So my daughter has always had a problem sleeping. We finally found a answer for her other problems (she was diagnosed with inherited Nephrogenic Diabetes Insipidus. That is a rare kidney disease that makes her constantly thirsty and urinate all the time. Her kidneys do not retain water basically). Iam thinking about changing her nap time. Right now she wakes up around 7am and for nap sleeps from 1-3pm and goes down around 830p. m. My husband thinks she should go down for less but I was always told not to wake a sleeping baby. And when she is up all night drinking liquids because of her NDI, I want her to sleep so she can grow. Any advice on maybe a better nap time or length? Also if anyone knows anyone who else suffers from NDI please help me get in contact with them? They ate hardly any support groups out there for this :(
Sounds like she has a perfect sleeping schedule. Unless you notice that she's over tired or not tired enough to sleep when put down, it doesn't sound like any changes are needed.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it!
IF what you are saying is that she sleeps up to 6 hours straight during the day, THEN it sounds to me like she simply has her sleep/wake circadian rhythm out of sync with what it should be, and is now an issue separate from the NDI.
I do have a few tips for her comfort, which you are probably already doing.
1. Keep water in sippy cups so she can grab it herself anytime she wants at night.
2. Keep humidity level high in her room at night.
3. Use lip balm before bed, but make sure it does not have propylene glycol.
4. Hopefully she will use Pull-Ups or the equivalent for some years to come so she won't additionally be getting up to pee all night long.
5. Introduce using the potty on her own sooner rather than later even though it will only be daytime for a long while. However, don't be surprised if she feels the need to pee each time she wakes up to drink.
As for support groups, try Yahoo groups such as http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/diabetesinsipidus/
Just let me clarify, she falls asleep anywhere from 1pm to 3 pm and sleeps until 7 pm? Correct?!
What did your pediatrician say to this? Did he say to let her sleep this much during the day?
If she sleeps anywhere from 4 to 6 hours during the day for her nap I would suggest that her sleeping at night issues may be somewhat independent of her condition. If she can nap for a stretch of 4-6 hours she should certainly be able to sleep for that time at night - maybe waking a couple of times to drink.
Now my DD doesn't have any illness, but I know that my DD would be unable to go to bed and up all night if she napped to this extent. How can she be tired at 8:30 when she woke up an hour and a half earlier after sleeping all afternoon?
I am with your husband on this one, you need to adjust her naptime if you want her to sleep at night. I would reduce her naps by waking her half an hour earlier each week until you reach a normal nap time of 2-3 hours at a time in the afternoon that leaves room for active play after nap.
If she needs to drink at night get her a water bottle or sippy filled with water she can take to bed with her. That way she does not have to get up.
If she needs to be changed at night I would suggest not waiting for her to wake in the middle of the night, but set a time (eg midnight), where you go in and change her in bed... If you are lucky she won't even wake up.
No doubt your situation may not be that easy due to her condition, but I really believe that you cannot get her to sleep at night unless she sleeps less during the day...
Good luck!
You are saying she naps from 1-3 and goes to bed around 8:30? Up at 7 am. That sounds perfect to me. My daughter is 20 mos. Goes to be around 7:30 is up at 6:30 or 7:00 and naps for about 2 hours in the afternoon- sometimes I have to wake her because I have to get my 2 older kids somewhere... if not, I will let her sleep even longer. If she doesn't sleep well one night, put her to bed and hour earlier the next night.
