HOW MUCH SLEEP DOES YOUR 2 YEAR OLD HAVE IN 24 HOURS?

[mad4mybaby]

Have another thread on the go about ds getting up 5-5.30. He is asleep by 7.30pm and will sleep through and now getting up this early (dont think anything to do with the light as has been happening since jan/feb) he has a nap around 12.30 for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, sometimes even 3! Just wondering what your dc's have. Do they still nap? Going to bed later does not work (plus i dont agree with him going any late anyway!) i dont want to drop his nap as he sleeps soundly and obviously needs it. If i try to wake him up earlier from his nap he is extremly grouchy and will cry and whinge for about half an hour

[rockyroadahead]

ds 2.6 sleeps 8pm - anything between 5-7.30 am (usually more towards the 5am mark) naps 10 am 1 1/2 - 3 hours in the day is a nightmare without his nap completely changes his personality

[edwardsmum11]

20mth old ds here... has 1 or 2 hrs of naps a day and sleep 12 to 12 1/2 hrs sleep overnight most nights.

[omama]

mad4 try pushing his nap later. Early waking is linked to having the nap too early. He sleeps a short night because he can catch up with his nap. Then he takes a long nap because his night was too short. Its a vicious cycle & the only way to break it is to do a later nap. I'd suggest trying 1pm initially, wait a couple of weeks & see if his wakeup time improves. If no change try pushing nap to 1.30pm. If you want to keep your 7.30pm bedtime i'd prob let him sleep absolutely no later than 3.30pm. That is still a really good restorative nap for him so he shouldn't get overtired.

We had to do this with ds & it worked a treat. From 2-2.5yrs his routine was up 7 nap 1/1.30-3.30 bed 8pm so approx 13hrs in 24.

Now at 2.8 he naps 2-3 times a week from 2-4pm & bed at 8pm, on no nap days he's down at 6.30pm! Still sleeps around 13hrs in 24 (unless he gets overtired then its less)

[TwentyTinyToes]

Ds is 2.3, he sleeps 7.15pm ish to 6-7am ish and no daytime sleep. We cut out his nap about 3 weeks ago because he had started getting up between 4-5am and was a nightmare to get to sleep. He had coped really well and is obviously tired by bedtime but goes to sleep now instead of mucking about. He will drop off in the car but i try to avoid long journeys later in the day and if he does sleep i wake him as soon as possible. Also sleeps better when outside a lot and lots of physical activity.

[BeckyClissmann]

This is all so interesting. DD is 22 months and on the whole a pretty good sleeper. Bed at 7pm but wakes around 6ish but we do not get her out of bed until 7.30 am. Usually 2 hour nap at 1-3pm - can be 1 hour some days. DH is of the view that a later bedtime will cure early mornings but my gut instinct is it will not and the majority of posts on this thread seem to confirm that. I think a 7pm bedtime is important - esp so adults can have a proper child free evening (when else will I do all my chores as I work full time?!) I also don't want to drop the nap as DD can be v grumpy without it. I was interested that someone mentioned a later tea as that might get us that extra precious 30 mins...it's got to be worth a go!

[SwissCheese]

DS nearly 3, sleeps approx 10 hours at night with a 1 hour nap during the day. He needs longer as he gets very grumpy but he once he wakes it's like switching on a machine that just roars into action, with no 'snooze' or 'slow' mode.

[MuffinMclay]

Ds1 2.2 years sleeps from 7pm (ish) until 5.30-6.30 am, and has 1.5-2 hours nap in the day (but not every day, maybe 5 out of 7). He is very, very grumpy if he doesn't get his nap (like today). If he wakes up at 5.30 then he is falling asleep and begging to go to bed by about 10.30 am ('bed, bed, bed, mummy' in small plaintive voice).

We tried cutting out the nap - made no difference to when he woke up.

[Seona1973]

have you tried 'wake to sleep'? An hour before the usual wake time you disturb them a little to bring them out of deep sleep and then let them go back to sleep again. I did it with dd when she started waking at 5am. With ds(21 months) I just try to ignore him for as long as possible and then go in tell him its sleep time, switch on his music box and give him his taggy and leave the room again. Theres no way I'm starting my day at 5am!!

[tryingtoleave]

Why don't you try a later bedtime, rather than getting rid of nap? DS, 24 months, goes to bed at 9 and gets up around 8. He has a two hour nap. I know a lot of people would hate the late bedtime, but we prefer to sleep in.

[Powerofjoy2004]

My dd gave up naps altogether when she was a year old. She never slept more than four hours without waking up. This went on for years. Turned out she had ADD and was hyperactive. Eventually, brainwave biofeedback and cutting out sugar helped.

