so fed up - 2.5 year old sleep

[Babytalkobsession]

Hi,

Hoping for some wise words from some experienced parents! DS1 is 2 years 8 months. His sleep has always been problematic but this new phase is driving me crazy.

For a good while we were able to leave him to settle after our bedtime routine and he would sleep ok. But it's just getting harder & harder to get him to go to sleep.

Our evening is this: home from nursery around 5:30. Snack & play. Maybe some TV / YouTube clips (he's into construction vehicles). Around 6:30/7pm he has bath & into pjs. Then quiet play in his room with one of us, a couple of stories, then it's 'bye bye light', cuddle and we leave. This used to work fine, usually asleep around 7:30.

Problem is now he's wide awake. He just doesn't seem tired anymore. He's still up there shouting (we've been up countless times, tried being firm, done a few more stories...he's now just playing with his cars..)

Last night was 9:30, night before was 10:30pm!! He still wakes up around 7am & is at nursery all day.

Could it be that he just doesn't need sleep? He's literally not yawned or rubbed his eyes...

I'm trying to juggle this with cluster feeding a new baby and I'm at the end of my tether. I just need an evening!

He has a routine, black out blind, we constantly tell him what will happen next, so 'one more story...'

What do I do? He does usually have an hour nap on nursery days, but not on our days ( couldn't get him to nap if we wanted to!)

Thank you

Wondering whether waking him early would work to break the cycle. Like 5:30/6am so that he'd be super tired the following bedtime?

It sounds like you need to cut out his nap. Does he sleep any earlier the days he doesn't get a nap?

Is he napping at nursery?

Sorry just saw he does. If be asking them to drop the nap too and see what happens.

Maybe try dropping the nap every day? I've got 2.9 year old and a 6 week old, I feel your pain with the cluster feeding!! My lil one had reflux too... I'd just like an evening where I don't smell of sick!!

Sounds like it's time for the nap to go. He is likely to be extremely tired and grouchy in the evening while he adjusts but not sleeping until really late isn't great for him either.

Try dropping the nap but if that doesn't work try waking him earlier. A long walk (during summer months) just before bedtime usually works for my tot who is same age...Also I know you've prob heard this before, but they don't half go through 'phases'.. (Lots of phases!) so just do what you can do to help it but also just wait.... One night he may just go back to the way he was sleep wise.

Thank you everyone. Nap definitely has to go... We dropped it a little while ago but ended up back with it due to him sleeping in the car - the starting a cycle of later bedtime / needed a nap the following day.

We're also going to try waking him around 6:30am. It pains me to do it but think it'll help him reset. I think he basically only needs 11 hours total sleep so 9pm - 7am plus 1 hour in the day is enough for him, but it's not a routine I can handle

I think (touch wood) we're coming out of this phase with my 2.5yr old. For us we've just cut the length of his nap to 30-45 mins. He was napping for 2 hours! I did consider just giving him a nap every other day but he gets very grumpy by 5pm with no nap at all so it seems to suit him to have just a short power nap.

I just need to get my 10 month old to self settle now...

Get rid of the nap and pre-bed screen time.
Good luck!