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WTF is wrong with my 2yo?!

4 replies

GinnyBee · 25/06/2024 19:55

Yesterday he didn’t have a nap, he skips this occasionally, it’s not a concern, so we put him to bed on the earlier side around 6.30pm. Today he was up for the day at 5am, I half expected this because of the early bedtime, again nothing new. At least he only woke once and settled back in his own bed so it was a better night than usual. I expected him to be a bit tired today because of the early morning and no nap yesterday.

BUT then! We went to a safari park today and he had a 15 minute nap in the car on the way there around 9.50-10.05 so very early, but glad he got that in so he could enjoy the park. I didn’t worry about it because he could have another cat nap on the way home, except he didn’t! Because he’d been up so early and had his nap so early too I was expecting another early night, but homie didn’t go to sleep until 7.30! 14.5h hour day with a 15-minute cat nap! We started bedtime earlier and I took him into his room at 6.30, he lied down next to me and had some milk but when he was finished he just got up and started serving me breakfast. Then we played hats, looked at the fish stickers on his wall and eventually he asked me to pick him up and rock him for a few mins and then we lied down again and he went to sleep.

I just can’t figure it out! He has been trying to drop his nap since January. He copes well with no nap occasionally and does well with just a quick cat nap for about 4 days and then he’s shattered and needs a longer nap at least once. He doesn’t sleep particularly well at night, especially if he has a long nap, even though we then do later bedtime. He hasn’t slept in later than 6.30am since January when he first started skipping the nap, except for when he’s unwell. And I do mean that 6.30 is considered a lie in! Mostly he’s up 5.30-6am. Bedtime 7-7.30 or later if he naps longer (45min-1h)

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Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
PurBal · 25/06/2024 20:00

Young two or older two? My almost 3 year old is the same. Some days he has no nap, some days he does. Some days he’s a nightmare by 6pm other nights he’s up until 9pm. Wake up can be anywhere between 4 and 7. AND THERE IS NO DISCERNIBLE PATTERN! Normal wake up in our house is 530, DS has always been an early riser with low sleep need. Nursery says he’s still quite young to drop it. We try to cap it. No solution really, just solidarity. I have a 12mo who also seems to be switching up his naps, so sleep is fairly allusive.

GinnyBee · 25/06/2024 20:20

@PurBal young 2, 25 months (+2 weeks). But he dropped every other nap early too, he was down to two naps at 6 months and 1 nap at 10 months having started the transition at 8 months. And his one nap was never longer than 1.5 hours. I’ve never tried to force a nap schedule or capped naps (until now), he’s done it always on his own initiative. I’ve been green with envy reading about other toddlers napping for 3 hours! I don’t even know what I would do with all that time 😅😂😭

Yep, it’s the unpredictability of it all that’s the hardest! If I knew what to expect I could plan for it but I never know whether he’ll nap or not, go to bed at 6, 7 or 8pm and it can take anything from 15 minutes to over an hour, and then he might be up once at 10pm and then sleep through or he’ll be up at 1am and want to come in our bed, or he’ll be up 3 times but refuse to come in our bed and then is up at 5am…

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OpposableThumbs2 · 27/06/2024 08:10

Mine dropped her nap at that age. Had to do quiet time at nursery while the others napped. After a few months she went back to naps 2-3 times a week.

DoublePeonies · 27/06/2024 08:16

Sounds like mine at that age.
"Sleep is for wimps, and I'm not a wimp" seemed to be his motto.
He's now 15, and still up at crack of dawn.

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