My 2-1/2 Year Old Is an Insomniac!

K.-
Although I don't have any advice for you :( I have been through this. My younger sister was the same way, basically since birth. My mom can remember times when she was a few years old and she would sneak out of bed and watch TV at 2 am. The rest of us were sound asleep, but not my sister. Thankfully, my mom was a stay at home mom. My sister is now 27 years old and is STILL the same way! A 'normal' sleep pattern for her is to bed at 2:00 am and up around noon. She now has a job that fits HER schedule.
I wish you the best of luck!

Hi. My son was like that. After over a year of little sleep our sons special needs teacher had a mom with a child on calms forte', It's a homeopathic sleeping pill. It's designed to relax your child. It is camoille, lavander, and other natural things that make it so child goes to sleep safely. WE used it for our son and he slept through the night. He would go to bed at 8pm and be up at 2am and be up all day longgggggg. Now by giving him the pill he goes to bed at 8pm and wakes up at 7am for school. He is now 6. Our doctor liked the idea of trying it. You get 32 pills at walmart for 4 dollars, cut 1 in 1/2 and crush that 1/2 a pill into a drink or applesauce, pudding etc 1/2 hour before bedtime. And your child will have a good night sleep. Good luck. M. Petersen

Hi K.. This sounds exactly like my son!!! The only remedy I could come up with was to turn off all the lights/tv's in the house and act like I was going to bed as well. Then read long boring books to him w/ a night light!! Sleeping is such a struggle in our house!! My son is 3 1/2 and I've been doing this for a while. As long as I stick w/ the program he does. He still doesn't go to bed as early as I'd like but he was going to bed at like 1 or 2 in the morning so I guess I'll settle for 10 or 11!!

Im going thru the same with my son(he is three) i started a new routine and it seems to be working, its hard, there are no naps during the day,not even for a minute. Before bed time i give him a bath, after the bathtime its time for bed i turn off all the lights and everything is quite, i sing him three songs and tell him that its time to sleep and if he wants me to sing tomorrow he has to go to sleep, i turn off everything the noises distract him, no tv's, no lights, all must be quite and no lights on. I stay with him until he has fallen sleep which takes about a half and hour to forty minutes, but he is a sleep by 9pm the latest. If you send your child to daycare talk to the person who takes care of her explain the situation and request that she skips nap time, this has been working with my son, and my son was worse he used to go to bed at midnight ans sometimes until 1 am, now i have more time for my self and my husband, your baby might trow tantrums the first week or so but as soon as she realises she is not getting her way whe will give in, and you can all finally get some sleep, remember no naps during the day, it sounds a litle harsh because they are so small its worth it in the long run for them and for you, good luck.
M.

both me and my son are insomniacs by nature, I myself suffered from insomnia as a child and it still affects me to this day. But with my son, I really cut out all stimulus at night i.e. TV! And i packed his day with physical activity as a toddler. We made a routine of going to bed with a book, reading for 30 -45 min which would calm him tremendously. Then, aftr that the rules were very firm that lights out means no getting out of bed, (using the bathroom before and after story time) it didnt happen over night, but I was really strict and still stick to this routine even now ( my son is 8). He gts off every now and again ( as I do) but nevr for long. I pair the routine every now and again with some time of reeward system. I constantly change that up too for my son and leave dry periods in between, cause I want him to follow the routine for intrinsic motivation as well ( not just for a "prize/reward or treat) good luck! oh and if you are doing all you can, and she still isnt sleeping nough, i would see a pediatrician after all else fails-az

I remember as a child being this active. I hated to go to bed since we were told to nap in the afternoons. Maybe you can aske the day care to cut her nap time down to 30 minutes or do it earlier in the day.

My friend use to use the lavendar scented baby wash. This would help calm and sooth her daughter before bedtime. It worked wonders.

Good luck to you.

Okay. I see that you have gotten a lot of advice. All very good.
My son has autism, and his body would not let him sleep. I tried homeopathic, I tried routines, I really tried everything. But from 12-4, 1-5, whatever...he was awake, which means that I was awake.
I hated the thought of medicine, but after an entire year of sleeping maybe 20 nights altogether, I went to our doctor.
I beat myself up over and over for "drugging" my child. The doctor prescribed Benedryl (3 tsp.) each night. It worked wonders. And I have seen no side effects. Of course, I definitely advise you to ask your doctor first. But it may only take a week or two, and then a routine will hopefully be established.
Good luck to you. Sleep deprivation is the absolute cruelest form of torture....I feel for you.
E.

