Hi Moms,
Just wondering what time your two year old goes down at night. Our daughter goes down later in the evening (around 8:30 or 9:00) but still naps 3-4 hours during in the afternoon. She's getting a total of around 13-14 hours of sleep per day. I would love to give her a shortner nap and put her down a bit earlier but don't want to fix what isn't broke by tampering with her sleep schedule.
I agree with the other moms. Everything sounds fine. All four of mine 8,7,4 and 21 months go to bed at 7 and sleep until about 7. My 21 month old takes a nap from about 12:30-3ish. They are all great nighttime sleepers! In the summer, the older ones stay up later, but the baby is still SO ready by 7!
My daughters 2 and she goes to bed at 8/830 and get up any where between 6-7am. She usually take about a 2 1/2 hour nap. I wouldn't mess w/her schedule thou. If she wants to go to bed early I would let her but that might mean she gets up alot earlier.
N.,
Be happy your two year old goes to bed at 9! My two year old doesn't go to bed until at least 10 or 10:30, gets up at 7:30 and only takes an hour nap during the day. I have talked to my Dr. about it and he said that as long as the child is healthy not to really mess with the sleeping. Good Luck to you.
We have had our 2 littlest ones on a similar schedule/time frame as yours and we love it. Putting them to bed a little later allows for us to go out and do things in the evening without having to disrupt their bedtime. Even if we just go to a friend's house (who also have kids) we can stay until 8:30 or so and not feel like we are going to have a problem with the kids the next day because of sleep loss. I don't understand how people who put their kids to bed at 6:30 or 7 have any life, even a life WITH their kids!
My little peanut goes to bed by 8:15 or so, and still takes a 3 hr nap during the day. Babycenter.com recomends about 12-14 hrs of sleep for a 2 year old in a 24 hr period. So as long as she is happy, playful and not cranky during her waking hours, then continue to be on cloud nine :o)
My son did the same thing at this age. Leave it as it is. Its working and she will just get cranky. You have enough going on with a newborn - don't add anymore stress to this. She'll just end up fighting you on everything. Where sleep is concerned, if its going well, don't mess with it :)
Good luck and congratulations on your new baby.
Aarti.
Hi N.!
I agree, don't fix what's not broken. My daughter did the exact same thing. She would take a 3 hour nap on the afternoon and went to bed at 8:30p. At 3 she is still doing the same. As of right now I don't need to get her on a scedule so until then, I leave it alone. It personal preferance but I choose to let my children sleep when they're tired and for however long they want. I feel they have the rest of their lives to have a schedule so let them enjoy it while they can! Especially with having your new little boy, take all the rest you can get for now!!
Congrats!
K.
I agree that it's a great routine that you have already. As summer comes, you may enjoy her being up til 8:30 actually because you have more flexibility to do things in the evening. 8:30 is also our kid's bedtime (now 17 months and just turned 3) and we're rushing to make it by then a lot of times when things are going on in the evenings. Very tiring I'm sure with the little baby too, but maybe their naps overlap in the afternoon so you can try to rest then too hopefully?
My almost 2 yr old goes to bed around 7:45pm and sleeps until about 7:15am. His naps are usually about 1.5-2 hours, getting shorter these days. Your daughter's schedule sounds fine but I personally don't think it's healthy for a child to be napping for over 3 hours. Seems like they are not sleeping well at night and are trying to make up for it during the day. Just my opinion...it's nice to have more time to spend with your child during the day if you're a SAHM, especially if you have 2 and want some 1 on 1 time with your older one.
My daughter is almost 2.5 and she has a very similar sleep schedule. She in bed between 8:30-9, gets up around 7 and naps about 3 hrs in the afternoon (it's shortening a little sometimes, to 2.5 hrs, but some days it's 3.5). She's always gone to bed by 8 or later, since she was 6 months old. It's just her natural schedule.
N.,
In agreement with the others. Don't fix what isn't broken. Our 22M old goes to bed at 8:15PM and is up at 7AM. He takes a 2 - 2.5 hour nap from noon - 2:00ish. His nap can be shorter sometimes, but for the most part it stays the same. I'd much rather have it this way than my friend who has a nightly battle getting her 3 y/o to sleep (2+ hours sometimes) and her little girl refuses to nap during the day!
Congrats on the new baby boy, too.
T.
My 2 year old goes to bed at the same time 8:30, and she also naps 3 - 3.5 hours in the afternoon. Dont fix what isnt broken!
My duaghter is 2 and she goes to bed at 9pm and sleeps until 8 or 8:30am. She also takes about a 2 hour nap, when time allows. I agree if she is sleeping at night and you can handle her being up later then I do not see why you would need to change anything. I am sure the baby goes down earlier so then you have time alone with your 2 year old. Congrats on the new baby!
