Calling All Gina Devotees - can you help me with a sleeping question?

[AnnasBananas]

First of all I'll just say I followed Gina with DD1 and DD2 and feel I pretty much know the routines inside out by now.

DD2 is now 21 months and still has a lunchtime sleep from roughly 1.00pm until 2.45pm. I can't seem to get her down any earlier than that because of the pre-school pick up of DD1 at 12.00, by the time we get home and have lunch it's usually 1pm before she goes down. Always sleeps well at lunchtime.

Trouble is in the evening. Nice quiet routine, tea, bath stories bed etc and into bed for 7pm. But she talks and sings and plays in her cot and is often still awake at 8.30 or 9pm which means the next morning she's tired and yawning away from about 11am.

I don't see that I can cut back anymore on the lunchtime sleep as THE BOOK says up to 2yo they still need 14-15 hours sleep per day. I can't understand why she's not tired and falling asleep more quickly. I always take the children out for play, bike riding and to the park etc to 'beast them' in the afternoon to tire them out but it seems to make no difference. I've run out of ideas. Can anyone suggest anything??

[firststeps]

could you not just let her have an hour at lunchtime say 1-2pm? when DS1 started taking ages falling asleep at bedtime we found cutting daytime sleep usually did the trick?

[PuppyMonkey]

I'm not a Gina devotee at all, but I will say my dd2 aged 16 months is naturally cutting her daytime nap to just one hour from about 12.30pm and it makes her lovely and sleepy for 7pm bedtime. I'd try waking yours up gently a bit earlier. Or would that be the crime of the century? i dunno what GF would say????

[charliegal]

what is 'beast them'? Is that a Gina expression? Sounds horrible.

[CarGirl]

My youngest just stopped needing a nap. We ending up dropping all day time naps by 22 months and she started sleeping 12-13 hours at night.

Some children just don't need as much sleep as others.

[Elffriend]

Not a Gina devotee but DS does follow a routine, so similar in that respect.

If it has become a regular things that your DD cannot fall asleep until later in the evening then it probably does make sense to start cutting back the lunchtime nap. At 21 months, she will be much more resilient to having that nap shortened, as many do cut back anyway (and she is nearly two so even by "gina standards" she is on the cusp of potentially changing.

One friend has a 24 month old who has cut out her luchtime nap completely. Unusual, but she seems quite content with it - and they did follow a routine. Just trying cutting it back by 15 minutes and waking her at 2.30 to see if it makes a difference over the course of a week.

[cornflakegirl]

It does sound like she needs to cut down on daytime sleep. My DS was showing similar behaviour around his 3rd birthday. He still seemed to want him lunchtime nap, slept for 2 hours, but then took ages to settle in the evening. We cut down his nap, which had little effect, and then cut it out, which fixed the evenings. Now we try not to let him sleep in the day (unless we're prepared for him to be up late).

We did use Gina when DS was little, but I'm less scared of breaking him by changing his routine now he's older.

[CarGirl]

yes fortunately my youngest was not grumpy by giving her naps up, I think having the older ones to follow helps her keep going etc.

[hattyyellow]

My girls stopped needing a lunchtime sleep as they approached two. They settled much better in the evening as a result.

[OneLieIn]

I am also a devotee. I would cut back on the daytime nap and see the effect on her. It might be that she is naturally moving on a step.

[Tapster]

My DD 21 months (I'm not a Gina fan by the way) sleeps from 1.30pm for 1.5-2hrs and sometimes longer. She then is put to sleep about 7.30pm and sleeps until 6.30am. Thats 13 hours sleep and my DD seems to sleep more than many of her peers.

We found 7.30pm worked better than 7pm and she fell asleep more quickly. I would try that first before cutting down daytime naps -you don't want to get rid of that if you can.

[poshtottie]

ds 24 months would sleep about two hours at lunchtime if I let him but I usually wake him after an hour or he won't settle until nearly 8 pm. He has to be awake by 2pm.
I like my evenings to myself.

[Minkychunky]

I thought this was a thread about swish shoes

[AnnasBananas]

Minkychunky - not about shoes, sorry!!

Charliegal - 'beast them', sorry a bit of an army phrase there (DH is a soldier!) what I mean is TIRE THEM OUT, get them running around the garden and park, throwing balls for the dog, walk them to the post box and back - basically anything to knacker them out I am a big believer of physical activity leading to better sleep...it's not horrible!!

I think I'll have to try and cut back on the lunchtime sleep and hope that improves the night time settling. I'm in no way ready for her to drop the sleep yet (it's my small window to get jobs done uninterrupted!)

Thanks for all the comments.

[Seona1973]

my 22 month old sleeps from 12.30/1pm till whenever but he gets woken by 3pm if doesnt wake by himself. He goes to bed for 7.15/7.30pm but is awake by 6/6.30am although we dont get him up till almost 7am.

[sadieandharrysmum]

I am a Gina devotee with my DS 17months, and DD 4.5 years. Both followed the routines to the letter. I was sure my book said that it was 12 to 14 hours at that kind of age? I have just cut down DS nap from 1.5hrs to 1 hr 1pm till 2pm. It has worked beautifully. He is ready for bed at seven and up between half six and seven again after a spate of not being tired or waking early.
An hour still gives me time to sit and eat myself and do some jobs. Just!

[tumteetum]

I was a gina fan but my DD always needed less sleep than suggested and by 21 mo had given up any daytime sleep unless we happened to be out in the car when she might have nodded a bit. I would suggest cutting back on the lunchtime nap. I always used the routines as a guide but adapted them to suit my routine/individual DC

[moondog]

Why do yuo want to push tiny children into reoutines to suit you?
They will have the rest of thier lives to live by the clock.

It is damaging and mean.

[FluffyMummy123]

Message withdrawn

[tonysoprano]

And so it starts

[CodsMinge]

oh god I am weeping with laughter at charliegal's post re beast them
I nearly spat tea all over my screen

Everyone at work is staring at me

I thought beasting was like shagging

and yes, what moondog said (it's CD btw)

[FluffyMummy123]

Message withdrawn

[CodsMinge]

and at 2yo needing 15 hours
my dd needed nowhere near

Sadly babies don't conform to manuals do they?

[saladsucks]

My DD is 22 months. And I have found that she spends an hour or so talking and singing in her cot before she falls asleep. I think it's just a natural stage and I delight in her amusing herself before she falls asleep rather than needing me or any prop to get to sleep. We often have 34 renditions of twinkle twinkle before she goes to sleep. In my view, it is part of her brain processing everything she has learnt that day. I figure she'll grow out of it and start going back to sleep at 7.30 again when she's ready.

On the other hand, have you considered that your DD may be overtired? What about all the physical activity in the morning and a quieter afternoon?

[moondog]

Oh, have just seen 'beasting' reference too.
Lol lol lol

What the fuck is that then???

[tonysoprano]

soooo sanctimonious