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Parenting

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Original poster

25m sleep problems

12 replies

Circleofflies · 28/05/2020 06:22

If anyone can help us, we would be very grateful because we are at the end of our tether.

Our 25 month old has suddenly decided that he will not go to sleep. Throughout his life so far, he has been absolutely fine sleeping and these issues have come on recently.

We keep our bedtime routine of bath and stories and have not changed this but when we put him down and leave the room, he throws his soother, comforter, pillow and anything else near his cot and will sob and wail until he gets to the point of making himself sick.

If we put him down and stay in the room, he plays games with us by standing and then throwing himself down again when we look at him.

He does eventually go to sleep, but often over 2 hours after we have put him down.

We have tried putting him down earlier and later to test over tiredness vs not tired enough and these don't help - the same thing happens and he is still up at 5am. He does still have a 2 hour afternoon nap but needs this because he gets so grouchy because he is tired.

Nothing we have read is of any help because crying it out doesn't work and going into his room doesn't work and so we are at our wit's end. If anyone has any experience of this and can provide and help or reassurance, we would be very grateful! TIA

OP posts:

PeppaisaBitch · 28/05/2020 07:00

I'd cut the nap down. 2hrs is a lot. My 2year old has 45minutes and then I wake him. Otherwise he's a nightmare too.

Sipperskipper · 28/05/2020 07:03

I’d cut the nap right down too, to no more than an hour. He will start to make up that sleep by going to sleep earlier, but it will take time (probably at least a few days). You will have to deal with some grumpy afternoons at first but it’s likely he will then start going to sleep easier and faster at night.

At 25 months I had stopped DD napping completely every other day, or she didn’t fall asleep until after 9pm.

Littlepoppet1 · 28/05/2020 07:08

Agree with cutting the nap down. My 18 MO has 1.5 hours, any more she’d be a nightmare to get to bed and your DS is nearly 6 months older than her. Try waking him up after a hour and see how you go, he probably will be grumpy for the first couple of days but hopefully should help.

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Wecandothis99 · 28/05/2020 07:19

Not sure about cutting the nap, mine is the same ages and has two hours then sleeps for 12 so it's not necessarily that. You said "if you stay in the room" can't you just leave the room as soon as you put him in his cot?

Wecandothis99 · 28/05/2020 07:21

Ps I'm literally waiting for this to happen to us as we've been way too lucky with the sleeping so hearing it def can come from nowhere is very scary. Good luck

Original poster

Circleofflies · 28/05/2020 07:47

Thanks everyone.

I should have mentioned that he is deaf and so gets more tired than the standard toddler!

OP posts:

pastabest · 28/05/2020 08:00

They go through stages with sleeping and frustrating as it is at the time they generally do pass without too much interventions. My 2 year old still has a 1-2 hour nap during the day (Sometimes my 3yo does too) and goes to bed around 7pm sometimes happily and sometimes not. If it starts being not more often then I will reconsider the nap.

What time are you putting him down and how long after his nap is it? He may still need the nap AND not be tired enough at the time you are putting him to bed. I often find that something like that happens just before a growth spurt.p.

Also, around this age the world suddenly opens up a bit, language is the next big step to master and they have lots of questions they can't quite find the words to ask yet. That must be even more frustrating for him with deafness thrown into the mix too.

My 2yo is currently asking about all the animals of their bed covers for example as a sleep delaying technique.

I think also once they reach 2 it's definitely time to start referring to years rather than months I'm afraid

Original poster

Circleofflies · 28/05/2020 08:26

Thanks Pastabest, that's really helpful.

He'll usually go down around 12.30 until 14.30 and then bed time starts at 18.00 with getting into his cot around 19.00.

I do refer to him as being 2 but wanted it to be clear in this thread that he's only just 2 and not approaching 3!

OP posts:

PeppaisaBitch · 28/05/2020 08:54

That's quite an early bedtime too. We start at 7 to be in bed for 7:45. Id maybe push it back. 3.5hrs from nap to bed is no time at all

pastabest · 28/05/2020 09:10

Or make the nap earlier in the day...

Selfsettling3 · 28/05/2020 14:53

I would say drop the nap.

Original poster

Circleofflies · 02/06/2020 17:53

Hi everyone, thanks for your help!

We managed to sort the majority of the issues with some very minor changes: we stopped putting the blackout blind up when he went to sleep and gave him a few books to read in bed. The book reading seems to give him time to calm down without needing us to sit in the room!

He is occasionally now waking up in the night but we think that this is teeth as he is also off his food!

OP posts:

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