Are you certain the daycare nap is only 45 minutes? How does she do on the weekends? My daughter stopped taking naps at 2 years old, but was very regular in sleeping habits- down by 8pm, up by 8 am. Also, once a day meltdown is pretty normal for this age. She may be in a power stuggle for your attention and has learned that bedtime is exciting and fun because she is able to push your buttons. I would investigate the daycare nap first, review her diet and sugar intake, and then consider some behavior modifications and rewards when she does go to bed.

Do you read a story to her before bed? That might help her wind down...also I play classical/relaxing music in a cd player in my boys room at night and it has helped alot.

My fist son has always been a good sleeper, but my second not so much. These things haven't cured the sleep problem, but it has helped! I hope this helps!

That sounds soooo awful! I can relate to some degree, but we finally found a good technique that worked for our toddler. I highly recommend sleep training, and the best book I've found is called "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child". It starts you out with your infant, but you can jump in at any age and enforce good sleeping habits as long as you are consistent and firm.

Some kids are just really eager to be alive and awake, and the only thing you can enforce is their bed time and quiet time, but usually sleep follows when a regular pattern of quiet bed time is expected, especially when they are that young.

However, my best guess (barring any medical problem or food sensitivity) is that your daughter has simply got a case of "I Miss My Mommy" blues. It's extraordinarily common for children of two working parents to suffer from sleep problems, not only because they miss their parents and don't want to miss out on more when they go to bed, but also because working moms have to work extra hard to discipline children simply because of the fact that their interaction is so much more limited than if they were with their children all day.

From what you said, it looks like your schedule allows you to spend only 1.5 hours with your daughter each day, which is roughly only 10% of her awake time. Of that 10%, probably only a quarter to a half of that time is spent actually playing and interacting with your child. Precious though that time may be to you both, it is fleeting compared to the hours in the day.

Have you ever thought about cutting back in hours to see if that helps your daughter gain some emotional attachments to you during the day so she can let go of you at night enough to go to sleep?

If you must have the income in order to pay the bills and put food on the table, your children will grow to respect you for your hard work. However, if your income is meant only to buy extra things or to have something to do during the day, your children will figure out pretty quickly that they are not a first priority in your life. Spending 8 to 10 hours of work to every 1/5 hours with your child is quite a huge discrepancy in time that can not easily be explained to pure little hearts.

I truly hope your daughter gets to see her mommy as much as is humanly possible, and I hope she finds the sleep she is looking for so she can develop and be healthier and happier in life.

Good luck!

Another caring mommy

I feel for you. You are right to feel that there is another way. Stanford has a sleep center and I think they would have great advise. I used the book, Babywise and that is all about how to teach your child to relax and put themselves to sleep, it is a skill to fall asleep. Like all parenting, you not the child need to be committed to the process. I have seen Nanny 911 shows about this very thing and all were successful in teaching the child to go to sleep at an appropriate time. It was tough though! Keep strong, you sound like you have a routine, it just sounds like the child is taking control after you give her boundaries. Nanny 911 has a book out, I bet they deal with this topic. Just to let you know, my friend didn't deal with this at a young age and she is now in therapy with her child, who is 13 years old now, about his sleeping!!! You'll do it - just keep strong!

As I read this I analyze that it looks like your daughter doesn't hate sleep more that she wants to spend time with you. If you see her for only 1.5 hours before bedtime, I would fight it too. Especially when you don't spend time together in the morning. If you spend your entire saturday and sunday together then maybe bedtime stories could be about all the exciting things you both are going to do. This could relax her. I would also encourage the daycare to give her 2 naps each day or one really long one. Maybe a different daycare would be more encouraging for that- perhaps a mom who watches only a few kids. Good luck.

i have a 2 1/2 year old and a 5 year old - went down this road with both of them - all i can say is LOSE THE NAP - it's a brutal couple weeks (afternoons are tough) - but then they go to bed early and sleep so much longer - still if my 2 1/2 year old even takes an occasional nap she ends up going to bed so much later and getting up so much earlier she actually gets less sleep in a 24 hour period - than if she doesn't take a nap (that goes whether the nap is half an hour or 2 hours) lose the nap

I manage a medical spa in Redding, CA and also am an organic farm. I produce a line of all natural, essential oil personal and pet care products on my farm and the oil of one of my products (sleep salts in Bergamot) might be perfect for you. Note: Pregnant/lactating women and children under 3 yrs should not use lavender ... I use Bergamot instead.

