My 15 Month Old Has Sleep Issues

Dear S. L.

Structure is the key in having a child sleep through the night. Set nap schedules, set everything at this age and stage.

I have watched the Super Nanny and she does one thing that truly amazes me. You put her to bed at a set time and if she wakes up, then you tell her it is bed time darling and place her in her bed. If she wakes again you say time for bed and then you put them in bed and then walk away. If they do it the 3rd time or more you say nothing put them to bed and walk away. Sure they might cry and yes it may break your heart, but you need to be strong. In a short period of time they will get used to it and a regimen will be set for you to have your time to relax.

Good luck.

A. C. - Hanover, PA.

S.,
It sounds to me a lot like the way my son acts when he is very overly tired. Weird, I know, but they actually have a harder time getting to sleep and staying asleep wen they are exhausted.
She also may be ready to cut out her morning nap. Maybe try O. longer afternoon nap at least at your house (Ah! Sweet peace for 2 hours!)
In a perfect world, our kids would have solid routines that they would follow daily, but there IS no perfect world!
What I do with my son (who is 5 and does not take naps at all) is judge for his bath/bedtime routine by his day--the business of it and how tired he seems around dinner time, etc. If he is showing all sign of tiredness, he gets an earlier bath & bedtime that night. It usually doesn't fluctuate more than an hour and a half from his earliest and latest bedtimes though--but he is much older than your daughter.
Maybe try to put her to bed earlier on the days she is at her grandmother's since you know she is short at least O. nap on those days.
Also, establish and practice a set, predictable bedtime routine each and every night. Some nights you will be able to linger and do an extra book or two, and some nights it may have to be a quick bath, short story, prayer, etc. but try to keep the routine and order of the things consistent. It will cue her that bedtime is on it's way.
Good luck to you!

I think it is a phase. I have a 17 month old & my friend has a 16 month old that are both going through this right now. They both used to be great sleepers. Sleeping 10 - 12 hours at night & taking a total of 2-3 hours of naps each day. Now my son is down to one 1 hour nap each day. He refuses to sleep longer even though it is obvious he is tired. Then at night he will go to bed between 7:30 - 8:30pm. He wakes up btw 2 & 3 am, screaming. (My friends daughter wakes up around 2am, also screaming. ) We both tried the same things: letting them cry for a while, trying to lay them back down in the crib, rubbing their backs, picking them up & rocking them, etc. We both individually found the same solution. When they wake up crying, we go in, get them and bring them to our bed. My son with sleep w/me sometimes until 8:30 am! I'm a SAHM, so I can stay in bed as long as he needs. My friend's daughter will sleep with her until she has to get them up for work. This is working really well for us right now. I'm hoping that at some point he will just sleep through the night & this will no longer be an issue.
Good luck. If you come up with another solution I would love to hear it. I'm having baby #2 in 1 1/2 months & don't know how we will share our bed with 2 babies.

I agree with Denise. The most important thing for a baby this age is a schedule. This is the beginning for the transition to the toddler stage. Bedtime should be scheduled as a time when you have your routine. Some easy play after dinner, then bath and make it fun by the tone of your voice. A quiet book while you are rocking or hold the child in your lap will signal him that the time for sleep is near. I could always tell when my kids were tired, they rubbed thir eyes, pulled their ears, wanted their blanky, or were cranky. That too should be part of the schedule. At this age the babies need to know what is coming next. Good luck and do not fret too much. There are different stages that they need to go thru and this is just one of them.

Babies absolutely need a sleep schedule. And daytime sleep DOES affect nightime sleep. We used the Sleepeasy Solution to help with our sleep problems and it has been absolutely 100% effective- I swear by it and don't know how we would've made it this far without it. The Sleepeasy Solution by Jennifer Waldburger. I highly suggest it.

I would say to cut her naptime lengths to two, one hour naps, OR even better if you can... One, one hour nap in the middle of the day (like after lunch or something). And put her to bed around like 830pm or even 9pm. That is what I have done with my son since he was a year old (and my daughter since she was a baby) and it works great for me now! Also, I'd definitely do the CIO method. It will take a little while to really work,but it does work. JMHO. Good luck with whatever you choose to do!

D. Lidwell
Discovery Toys Educational Consultant
www.discoverytoyslink.com/dawnslearningtoys

You have to get her on a sleep schedule-- you are setting up a lifetime of either good or bad sleep habits. 6:30-8 is WAY to big of a range for bed time. We go to bed (at 15 months) between 7:00 and 7:15 every night. You can be a little more flexible on nap times (at daycare they go down between 11:30-12, at home it could be between 12:00 an 12:30), but it is unfair to expect her to sleep through the night when her little body has no idea when it is time to be asleep and when it is time to be awake. AFTER you have her on a good schedule, you can move to more of a CIO system (I hate that term, but I know what you mean). I would suggest Ferber's book for you. We love it, and our son sleeps great (most nights!)

Hi S.,

Get yourself an appointment book from the local beauty supply store with 3 columns in it.

Put your husband, you and your baby in the heading in each column.

Pencil in your daily routines. Talk with the baby's grandmother. Coordinate the same times for naps and bedtimes.

Hope this helps. Good luck. D.

It may be time to cut out the second nap. My kids sleep when they need to and are great sleepers.

I don't have a real strict schedule, but kids that age only need 12 hours a sleep out of every 24, so if my kids get a 3 hour nap, they are up at the crack of 4 am!

Also, and I am not judging you at all, but my kids nap out of boredom. I have found my 3 year old asleep on the coffee table watching tv. It was a funny picture, but he was wired at bed time.

Good luck!