14 mo difficult to get to sleep

[sarahloula]

My dd has always been a good sleeper and still sleeps through the night but it's becoming increasingly difficult to get her to sleep. We've been bringing her nap forward so she now naps from 11 til 12 and she's very active but still not tired by 7. We have a strict bed time routine which has.always worked and we've not changed it. Any ideas?

Is that the only nap she has Sarah? What time does she wake? What activities does she do in the day?

I think it's a phase because my 16mo son cries everytime we leave the room. Last week, he would sleep through from 7pm-7am and when we gave him his bottle, he would happily take it and we could leave him after a cuddle. From last saturday, it's a nightmare! He goes to bed at 8.30/9 after being stroked on his back and crying for a bit. He wakes up crying, struggles to nap and is moany.

But I think he's teething and he woke up with a cold... So it could be anything. Nightmares?

Good luck

Our son went through a phase like this, he would go to bed at 7 as always but after stories and cuddle time he would stay awake in his cot singing and muttering to himself for hours. The only thing that prevented it for a long time was stopping his naps in the day, but that made him exceptionally grumpy and poor company to put it mildly! But when we made the transition from cot to bed it stopped and he began sleeping properly again and now only naps every other day or so.

One question... when are they ready for that transition from cot to bed?

The only thing that works for dd (15mo) when she's like that is letting her stay up until she starts yawning and rubbing her eyes. But I'm lucky, I'm at home with her all day so can be flexible with sleep times and naps. If she's still full of energy after dinner we actively try to wear her out, playing chase, rough and tumble play etc before even thinking about trying to wind her down for bed.

She sounds exactly like him! After lunch, knackered but still fighting it. But after dinner is like he's coming back and he's not going to give up!

Think the cot to bed move varies wildly. If they aren't climbing out and still fit into the cot I'd keep them there as long as you can. Once they are in a bed they can get out and come to you!