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2 year old sleep - please help

4 replies

AgingLikeAFineJacobsCreek · 12/01/2024 09:48

My DS (just turned 2) has never been a great sleeper, unlike my DD (7).

What am I doing wrong? I put him into his cot at 7:30 after an hour of milk, bath and books. Probably shouldn’t put him into his cot asleep but if he’s awake he’ll scream to get out.

12/1am, he’s up. Mummy cuddle. Mummy up. Rarely I’ll give a silent cuddle and manage to put him back down asleep, more often he’s already so awake I’ll bring him into my bed and that buys me more sleep. Except not really, because anyone who has slept with a toddler knows they’re too wriggly.

4am - sometimes 3:45, sometimes 4:15 - he’s up for the day. I’ve tried lying in the dark and refusing to get him a drink, but he gets more persistent and more awake. So I end up going downstairs with him at 4:30.

His room is the perfect temperature, he has the right layers on. Has a toy. I’ve tried soft music, ambient lighting, total darkness. Blankets on, blankets off.

He gets about 2 hours nap at lunchtime at nursery, never beyond 2pm.

i am so so so tired. I’m trying to hold a full time job, and all I want to do is sleep. I’m at the end of my tether. There is no DH or grandparents as an option.

If anyone’s been in my shoes, what did you do that finally work? I did sleep train him at 10 months (Ferber-lite) but by 18 months he caught a cold and that derailed the whole thing.

OP posts:
popplego · 12/01/2024 09:57

Have you tried later bedtime and a shorter nap? DS is 2y2m and we cap his nap at 1.5hrs max, he goes to bed at 8pm.

AgingLikeAFineJacobsCreek · 12/01/2024 09:58

Thanks I’ll give that a go. Does yours sleep through?

OP posts:
popplego · 12/01/2024 10:05

Sometimes! He's never been an amazing sleeper, sometimes he wakes in the night still. But for example the last 3 nights he's slept through 8pm-6.30am. I really sympathise with you because it's rough when they do wake.

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TravellingT · 12/01/2024 10:45

Definitely reduce that nap to 1.5 hours and move bedtime to 8 or 8.30. After a full day at nursery he'll be tired by bedtime.

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