Dropping the daytime nap

[bez91]

Hi all,

I've posted on here before about my daughter and her early wakings (5-5:30am) every day since birth. She was 2 in October so...26 months.

For the past week or so she has struggled to get off to sleep at both night and during her daytime nap. She won't always cry but literally just lay there messing about for an hour before she falls asleep. She generally wakes at 05:00-05:30 naps for 1.5 hours at 12 then she's in bed for 19:30. We've been taking her out for a walk in the buggy to get her off to sleep as we've been off work due to the Christmas break.

She dropped to 1 nap really early from 10 months so I'm wondering if maybe she needs naps cutting out all together although she does seem young for this. By bedtime she's usually asking for "sleep bed" but messes about for an hour.

Any advice would be appreciated

X

Our toddler is the same age and no longer naps. Just started refusing one day and that was it really.

If she's awake at 5 am and only sleeping for 1.5 hours in the day, I'd say that she's going to bed too late at 19:30 and is awake due to over tiredness not because she's not tired. Not all children need the same amount of sleep - certainly DS didn't and doesn't need as much as other children or DD - but a two year old needs more than this I'd say.

I'd try bringing her nap forward but letting it go on longer or bringing her bedtime forward.

Also, if she's asking for bed, she's definitely tired.

To give context, DD loves sleep and needs a lot of it. No problems falling asleep broadly speaking. But, if I put her in bed at 7:30 she'll be asleep within 3 minutes. But if I put her down at 8:15 it can take her up to 30 minutes to fall asleep. She isn't acting wired, but clearly is.

Thanks all, she didn't nap today. Just laid in her cot for and hour and a half.

So knackered she was in bed asleep for 18:55, cue a 4:30am wake up...

Will see how it goes over the next couple of weeks before deciding whether to drop the nap. She's back at nursery tomorrow and usually sleeps well there.