[fairylights]

mad4mybaby - my ds is only 19 mo but just wanted to say he sounds like he has EXACTLY the same sleep pattern as your ds. I have tried the approach of less daytime sleep to see if he will sleep longer (like til 6am!!) but it doesn't seem to make much difference and he also gets very grouchy. The only thing that has totally knocked him our til 6.30am recently has been when we stayed with my parents with a big garden and he played football for about 3 hours with my dad after his nap - but this is something i can't really do every day!
Just keep telling myself that in about 12 years time i will be trying to think of ways to get him OUT of bed..

[WriggleJiggle]

Usually dd goes to bed at 7.15pm and gets up at 7am. Every couple of days she has an afternoon nap for 1 or 2 hours.

Going to sleep is a different matter as now she is in a bed she often gets up and plays for a while. Last night was a bad night, she went to sleep at 9.30pm, and was up at 6.30am.

[bogie]

Ds sleeps about 10 hours at night and 1-2 2-3 hours nap in the day.he is 2.6

[vonsudenfed]

Just out of interest, what time does your ds eat his tea? Because that's what made the difference to us.

DD was doing just this - huge sleep in daytime, waking up at 6.00am at the latest - a few months ago, but it all changed when the clocks went back. We tried to make the change gradually, and suddenly fell into a pattern where she was sleeping until 7

We worked out that the difference wasn't the sleep times, but the fact that she was having her tea 30-45 min later, at 5.30 ish, so she must have been waking up when she was hungry.

Either that or she just grew out of it, but it's worth a go.

[Karathraceandherspecialdestiny]

dd 23 months - bed 7.15, wakes 6.30am, naps about 1.5-2 hours from 12.30.

We have been through phases of earlier/later wake up times but it doesn't seem to be specifically related to anything. Sorry not much help. If she wakes before 6 we generally refuse to get her out of cot (unless she's ill) but will go in once to sshh her.

[bonkerz]

DD is 28m and sleeps 6pm till 7am then will sleep in afternoon from 12.30 till 2.30 ish. Nap is normall 3 or 4 times a week only!

[firststeps]

hi mad4mybaby - DS1 was a lot like this at around 18 months - 2yrs, he would sleep for England during the day, napping for 2-3 hours and I ALWAYS had to wake him, but was up at 5.30am on the dot for months. I eventually cut his nap to an hour 1pm - 2pm and although hit took him a few days to adjust he did start sleeping til 6.30am/7am reliably. he is now 2.7 and I sometimes even have to wake him up in the morning - so there is hope....

[JRocks]

DS is 2.7... he usually goes to bed between 7.30-8 and gets up at about 7am. Naps are quite random, I don't usually schedule one into the day, but if we're out in the car he'll fall asleep, or at home if he's really tired will nod off on the sofa. I try not to let him sleep for too long during the day as it does affect how much he'll have overnight. He can be quite grouchy if I wake him but I try to get out in the fresh air quite quickly as a distraction. I've found lots of physical activity does help. I read once that toddlers are like labradors, they need lots of exercise! Certainly true of DS

[Walnutshell]

mad4 - just re-reading your last posts. Exactly the same experience as you and in our case it has only been time that has changed things. But these phases don't seem to drag on for too long, although it feels it at the time. (Even now I will sometimes go to bed in the afternoon when ds does)

Now, the getting into our bed around 3/4am every single night is another matter!

[Walnutshell]

You may have to grin and bear it for a while mad4. ds (now 2.7) went through a longish phases of getting up at that unforgiveable time but, like you have found, putting him to bed later made no difference and I agree he also needed his nap. Now he usually wakes around 6.15-6.45am (an improvement, alhtough not a marvellous one) and sometimes has a nap in the afternoon (anything from 15 mins nod-off in the car to a marathon 3 hours) and is in bed by 7.30pm ideally (earlier if no nap) although on the occasion he's had a very long nap, it might be a bit later.

Erm, sorry, haven't given you much hope there!

[hairtwiddler]

Mine has 12-13 hours a night with no nap (7-7:30-8am). Gave up the nap at 2yrs. She's 2.6 now.

[mad4mybaby]

ds is only 2 this month and there is no way he cant have a nap. He falls asleep in the car if we're out an hour or so before naptime!

[IdrisTheDragon]

DD is 2.9. Doesn't nap during the day (hasn't for about a year). Generally sleeps between about 11 and 12 hours at night.

[mad4mybaby]

sorry, im going to moan again. I really cant keep getting up at 5am. Im so exhausted. I go to bed early and try to nap when he does! Running out of steam! For the last3 days i have been waking him up after 1 1/2 hours at naptime to see if it helps....not yet!

[fluffyanimal]

DS goes to sleep between 7.30 and 8pm, and wakes between 5.30 and 6.30, has a daytime nap of about an hour.