My daughter is almost 20 months and we are starting to have some sleep issues that I'm not sure how to handle it. She takes one maybe two naps a day(she is up by 330p regardless. She goes to bed between 8p-830p. We put her into her crib, turn her music on and turn the lights down. Well she sometimes cries cause she doesn't want us to leave. But now for the past week we put her to bed but she doesn't really fall asleep until between 9p-10p. She doesn't really sleep through the night sometimes she just whimpers other times she screams. But regardless she wakes up in the morning between 5a-6a. She used to wake up around 7a. I'm not sure what else I can do.
Another thing to look for is signs of her 2 yr old molars. Drooling, chewing or even tugging/rubbing her ears. My son started getting them early. He will be 2 in Dec. and seems to be waking up more in the night. I think that may be his problem. He is also pretty much down to one nap and is still getting up.
first of all, i must say, your birth story is incredible!!! congratulations, though i'm sure it must have been a turbulent experience.
we co-slept and never did the cry it out thing. i'm not entirely clear on your approach, but i know that the way parents approach sleep can be a very touchy subject. children's sleep patterns tend to change a lot over the course of their little lives, and it sounds like yours is going through some changes. is she growing any teeth right now? is she feeling unwell during the changing seasons?
would you ever consider bringing her into bed with you for some extra snuggles when she is feeling bad? or sitting with her and rocking her until she finds sleep again? reassurances of your love and gentle touch can go a long way.
maybe she needs more in her bedtime routine to settle her down. perhaps you could read a story to her and sing her a song? she might like some relaxing tea before bed. traditional medicinals, yogi teas and celestial seasonings all make pleasent bedtime teas. i also make sure my daughter avoids sugar in the evenings. sugar really winds her up and then she has trouble falling asleep.
there are some books out there about sleep, but they all vary wildly in approach. usually when things aren't working out for my child, i feel that it's time to reinvent the wheel and change the approach. i wish you luck and hope that you are finding the rest that you need.
I definately think that you should start getting her used to one nap a day, by the time my kids were 1 they were only taking one nap a day. I also can't stress to how important routines are for children their age, kids like to have consistancy and knowing what comes next. I have 2 year old twins and have struggled with sleep issues myself after putting them into toddler beds. My children get up at like 7-7:30ish and have breakfast, then they have lunch at about 11-11:30ish and at about 12 I put them down for their nap. I let them sleep til 3, but I was having the same issue as you, they were sleeping til 3-3:30 and then they didn't want to go to bed til 10 or so and they were really grouchy and would wake up in the middle of the night so at first until you get into a routine you might want to get her up at like 2 p.m. Then I give my kids a snack when they get up from their nap, at 5-5:30ish we have dinner then around 8 p.m. we have bath, sippy cup of warm milk (I find that helps them wind down easier than cold stuff), a book and then night night kisses and down to bed! So when people tell you that the bath, bottle, book and bed works it really does! I hoped this helped a little I know how frustrating it can be not being able to get your little one into bed and stay there!
I also definately know how scary it is to have a premie baby, my son and daugther were born at 37 weeks but to everyones surprise she was only 3 lbs. 11 ozs. and before we could find a formula that her body would tolerate she had lost all the way down to 2 lbs. 9 ozs. She too had to stay in the hospital and also wasn't on any type of breathing machines or anything just the vitals and her feeding tube!
I agree also with the one nap... my daughter is 2 now and she has been down to one nap for several months. She goes to bed at 7:30 and sleeps until 7am-ish. Also, if she is wimpering during the night she could be having night tremors. Its pretty common for children this age. Good luck to you!
Sounds like she's ready for just one nap. maybe what I would try to do is have her take only one nap - same time every day and maybe she'll be more tired and sleep longer through the night.
My son is now 2 and he has been taking only one nap for quite a while now. He wakes up btn 7-8am and naps around 1-2pm and then we put him to bed btn 830-9pm.
Once it's a routine and consistent, their little bodies get used to it and they sleep better.
J.
I agree with the one nap thing. I had four children and by the time they were a year they were only taking one and down by 8-9pm every night. Not sure what time she is having his naps but start keeping her awake a few hours longer and just having one nap right after lunch. She'll have a full belly and nappy time. LOL.
S.
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Hey C.,
I would bet she is sleeping too much during the day... I would try just one nap in the afternoon and see how she does. Good luck!
I realize that to most people this doesn't really make much sense, but there is a lot of research indicating the more a child sleeps the more they require. Thus, you may want to try putting her down b/t 7:30 and 8. A lot of the characteristics you are describing sound like mild sleep debt. When they get too little sleep, cortisol levels (stress hormone) shoots up and they get their second wind.
While her changing sleep patterns may just be natural changes, you might also want to make sure you haven't overlooked her diet. Has their been any changes that might be causing digestive changes which might be affecting her sleep patterns? New foods may be digesting differently. Also consider the alkaline and acidic contents of foods.
