Ok I feel like I am always asking this question but if someone has some advice on this issue I would be greatly appreciative. My 19 month old stopped taking his AM nap when he turned 16 months. It was brutal! He goes to bed at the same time which is 7:30pm. He then takes his nap at 1 and only sleeps for an hour. Lately (the past 2 weeks) he is now waking up at 5:30am. I feel he is very sleep deprived and isn't getting proper sleep. He is now sick and blame it on low immune system due to not enough sleep. I reference all the time to Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child but there isn't a lot of help for toddlers. So I am thinking of moving his bedtime up to 7:00 and see if that helps his deprivation. However, I have a strong feeling he will be up even earlier. Any thoughts?
Thank you all for your responses. It was exactly what I was thinking of doing so this past week he is going down half hour earlier at night (7:00pm) and sleeps until 6:45am. I really want this to increase until 7-7:30 but may never happen. I am also putting him down earlier for his nap around 12ish. He only sleeps 1.5 hours but again I want this to increase. So I am going to keep this up and will hope for a change in his sleeping pattern within a few more weeks. Thanks again!
If you are able to put him to bed earlier, go for it. In my household, not so easy. I understand that what I do is not the best solution, but when my son wakes at any time from 5-6:15, I give him a sippy cup with milk (soy). He drinks the milk and goes back to sleep until @ 7:30-8:00. This is the only time he uses the sippy cup.
Hello TB,
My daughter also stopped taking two naps at 15 or 16 months. She use to go to bed at 7:30 also. Once she switched to the one nap I play it more by ear. If she took a short nap, I put her to bed earlier. If she took a 3 1/2 hour nap (which she actually did last Sunday, it was so nice) she goes to bed around 7:30. I'm not sure if it's good for her to switch it up, but I find night times are a lot easier, when I put her to bed when she's tired. On the nights she goes to bed early, it's around 6:30. I really don't like putting her to bed that early, since I get off work at 4, but I try to remember to do what's best for her.
Best of luck!
C.
PS. She wakes up between 7:30 and 8:00 every morning. If she does wake up before that, it's between 12 and 3, not normally after that.
I would move his bedtime to 6:30pm and maybe make is nap 30 mins earlier. Give it 1-2 weeks for him to readjust. The reason he has started waking up at 5:30am is because of too late a bedtime.As Dr. Weissbluth says, "Sleep begets sleep" and I have always found that to be true. I am referencing his book right now and in the 13-36 months section he clearly states that when the transition from two naps to one nap occurs, move the bedtime earlier. That is what I did and after a few weeks, things smoothed out. If he wakes too early, ignore him until the normal wake up time. (by 7am at the latest) He should be sleeping about 12 hours at night at this point. Give it time and be consistent, this too shall pass. As to being sick, my daughter was in daycare for the first 2 yrs of her life but was rarely sick. I know it is because she is getting the correct amount of age appropriate sleep. She is now 3 yrs old and doesn't nap anymore, just quiet time, but sleeps from 6:30-7pm until 6-7am every night. Good luck and be patient.
Sincerely,
L.
try an earlier nap time and earlier bedtime. good luck.
Just cause he goes to bed earlier doesn't necessarily mean he'll be up earlier (I appreciate your worry, though-- you need your sleep even more than he does his!). We started putting our 2 y.o. to bed earlier when big brother started kindergarten, since big brother had to go to bed earlier-- no change in baby's waking time. If anything, he sleeps later.
Hi TB,
You are not alone. They say 1 out of 3 children are sleep deprived. I put my granddaughter on the magnetic sleep products at 2 days old and she sleeps great. She is 7 now.
If you want to check out www.nikken.com/ninamarie you will learn more.
If you have any questions please feel free to ask.
Have a great day.
N. Marie
It does sound like he's not getting enough rest. I think your instincts are right, bump his bedtime to 7 and try to stop going in to get him at 5:30. My daughter was an early riser too and a certain point I just had to stop going in to get her. I set 6:00 am as the earliest I would go in, so if it was a 1/2 hour of crying, that's what it was. She's 2.5 now and we're finally up to 7:00. It didn't take long for her to adjust and gradually she stretched out her wake up time. I also wouldn't rush in for naps when he wakes up, give him 10 minutes, maybe he'll go back down. I know it's a struggle, but the little guy needs to get himself back to sleep. Hang in there.
i echo catherine, i do the same thing..depending on how long his nap is depends on bedtime. i often put my son down at 630 which doesn't always mean an earlier rise time. sometimes a later rise time...sleep begets sleep as we all know! good luck!
I think it is a good idea to move his bedtime earlier. The books say it can actually make him sleep longer (you wouldn't think so), but it works for our baby. Their circadian rhythm is set to wake at a certain time usually - if he is waking earlier it could be teething or on the verge of a new skill - talking more, say, or just excited about life. I hear this from moms with boys a lot. It may just be a phase that will pass.
Don't forget we had the time change about 2 weeks ago! This could also be part of the early awakening. i would put him to bed between 6:30 and 7:00 and since he stopped his morning nap he should probably go down for the afternoon nap between 12:00-12:30. My 16 month old is tired by noon usually and will sleep for over 2 hours. He goes to bed at 7 and sleeps till 6:30-7:00am. So try earlier bedtime and earlier nap! Good luck! It may just take some time since the time change.
I was where you were when my daughter was a little younger. Now she sleeps 630p-700a and naps from 1130a-200p. I would suggest putting your baby down for an earlier nap and an earlier bed time, it really worked for us.
Hi, TB! My daughter is just the same. . . 16 months old. She goes to bed at 7:30 and is up at 5:30. A 1.5 hour nap around 11am, sometimes only 1 hour. Remember when we hear the AVERAGE sleep for a toddler is 13-14 hours in a 24 hour period, that means some kids get more and SOME GET LESS! That is why it is an average.
I have come to terms with the fact that my daughter (and son,now 4.5 same thing, never a big sleeper!!) just need less sleep. They are happy, alert, and not grumpy, and definitely sleep less than the average. Oh, well.
I was the advisor for Gifted kids at my former job. One sign of giftedness at an early age, is the child needs less sleep than their peers. So, on the up side, maybe that is why your child is not sleeping a lot. He is gifted! Yay!
H.
You're right, he's probably sleep deprived. Your idea of putting him to bed a little earlier is a good one. It's counter intuitive, but it usually works. You may also try putting him down for a nap a little earlier to see if that helps with his nap length.
