How Can I Get My 2 Year Old to Bed Earlier??? Would Love Some Advice!!

We're all different...I am a night owl and so is my eldest son. My first suggestion is to eliminate the tv at night. It's a stimulant, not a relaxer. The book reading can also be a stimulant. Depends on the story. has to be a "feel good". Singing is always relaxing.
Bottom line, dear, is she's going through a phase. As long as she is safe in her room the family will adjust.
The vacation also poses a stressor on everyone, so just be as relaxed as you can and enjoy the visit to VT.
Your newborn will pose a threat to your daughters' existence, which is natural; and so be prepared for additional adjustments. Have your daughter be an advocate for the newborn: she gets the diapers, the wash cloth, the glass of water for you to drink while nursing, so many things to keep her busy and tire her out ealier in the evening.
Congrats on the new baby and God Bless!

Ok- here's my take, but it's just my opinion so take it for what it's worth LOL. First, I think her nap is too late. When my daughter hasn't napped by 230 or 3pm, I say forget it and deal with the cranky for the rest of the day lol. Second, lunch is too late, and dinner probably a little too late for her too. Her body is still working to digest and everything, so she should probably eat by 6ish, lunch around 1230ish. I think that would probably help a bit, along with the napping earlier. There is just no way that she could possibly be tired by 830 if she's taking a 1 1/2 hour to 2 hour nap at 3pm. Also, you have to get her out of the crib. She can really hurt herself trying to get out of it, and she really does need to make that transition to the toddler bed. I know it sucks (trust me I know LOL) but you have to put up with the couple of crappy nights and be consistent about making her stay in the bed. She's going to have to transition to the bed eventually, and honestly it's better now than in 6 months or a year when they only get more independant and opinionated about what they want to do (LOL).

I hope that something I said may have helped a little!

I think you had the right idea. I'd get her up earlier so her nap is earlier. I always have problems with my son if he takes a nap that late. I try to get him to nap around 2 til about 4, and that works with a 8:30-9 bedtime. Also, after dinner, I try and "tire" my son out, by running around and playing. Then we give bath, quiet TV/reading time, then bed. It generally works pretty well (yeah the no sugar thing is a definite!). Hope this helps some.

Hi A.- I, too, think maybe the schedule is a little late, but the simple answer to your question of "how can I get my daughter to sleep sooner" is, You can't. At 2-3 they usually do a "I'm not going to sleep" thing. It is independence and wanting to have control over their world, coupled with transition to not needing a nap. I agree that she is too young to skip a nap entirely. You will want to work on her schedule for school. She will be eating around 12, naping around 12:30-3:30, snack around 3-4, depending on the school. So if you don't get her on a schedule closer to school schedule, it will be a harder transition for her to start school because her entire routine will be upset. You're in a tough spot, because it sounds like you're a family oriented person so I'm sure you want to have meals together. I think you will have to make a choice. Either scale back her hours and she eats alone, or scale back the hours for the family and everyone eats earlier. Even at that, we eat at 6 and some nights my 3 year old refuses to go to sleep and stays awake until 10. The general rule is, you cant force them to sleep so if they want to stay awake they need to do so in their bed, lights out, quietly. Even though she actually poops, don't kid yourself. She knows exactly what she is doing and is manipulating the situation to stay up. You must let her use the potty, however. But it should be an immediate poop, and straight back to bed. No reading a book on the potty or playing. As far as TV goes, I dont know. There are people (Drs. and the like) that say TV is too stimulating for that age before bed. I have tried to cut it down, but more for making him engage in other activities. He has a choice of TV three nights a week. The other nights are either reading, preschool activity books or family game time (board games, etc.) I dont really find any difference in the way he goes to sleep or the way his sleep is when he doesnt watch TV, so I'm not sure I agree with those experts about TV before bed.

Mostly I think your daughter is doing a typical two year old bedtime dance routine that, no matter what you do, she is likely to keep doing it. Go back to the toddler bed. Let her go through the stage and bear with it. eventually she will relax into a routine. However, one word of warning, she'll probably do it again and worse around 3. Its just a stage, but try to schedule her a little earlier, it will help. My son goes to pre-school where they nap from 1:30-3:30. On the weekdays it is much worse getting him to sleep. One the weekends he generally skips the nap and is asleep by 8:30. Good luck.

One word aside, you sound like a really great Mom who makes her little girl the priority. Good for you.

Hi A.!

I can tell you for sure the "I have to POOP!" is because of the late dinner. I gave my babe dinner at 4:30PM tonight. It used to be 5:30 but every night she would cry and cry to make it earlier. She would also poop right after I put her to bed: 2 - 2 1/2 hours after eating. So that's first. My babe eats dinner anywhere from 4:30-5:oo PM, bath at 6:50PM and always goes down between 7:15 - 7:45 (no lie - her request) and normally has to be woken at 8:15AM by Dyda (her name for Daddy).

Ok- for some reason or another Star's bedtime is about 1 hour later then it was when she was in the crib. She may be overtired. Perhaps shift everything 1 hour back to align her actual falling asleep time. I wouldn't try taking a nap away from her. Your Ped's right.

As for the vaca- we took my daughter up to PA for her first B-day and it changed everything. Like most parents, we (I) worried over every little detail. The plane ride, the 2 hour car ride afterward... and she took it like a champ. She actually learned to sleep better on this trip. Vacations take a lot out of us, same with kids. New people, new places, new bed. You just have to remember, they are tired - they WANT to sleep. And sleep she did.