old. Hes not lacking much sleep really. I would look into dairy and wheat as potential issues for him. good luck ) and great job still nursing him! who knows how much sicker hed be without that!!!)
Put him to bed later anyways. Try 8:00 to 8:30., or when he starts to show signs of tiredness.. It may take him awhile to adjust, but he may come around and eventually get another hour of sleep in the morning, or take a short morning nap. The typical amount of sleep a child his age need is between 10-13 hours, so he is in a healthy sleep range, as noted here:
http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sleep/sleep.html#
Here are some good sleep tips that may help with the nap:
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/T070100.asp
I have never heard of a weak immune system=poor naps. I know sleep is important for building healthy white blood cells that strengthen the immune system. There would be other signs though if this is the case, not just not wanting to nap, so here's some info on it:
http://www.suite101.com/content/signs-of-a-weak-immune-sy...
My kids grew out of naps around this age as well.
I have the same problem. Short naps are mentioned VERY briefly in the Weissbluth book. All he says is that eventually most children grow into longer nappers as long as they are getting to bed early enough but a few don't ever develop into long nappers. Unfortunately he really doesn't offer any solutions. He even mentioned how mothers with first children who did take long naps would be wondering where their break that they rememberd getting with is. My son is now 26 months old and still naps for 40 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes. I can totally see a difference in behavior etc on the days when he takes a short nap but I don't really think there is anything to be done. I have battled it for 2 years now and haven't found a solution other than to remind myself that the book said some kids just aren't long nappers and try my best to give him the best opportunity to nap. After that it's up to him. I could never get him back to sleep even when he was younger so we have had 45 minute naps his whole life. Hang in there! Eventually they get better able to handle themselves on that amount of sleep during the day.
That's an awesome night's sleep. I'm jealous. My 17 month old sleeps frm about 7:30pm-6am. Her nap is midday is anywhere from 45min-2 hours. If your child seems comfortable, happy and healthy, then perhaps his sleep is fine. It sort of sounds fine to me. Maybe check in with your pediatrician if you're unsure
I have a 23 month old...she sleeps from 8 or 9 pm until about the same in the am. She also takes on average a two hour nap around 1 pm. I agree that sleep has a lot to deal with the immune system. My dd rarely gets colds and if she does, they are mild.
Here is what I do...I make sure she doesn't go to sleep on an empty stomach. Even a snack of cheerios with some warm milk seems to work.
I also follow the same routine for bedtime.
It also helps to have some sort of white noise generator in their room...fan, vaporizer, etc.
There are also aromatherapy options. For a while, I was using a sleep spray that contained chamomile and lavender on her bedding (during her teething stage).
Maybe some kind of activity in the morning that would wear them out for a nap? Sometimes, I change up my dd's bath time for her nap. I use lavender bath wash which calms her down.
Hope these ideas help...good luck.
If he is waking at 6 he is ready for another nap by 11:30 at the latest. So move your lunch up or give him a second nap. I know that the sleep charts have been rewritten because 10 yrs ago they said that a child under 2 still needed 15 hours of sleep.
In my experience kids really need 2 naps until they are almost 2 1/2 if they are getting up at 6 (unless the parents are putting them down for the night at 6 pm, which um, really is not being done by parents of kids in daycares)
I bet if you get him down earlier you will have a longer nap from him.
Also make sure the room is REALLY dark - I use black felt (2 layers) to do this. Put a strip of the scratchy part of velcro on the window frame and buy felt that is 12 inches longer and wider then the window, hang it by pushing it onto the velcro. Now put on music on continuous play and I bet your will be surprised at the nap increasing.
IF NOT then you may have to be stern and NOT get him up until 2 full hours have passed. It may take a week of that but he will adjust to a longer time.
PLEASE do not listen to anyone who says some kids need less sleep. You know that isn't true. I have seen it multiple times, I can tell which kids are sleep deprived because they aren't getting their 12 hours at night, or aren't napping on the weekends. I can even tell with my daughters (11 and 8 yrs old) which of their friends are getting less sleep. It makes a difference all the way till they are adults. You need sleep to think, to process language and to be healthy.
I would leave him in the crib uninterrupted for 2 hours during naptime, regardless of what he is doing. My daughter is 15 months and I have the 2 hour min naptime/rest-time rule. He may fall back asleep, play, or cry. At least he will begin to learn that you won't be running in to nurse him when he wakes up.
Good luck! I know this can be frustrating.
