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??

That book stunned me. I'm bloody organised but the level of micro-management involved had me open mouthed in disbelief.

Is turning your life upside down simply to control normal reflexes of a neonate something that makes you feel in charge or powerful or what??

Fucking lunacy.

steady moondog
we don't want any twuble

Lol moondog! I agree. Gina is probably good for some mums but all babies are different. Toddlers and their needs change daily, how can you possibly live by something that is so rigid? If it works for you then fine, I'm sure it's great and well done for sticking at it. I felt pressured just reading it but I am notoriously shite at any time keeping and could't even follow the baby whisperer with any success!

My point is, your daughter is an individual. If she needs less sleep then she needs less sleep. If she needs to sleep at 11 then let her sleep in the buggy on the way to pick dd1 up. She may be over tired by the time you are putting her down for a nap at 1om so might mean that she is sleeping less than she needs to as overtiredness tends to make them wake more. Again meaning she'll be over tired by bedtime hence it taking her ages to nod off. Only suggestions, nothing against Gina. (Just incase!)

Agree with meandmyjoe, I think the GF routines work really well for some babies, others just do their own thing sleep-wise regardless of what you try to do with them. Having said that, the only thing both my ds' have ever been great at is sleeping. And yes I did loosely use the GF routines with them for the first year but didn't get my knickers in a twist if we went out for the day and the routine fell apart.

DS1 dropped his daytime nap at around 2.3, going from 2 hours to nothing. For a few weeks if he did sleep during the day, he wouldn't sleep until 10pm, one hour of daytime sleep seemed to cost him 3 hours of nighttime so we dropped the daytime nap. It was hellish for a little while as he was foul by bedtime but after a couple of months he adjusted and now goes straight to sleep from 7pm to 7.30am.

I'd definitely cut down your dd's daytime nap and maybe drop it a couple of times a week if she can cope. Good luck!

K

Gina F is great if you want highly strung kids who freak out if you change one tiny thing. This is based on observations of friends GF little ones. It makes going on holiday a horrible nightmare.

However, it is very popular and obviously works for some families. Horses for courses as they say.

In your position I would either shorten the nap or make bedtime later. That's probably not allowed, but I won't tell Gina if you don't.

My own method is the Surprise technique. No two days are ever the same. It is very flexible, but can be utterly bonkers and exhausting.

Simple. Your dd hasn't read the book, so follow your dd not the advice of a woman who has never met her. Your dd is trying to tell you that she is ready to drop her naps. Both mine did at that age, and acted in just the way you describe, and they similarly gave not a shiny sh*te that some perfect stranger had led their mother to believe this was not allowed.

Her dd is probably 9 now so I expect naps are no longer an issue.

Gina and I are not friends.

And I'm laughing at your hours of naps - dd has barely slept for 45 mins at a push since she was 9 months old.

She was 2 last week and naps are for losers already, apparently

zombie!

I'm afraid I think 15hrs sleep in 24 is an unrealistic expectation for an almost 2 year old, esp if they are still having a 2hr nap.

We had the same bedtime shenanigans at that age which I think is in part down to a developmental leap (which will pass) & in part due to a reduction in the amount of sleep needed.

Initially we tried cutting ds' nap shorter. It was a complete disaster, he cried all afternoon, still fought bedtime & woke even earlier. He really needed his nap so the best thing for us was a later bedtime. We ended up doing

7am up
1-3pm nap
8pm bed

& this worked really well for us.

I know this is a zombie but I'm loving the 'surprise technique'!

OMG this child is now what, 8 or 9?

oops I hadnt realised someone had resurrected the thread!