Simply put a drop or two on a wall diffuser (they make them with a little fan and fiber pads for diffusing essential oils) in her room. It would be good to get her into her room for evening activities (reading her a story, for example) to let the oils do their work. Not only should she go to sleep easier, but she should sleep more deeply and soundly.

In my personal experience, being sleep deprived makes the whole sleep process more difficult, so the problem gets much worse if you try to let it resolve on its own.

You can read more about my products on my website: www.mccluckfarms.com. You can call or write and we'll work out the details if you want to order ... I don't currently bottle this oil for this purpose, so I'll have to work up a price for you.

In spirit,

V. T

Hi K.,

I had the same problem with my son, however we recently managed to improve his sleeping habits. My son is 23 months old, and he is just now starting to get enough sleep (in my opinion).

Our first issue was sleeping through the night, which he finally started to do at about 19-1/2 months. He had to "cry it out" for several nights until this worked.

Second issue was getting him to go to bed at night. We do bath, a little play with dim lights, read two books (reading by 8:45 pm) and then it's in the crib wether he is asleep or not. Yes, he's still in the crib. This way I don't have to worry about him getting out of bed. I thought we'd train him to sleep while in the crib, and then switch to a toddler bed. (Not sure how this will all go once he's in a toddler bed, though.)

I am temporarily home on maternity leave with my second son, but when I was working my hubby and I were up and out of the house by 6:15 like you, and we had family come over to watch my son so he didn't have to be up so early. Although he did not need to wake up that early, he usually woke up before we left for work. Now that I'm home, he sleeps in a little longer. Your daughter might be getting up early to see you before work (that's what I think mine was doing). So you might need to get her to bed as early as you think necessary because you may not be able to get her to sleep in any longer int he mornings.

Then naps...I read my son two books and then it's in the crib for "happy nappy" time, which is atleast an hour. If he cries, I just let him cry. I leave him with a book to "read" incase he doesn't want to sleep, but he stays in there for one entire hour. If he falls asleep, then I just get him once he wakes up. He usually falls asleep after a few minutes of fussing or talking to himself, and then sleeps for 2+ hours. Before I started this routine, he was taking 45-60 minute naps, if he napped at all.

I used to think that my son was just wired to not sleep much, but then I started reading that kids will fight sleep more the more tired they are, so they may seem like they are full of energy when they are actually exhauseted...Your daughter is probably ready to go to sleep earlier, but she just doesn't want to miss out on the fun, and maybe she doesn't know how to calm herself down to go to sleep.

This is just what works for us. I hope you find this a little helpful and I hope your daughter starts sleeping a little more - for both her sake and yours! :)

K.

I agree w/the no napping. Make sure your daycare is on board or you may need to find another one. I say this cuz when my nephews were in daycare they ignored my sister's requests for no napping as it was the time of day that staff took breaks & had lunch so all kids had required naps of 1-3 hours! Obviously, my then 3 yr old nephews didn't go to bed until after 10p & then were exhuasted the next day. So, this is why I say if daycare isn't on board then you may need to find another one. Also, I read that you said in the time between dinner & bed there's play time. You may want to make that calm down time w/the lights dimmed & soft music. Do quiet activites like puzzles that are simple so she doesn't get frustrated & stimulated, coloring, or simple arts & crafts. I know kids this age love splashing in the tub but agian, I suggest making a quiet time w/soft music & a quick wash. Then stories & off to bed w/some soft music. The scented oil in the wall diffuser is a good idea that I may try myself. The key is to stay consistent so that she gets the routine down & it should all start to gel into place. Good luck!