I am asking for you wonderful moms help again. My daughter is almost three and earlier this summer we sucessfully moved her to a toddler bed. It was relatively easy and painless and big relief to get rid of the crib. However since she turned 2 last fall, her once wonderful sleeping habits have become more challenging. When in the crib she started calling out for us, sometimes still asleep, in which we would go in turn her over and she would be ok. But this would happen multiple times a night. We would have a good week and then a bad month but never with any consistency to notice a pattern of what might trigger her sleeping troubles. Now that she is capable of getting out of her bed she sleeps great from bedtime to about 1:30 am and then she gets up relatively frequently until 6 am. She has started to drop her only nap but can't mustard the ability to do this two days in a row. When she does skip a nap, she is not cranky towards the end of the day but still goes to bed on time. If she takes a nap, I limit it to no more than 2 hours and she finally stays in her bed around 9:30 pm. after many attempts of getting in and out. I try to limit her sugar and get plenty of exercise to run her into the ground but she is like the energizer bunny and keeps going and going and going. We are going on vacation in a few days and spending two weeks with relatives and a summer cottage. I was hoping for some ideas to keep her in bed in these new locations. My husband is not coming on the trip so if she is up at night I am the one who will paying for it the next day. Thanks in advance.
Sounds like she's "almost" ready to drop the nap. Maybe for now 2-3 nap days per week and the days she doesn't nap, move bedtime earlier an hour?
Have you considered a gate at her bedroom door? I thought it was freaky that my son could be up & around the house when we were sleeping, so that's what we did.
You didn't specify where she'll be sleeping on your vacation so I can't offer suggestions to that specifically, but here is what I WOULD do if I were going on vacation with my 3 year old only (no other kids, baby) but with family.
I would have my daughter sleep in the same bed with me on vacation. Depending on the night and what was going on, I would either lay with her or just sit with her then leave the room and tell her I'd be back later, or let her stay up with me if I was going to bed when she did (930 doesn't seem too early to go to bed).
As far as her nap and bedtime now, I'd suggest letting her give it up if she's not cranky/crabby but maybe have an hour or two of rest time where she has to lay down (bed or couch) and read or watch a cartoon. That way she's getting rest but not really sleeping. Then, you should be able to put her down earlier if you wanted to.
As far as her getting up at 6, on vacation, I'd ask someone a few times to watch her around 9/10ish so you can get a nap. What a great way to celebrate your vacation, by napping! You never know, maybe you could sneak this in daily!
My 'almost' 3 y/o daughter is the same way, she never stops no matter how much activity! She also hasn't taken a nap in oooohhhh so very long :( I miss those naps! Anyways, I would just go with it, she's probably done with them. I do believe highly in having 'quiet' time in her room for 1 to 2 hours daily. My daughter has a choice of sleeping or playing quietly at this time. Also, I would move her bedtime up by 1/2 to an hour each night to make up for the no naps. As far as your vacation, we always get a room w/ two queen size beds, and my daughter sleeps with me in one bed. She does well with this, we've tried the travel beds etc. and she's too scared being in a weird place. Good luck with things!!
You might try giving her melatonin, a natural supplement that makes one sleepy and it's deemed safe for all ages. She might be affected by food colors, caffeine (from chocolate, soda, etc). Everyone is different. Maybe at some point write down EVERYTHING she consumes for a few days and maybe even take it back to a very simple, basic list of foods/drinks for the first few days adding something new each day or two to find the culprit (if there is one). I know if I drink caffeinated soda or coffee, I am wide awake 14-16 hours LATER wondering why I'm not sleepy! I try not to consume any caffeinated beverages (tea, soda, coffee) on a regular basis, but sometimes I'll have 6-12 oz of something w/caffeine and it has happened over and over consistently for several years
