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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think my 2 year old should be in bed by now?!

28 replies

threefeethighandrising · 19/07/2011 21:59

Arggh!

DP has just taken over bed time duties. It's like this every night!

He's 2.7. He gets up between 7.30and 8.30. He naps for an hour to an hour and a half in the day. (We thought maybe he didn't need it anymore but that experiment failed!)

Bedtime is never ending! I can hear him on the baby monitor now and that is not a child on the verge of sleep.

Can someone please explain to him that he's only 2?!

OP posts:
worraliberty · 19/07/2011 22:00

Perhaps he needs to get up earlier then have his nap earlier?

AuntiePickleBottom · 19/07/2011 22:04

turn off the baby monitors :)

AuntiePickleBottom · 19/07/2011 22:05

is he still in a cot, perhaps switching him into a bed may help

LilBB · 19/07/2011 22:06

My DD is 2.9. Gets up at 6.30, sometimes has a nap sometimes not and is asleep between 7.30 and 8.00. Problem is she's asleep in my bed. We are living with in laws as in between houses and we are all in one bedroom so difficult problem to solve.

Sorry nothing constructive there but you aren't alone with sleep issues. I sometimes think I'm the only one.

fivegomadindorset · 19/07/2011 22:06

If you have some spare cahs then can highly recommend millpond sleep clinic.

Happymm · 19/07/2011 22:09

My DS is similar, and doesn't go to sleep till 8.30, but he's in his cot by 7.15 with me out the door following stories by 7.30. He tends to play and chat to his toys, and "read" till he just falls asleep. Am very lucky that he hasn't realised he could climb out of his cot though! :o

Original poster
threefeethighandrising · 19/07/2011 22:09

At last!

OP posts:
Original poster
threefeethighandrising · 19/07/2011 22:10

I am not getting up earlier than 7.30! I'll be even more knackered than I am now and I'm already in zombie land!

OP posts:
Ktay · 19/07/2011 22:11

How long is his bedtime routine? Millpond told me to keep it to a strict 30 mins (including a 5-min bath) otherwise you've lost your opportunity to capitalise on the sleepy feeling a regular bedtime routine induces. It's worked wonders for us.

Original poster
threefeethighandrising · 19/07/2011 22:11

He's got a bed. A really cool fire engine bed which our good friends passed on to us. He loves it and it helped the transition to his own room, but it doesn't induce sleep unfortunately.

OP posts:
Original poster
threefeethighandrising · 19/07/2011 22:13

Thanks for the suggestions, by the way :) Sorry I don't mean to poo-poo them, just working through them!

OP posts:
AuntiePickleBottom · 19/07/2011 22:15

would it be possible to get him a normal bed, the fire engine bed maybe tooooo much of a toy iygwim.

you could always turn the fire engine into a ball pit

FreudianSlipper · 19/07/2011 22:15

my ds is still up

he is 3.10 and has not slowed down at all but he did have a long sleep in the afternoon, he usually goes to sleep around 830-9, wakes up around 730 the days he is at nursery he falls asleep earlier

he has always been difficult to get down, wind down time does not work he goes from being his normal excitable self to very tired and ready for bed. only on occasion he will calm down before being tired.

i have found going with the flow has made my life a lot easier, for me there is no point putting a child to bed who will not sleep and since going to nursery his pattern has changed he does sleep more

and only recently has he started sleeping for 12 hours

Original poster
threefeethighandrising · 19/07/2011 22:39

I'm just hoping that once he drops his nap he'll go to bed earlier.

OP posts:
iamaLeafontheWind · 19/07/2011 22:47

DD still awake here. She is nearly 3. Today she slept in late and had a late nap. Problem is my DS will be up at 6, which leaves no time at all for me. Sulk.

Original poster
threefeethighandrising · 19/07/2011 22:50

iamaLeafontheWind you have my sympathies! I know we're lucky that at least we're all night owls in this family.

OP posts:
SmethwickBelle · 19/07/2011 22:52

Is it dark in there? Unless he has a sheer terror of the dark unplug the table lamps and make sure the big light is off so there's an added incentive to stop playing when it gets too dark to see what he's doing!

I have a 4 year old and 20 month old sharing a room and god help me if they are both awake at the same time at any point across the evening after lights out, they subsequently yap to each other for hours which is sort of charming but unnerving when I want to unwind!

Hope he's nodded off now.

Original poster
threefeethighandrising · 19/07/2011 22:56

I think it could be darker actually, we do need to try better curtains. He's the same in winter though so it can't just be the late sunlight keeping him up.

OP posts:
Original poster
threefeethighandrising · 19/07/2011 22:57

He went down just before 10:10. It's very often this late.

OP posts:
Francagoestohollywood · 19/07/2011 23:04

My ds has never slept for 12 hrs, especially the first few yrs of his life. As a toddler he wouldn't fall asleep before 10 pm. And he'd wake up at 7 fresh as a rose and ready to go.
I slowly managed to bring his bedtime earlier and earlier and when he started school he started to fall asleep by 8.30/9.

He is now 9 and never sleeps before 10, he can often lie in bed for an hour before he drops off.

iamaLeafontheWind · 19/07/2011 23:05

The joy of Kindle for iPhone & mumsnetting in the dark. She's now asleep, can I be bothered to go downstairs?

MaryMotherOfCheeses · 19/07/2011 23:07

Is he staying in bed or is he up and about?

ZhenXiang · 19/07/2011 23:07

DD is 2.1 and started doing this so tried to reduce naps to a sleep cycle of 45 minutes. Goes down like a dream when DH (SAHD) remembers to wake her after 45 minutes. When he doesn't she often chats to herself/teddies for ages in the room. Also when she does a lot of walking/running in the day she goes down faster too.

porcamiseria · 20/07/2011 12:03

cut the sleep, CUT IT, honestly we had same issue and bottom line he was not tired! at his age he needs 11-12 hours day (ish) so when you have a day tme sleep yopu basically extend bed time!

been therer got the bloody t shirt

now mine wakes 8am and goes 9pm and that the best we can do!

berkshirefem · 20/07/2011 12:16

Are the monitors having an effect on him? maybe he knows you can hear and so plays up and if he thought you couldn't he wouldn't bother? each to their own but i think a monitor at 2.7 is way over the top. I can't rmemeber exactly when ours went off but it was before a year..

How strict are you when you have finished bedtime routine?

Have you tried all the old tricks: First time he's up: take him back and say "it's bedtime sweetheart" second time "bedtime" third time in silence etc?

I know they're old hat but I would eliminate them before assuming they don't work.

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