Ask:
DS (6 weeks shy of 2yo) had been taking 2 hour naps (3 hrs every now and then) and going to bed at 10/10:30p, to wake up at 8:30/9 am. Now, for the past couple weeks, he has been having terrible naps (like 45 min at the most) and he's passing out between 8 and 9pm, to wake between 6 & 7 am wanting to start his day. And not pleasantly may I add. He gets up and is whiney and rubbing his eyes as he sits looking off into space all bleary eyed on the couch, and then he starts in with the screaming and throwing a huge continuous fit. We don't let him eat past 8pm (sometimes he'll have a snack at like 7:30 or so) and his room is as dark as it's been since the day he was born, so there aren't any changes in that respect. Until about 4 or 5 months ago, he slept without a fan in his room, but then kept waking up so we put one in there to muffle outside noises (dog barking, car going by, etc) and he was sleeping wonderfully. Then suddenly, he's up and down and screaming and wailing in his crib. All he wants to do all night long is play outside. For a while, I would check on him once and then wait a little longer before I checked on him again, then let him cry it out if it got to that point. And he would fuss himself to sleep within a good 5 min... 10 if he was really upset. Now he can wail at the top of his lungs for a good hour without stopping, and he's banging his head (again) on the sides of his crib. Even though I've padded each edge with a rolled up blanket/quilt, he slams his head and kneecaps on the crib slats, and shakes the crib back and forth. I've pulled it slightly away from the wall as he was ramming it into the wall to get me to come into his room, so now he can't do that. I know that as kids get older, they forego their afternoon naps, but is his new way of things something I just have to acclimate to or is there some underlying cause of it? Our bedroom is right next to his and we hear him wailing in the morning at like 6am wanting to get up, and DH is losing precious sleep that he needs to be able to function at work, especially since he's taking on store manager position this coming week with the head mgr out. I was just wondering; y'all have some great experience under your belt and may have suggestions or answers that I can't think of! Thanks I appreciate your help!
Answer:
Every child is different. I have had two of six who gave up their naps early..but both were pushing three years...NOT two!! I have to say that if it was me, and I could find no cause for it, I would be mean! I am pretty big on routine..have to be with six kids and one that I keep on top of them. I would set up a bedtime guideline....and put him down with it. It is going to take several nights and mornings...rough ones, but he will adjust. My littlest kids go to bed at 8:30am...and get up by 7 am. This is a schedule that works well for me and the rest of the house. The youngest takes a nap from 1-3pm (as does the baby I keep...and he was on NO schedule when he started here the first of August!), and the 3 year old knows this is quiet time. She is allowed to watch a movie or play with a quiet toy. ONE warning, and she lays in a bed, too! It usually doesn't come to that!! Summer always means we are more lax, so we have to "redo" the schedule each fall. I am mean with my own, and I can promise that it DOES work, if you have it in you!! LOL
Answer:
2 is not the age they forego naps. So I'd say there is an underlying cause. I'm guessing that since his naps are thrown off, his little inner nighttime clock is off too. I had rambunctuous boys, namely my youngest son, who couldn't be calmed back into his nap during the day.
But he had night terrors, not to be confused with nightmares. If you could google night terrors and read the symptoms to rule that out, it would be beneficial. It doesn't really sound the same as what I experienced with my son, but not everyone's the same.
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I hate night wakings. Does he need a nightlite? Mine was fine for so long without one, then developed a fear of darkness. Is he old enough to understand direction that he cannot leave his room, then get him a toddler bed? Sorry, I don't remember that age. Must have blocked it out. However, I was thinking for his nap, and this is what I did w/my son and now my daughter, lie down with them on your bed (or on a blanket on the floor) and read them a story. Tired or not, I always had my son take "quiet time". Nine times out of ten he would konk out. You may, too!
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I read your post about being frustrated with $ issues. Could he be picking up on your vibes? Does this change coincied(sp) with that?
My dd feeds off of my emotions all the time. PMS week can be very unpleasant sometimes!
Also, I remember that dd went through a change in sleeping patterns for a few months sometime around when she turned 2, but she went back to her old ways.
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Hmmmm, have you checked in his mouth? Perhaps his 2nd year molars are beginning their torment!!!! I know that when my kids started getting their's they had trouble sleeping and were really whiny. Hyland's Teething Tablets usually help!
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sometimes they get off schedula but if you wait it out they get back on track