I have a 21 month old that use to sleep all night now he goes to sleep around 930 pm and wakes up betweens 1130 to midnight and wants to stay up and play until 430 to 630 in the morning he had been doing find for months going to bed at that time the only thing that chage was he got sick with a cough and ever since everything has been out of wack anyone have any advice to help me get things back on track thanks
Being sick may have robbed him of minerals- which are necessary for sleep.
Check with the International Chiropractic Pediatric assn for someone to check for that.
best, k
It sounds familar... Little boys need lots of activity they are physical. I can only compare with having a boy and a girl. I found what helped me a lot with my son is getting him up early and taking him to the playground in the fresh air or any type of indoor jungle gym Activity for several hours. I was then able to get him on a schedule ,where he was physically active during the day otherwise, he too was bored and wanted to play @ nightime he confused his days with nights. I would become so exhaused. Try that it helped me. However my daughter was the opposite.
How is he making up the lost sleep? Sleeping in later.. taking looong naps during the day? You will have to try to keep him awake when he is supposed to be awake, even if you have to wake him from a nap before he seems ready (no longer than 2 hours for a nap). Then go back to your early infant night time work... shhh and soothe, but don't pick him up. Tell him it's time to sleep.. don't get him up and let him play. You can even tell him that it's okay to be awake, but everyone else is sleeping, so he has to stay in bed and be quiet. No lights get turned on, etc...
It will work itself back out.
It reminds me of jet lag... obviously his body clock is off. Don't let him sleep in the am past his normal waking time. Get him out in the sun/fresh air when he does get up, to help reset his body clock. Be consistent for a couple of days with the waking time, and eventually he should start to get back on schedule, though you may have a rough couple of days. You might have to think about putting him to bed earlier. One of the sleep books that I read suggests that if they are not sleeping well through the night, sometimes setting the bedtime earlier can help. Sounds contradictory, I know, but you might want to try it. The same book suggests a bedtime of 7-8 Pm at the latest for kids your son's age. It matches their natural rhythm. Our son is 28 months, and he sleeps from 8 until 7:30 most nights, and takes a 2 hour nap.We used the advice in the book and it has worked well. Good luck!
The only thing I know is to keep putting him back to bed. No playing or talking allowed. Bathroom if he needs to, then back to bed, or in your case diaper change perhaps. It may take awhile for things to get back the way they need to be, but I don't think there is any other good way that works. Any concessions continue a pattern. Make sure he's worn out before bed. I found that my kids needed to start taking a walk a few times a week, even a fairly short one, in the afternoons. I also needed to make them get up a little earlier in the morning so they'd be ready to sleep at 9. My children had also stopped taking naps around 2 and that makes a difference. They just have quiet time with a book.
my daughter has been doing that since she was two. she is now four. every night is a struggle. we have tried all kinds of things. diet, routine, weighted blanket, melatonin. one thing that helps, not cures, is making sure she gets plenty of stimulation and activity during the day.
good luck.
