Any other 3 year olds majorly fighting sleep?!

[kate288]

Our 3 year old DD has recently moved out of her cot into a bed. Since then it has been taking longer and longer for her to go to sleep. Tonight she was out of her bath at 7 and has taken over 2.5 to fall asleep! And no doubt with the lack of sleep she will be overtired and grumpy tomorrow. She engages in every delay tactic under the sun and when it comes to us leaving room she is crying and clinging onto us. However, previously she has been going to sleep by 8pm at the latest without a fuss.

We've had a lot of up and downs with her sleep since she was born but over the past year it's been good. I'm also pregnant with #2 so majorly stressing about how we will cope with bedtime especially as I have do to a lot of them alone with her dad working shifts. She doesn't know yet about #2 so it isn't that that's changed things.

Any tips or solidarity?

Hi OP, congratulations!

In my experience with my two (Dd 5 & Ds 3), it’s when they’re at the age where naps are reducing and they are more in tune and aware.
Both went through a phase where they took an absolute age to go to sleep, a phase where they wake up in the early hours and are wide awake for 2-3 hours.
So no tips as we just rode it out and it passed, but solidary definately, as I have been there too.
Hope it gets better for you quickly.

Thanks @ListenLinda glad to know we're not alone! Thing is we've been through all the sleep up and downs and I know it will pass and get better but at the time it's so hard not to catastrophise and feel like it'll be forever. Plus 3 years olds really know how to push your buttons don't they, especially when you're tired and just want to lie on the sofa watching Netflix 😂

I’m having this same problem. She’s always been a nightmare to get to sleep but I felt we’d got into some sort of routine… then the clocks changed and now it’s all gone pear shaped again.
I also have a 10 week old so it took me a few weeks to get us back into a routine but the clocks has definitely been a bigger challenge.
She doesn’t seem to be able to understand why she’s going to bed when it’s not dark. Her room is dark but she knows it’s still light outside, the only time we have major tantrums is bedtime. Probably because of the overtiredness.
So nothing helpful I’m afraid just to let you know you’re not alone.

My 3 year old is my youngest so I don’t have time with her to be trying to put her to bed as I’m busy with the older kids.

She stays up until about 8 or 9 and by then she is sleepy and happy enough to go off to bed. If i tried to put her to bed sooner she’d just get up.

If she doesn’t get enough sleep she makes up for it by having a nap the next day at nursery or by falling asleep a bit earlier the next night.

If i need a break from her in the evening, i put on a cartoon and sometimes she falls asleep watching it and i can carry her up to bed.

Its better than spending ages trying to get her to fall asleep.