Sleepless and desperate

[WiMoChi]

My 22 month old just fallen to sleep after a period of almost hyperactivity. This is every night. I despair. She wakes 6/7am and has a one hour nap. She doesn't have too much sugar or any processed foods.

Why?? Why doesn't she sleep?? She's BF. She's never been a good sleeper but more recently (I'm pregnant) she's only waking once a night.

My DS2 can be like this if he gets too over tired. First he's grumpy but then he goes past being sleepy and it's like he's had 10 cups of coffee. The only thing that works is getting him to sleep before he gets into that state. I really try to catch him at the right time to get him to sleep but it doesn't always work.

I was going to say that too.

Sounds like massively overtired behaviour.

What's your usual bedtime/evening routine?

She isn't overtired. I've considered this is the past and given her longer naps in the day and done bed earlier and it's the same.

Routine is sane since she was a week old. Bath then boob/cuddles/climb all over me. Read 12,000 books. Get random toys out. Harass dogs.

I really think she's allergic to sleep or has an over active mind if there is such a thing.

No advice but my 27mo is the same. Naps for an hour or so (12.45 until 2pm) bed at 7.45 but doesn't actually go to sleep until almost 9pm. From about 6.30pm he is absolutely crazy! He is never like it in the day but he gets loud and hyperactive and acts like a totally different child! I have no idea why but it means it takes ages for him to relax and go to sleep. I don't mind too much as I leave him in his cot to get on with it and I expect it will stop when he stops napping. He had a period of sleeping through but is waking up twice a night at the moment, plus side is he doing any wake until 7.30am and even then I have to wake him.

Doing any = doesn't

My 20 mo is the same. Some of it is when he's overtired but he also seems to have trouble winding down. We do early bath, pj's, downstairs for mad half hour, then quiet half hour reading stories. Then upstairs and he goes into bed after a bf and I sit and mn while he lays there and kicks his legs and I ignore him until he falls asleep.

The bath always sends him loopy so there is no way of doing bed time without the .ad half hour, I found it better to move bath earlier and not fight the madness, then bedtime has more peaceful connotations.

Who knows? Eventually I will be able to shout 'go to bed or no mobile phone/tablet/playdate tomorrow

Drop the nap? If my almost 2 year old has a nap then he is awake until 9 or 10. With no nap he is out like a light at 7/7.30. Some children just grow out of napping earlier than others. He has never been a great sleeper either.

There is a transition period where they will be very grumpy in the evening with no nap but it settles after a while as they get used to it. Both my boys stopped napping totally around 22 months. D

My son is like this too. He goes compeltely manic after tea. He comes out the bath and he turns into a kangaroo, he actually can't walk, he bounces, spins and gyrates around and has developed a strange laugh that just goes on and on and on. He flings his head around and it's so hard to get his hair dried and into pyjamas. He calms down for story then it takes about 4/5 returns to bed (toilet/water/there's a lion in my room/taken my trousers off/kicking the wall as he merrily screeeeeaaams).

But we are very firm. Back to bed, night night. Back to bed, night night, back to bed, night night. Worst thing we could do is engage with him, he's so talkative and any interaction just "wakes him up" and he's off again.

I recommend - explain during the day and remind at tea time: that bedtimes will be different from now on. It will be boob/one book/cuddle then bed. No toys, no annoying dogs, no climbing on you. Into bed and stay there.

It might take countless returns but you have to almost be like a shut down robot - no talking, no exciting facial expressions just a deadpan "night night, see you tomorrow". It's hard but they need a message that they won't be getting any attention (barring basic things - nappy change or hurt etc) until they've have their sleep.

I'm not preaching, I know how impossible toddlers are, and we can't make them sleep! All the best OP.

I'd thought a out dropping nap. We were camping last week and she had a 25 min nap which ended abruptly (emergency stop with trailer tent 🙄) at 1030. She slept at 830 right through to 6..... But not sure if I can cope without a nap/rest/break myself ....

Mine does this a bit but he does it on his own quite happily in his cot so it's ok. It's usually about an hour at worst of dicking around but he goes in his cot about 7 so he's pretty much always asleep by 8. Is your DD still in a cot? Could you put her in it earlier to get the wind down started?

She falls asleep with me in my bed then take her and pop her on her own little bed. When she stays till, whenever she feels like it.... Then comes to me. Quick boob and back to sleep till morning x

I think the only thing you can really do is try to get her falling asleep on her own in her bed. I think sometimes (at least I think it was with us) that your presence can become stimulating rather than comforting.

Do you think as a first step she could fall asleep in her bed with you in the room? We did loads of sitting quietly in the dark till DS was asleep and creeping out then we started sitting further away and so on.

Well. That's my target, she's just started falling asleep in bed next to me. Did it all very gently. Can't see her distressed. We will get there. Maybe it will make the difference x

Falling asleep without boob I mean...