Toddler playing in cot at night

[Awakeallnight]

Hi, bit of a weird one. I've noticed my 18mth old has had more day time sleepiness, the last couple of weeks. At nursery she's been napping upto 2hrs. 10am this morning she napped for 90mins, just conked out in her pram. Then she did again for 2hrs at 2.30pm while we were out on a walk. I got her home, brought the pram inside - and she didnt wake up, even with all the banging and wobbling of getting the pram through the front door. I had to go and wake her up at 4.30pm.

Very unlike her. It's been a struggle to get her to have 45mins historically. She just seems tired alot. I thought maybe she was coming down with something.

So tonight I'm up late and I can see that she's playing in her cot. There is nothing in her cot. She's in a sleepsuit - no toys, nothing. But she's clapping, chatting to herself, putting her hands through the bar, playing with her dummy, rolling around but all the while laid down.

She isn't distressed and she's not crying. She sounds happy as Larry - I'm watching her on the monitor.

Should I be doing something? I'm reluctant to go in because feel like she'd just stand up, be excited to see me and then cry if I left.

She went to bed at 7.30pm and slept from then till about midnight.

Just a bit of a head scratcher really but clearly the reasons she's been so tired recently.

Is it a phase?

I'd just leave her to it! Unless her daytime napping is a problem I'd just leave it be and see what happens next. As long as she's getting enough sleep overall and is happy then all is well.

Everything is a phase, so this too will change at some point. She's possibly about to have a developmental leap, that's often preceded by a change in sleep patterns.

Leave her, she will go back to sleep when she’s ready or cry out for you if she wants you. Perfectly normal for kids to go through fazes of being awake at night. One of mine would happily play and settle herself, another screamed the house down for attention the second she woke up.

Phases* it’s late and I forgot how to spell 🤦‍♀️

It’s probably just a phase, I would just adapt her naps to be longer till she cycles back.

She doesn’t sound hungry, but you could try increasing her evening food

It also might be worth trying white noise to hopefully get her back to sleep before she properly wakes up

I definitely wouldn’t go into her, it will make it worse, and failing all else self-soothing is a great skill.

That just sounds adorable. Can you record it for her to see when she is older?

Leave her to it and enjoy the longer daytime naps.

both My kids have done the same thing, and I just left it.

i actually wondered if it’s not some kind of development thing? Both mine would talk and sing to themselves in their cots (so adorable) and sometimes spend loads of time repeating phrases and songs, which I took as them practising language.

one thing that I noticed, is that both mine have been good at getting themselves off to sleep eventually, and have been very comfortable in their own beds / cots (very little intervention needed at bedtime) and again I wondered if it was because they have learned to amuse themselves in their own cot before sleep?

both of my kids (2 and 4) still sometimes talk / play in bed before sleep, and both do the same when they wake, before they get out of bed or ask for mummy/daddy in the morning.

I thought the same thing!
Interested to know if she went back to sleep herself @Awakeallnight or stayed up playing

Hey @Awakeallnight my DD is almost 18 months old and she does the same too! She only has one nap (between 45 min -1.5 hours) a day and some nights she wakes up and starts chatting to herself. She sleeps with a stuffed monkey so she cuddles him and rolls around. No distress. Just playing around. I just leave her to it x

Thanks everyone. I fell asleep at 1.30am so not sure how much longer she was awake for. She got up around 7am and was OK today for sleepiness but we were with family - so I think she was too busy playing. Haha.

Have to see how she gets on - I think it's a language development leap that's about to be had.

@sashh it was very cute to be fair :-)