Suggestions on sleeping habits needed

B&C03

DS (he is 27 months old) usually had a nap between 1:30 and 2:30 or 2:00-3:00 but will not got to sleep at night until about 10:30. He fights us. He even fights me about taking naps. I mean if  I left it up to him he would crash for a nap at 4:00PM/5:00PM every day.

 Any suggestions? DH and I would LOVE to have him to sleep by 8:30 PM. We are expecting baby #2 in July and I'm getting nervous about this.

 Thank you

KathrynMD

how long is he sleeping at night?

If he's grumpy for a nap and night time, I'd assume he's overtired.

Wally3

I agree overtired.  What time do you try to put him to bed?  You may want to try .5 to an hour early.

B&C03

Originally it was 8:00, then became 8:30 then 9:00 ... It takes roughly an hour to an hour and a half for him to fall asleep. Yesterday I had a lot going on so he did not get nap until 3:45 which he woke up at 4:45. Otherwise he gets his nap earlier in the day.

KathrynMD

just because it takes him a long time to go to sleep, doesn't mean he's not tired.  I'd start moving bedtime earlier until you get to somewhere around 8/8:30.

B&C03

KathrynMD:

just because it takes him a long time to go to sleep, doesn't mean he's not tired.  I'd start moving bedtime earlier until you get to somewhere around 8/8:30.

 

Thanks, I already know he is tired but wants to stay up and have fun, which is why is won't go to sleep:)

B&C03

He sleeps throughout the night. Once in a while he wakes up at 4:30 then goes back to sleep.

KathrynMD

I would start making his room boring - you don't need to strip it down, but there should only be a few quiet options in his room - books and stuffed animals - so the only thing to really do there is sleep.  

Then, you start slowly putting him to bed earlier - he'll protest of course, but that's because it's something new, not because it's bad or he's hurt or anything.  If he wants to play quietly in his room for 30 minutes, that's OK, but bedtime needs to be bedtime.

nic326

KathrynMD:

I would start making his room boring - you don't need to strip it down, but there should only be a few quiet options in his room - books and stuffed animals - so the only thing to really do there is sleep.  

Then, you start slowly putting him to bed earlier - he'll protest of course, but that's because it's something new, not because it's bad or he's hurt or anything.  If he wants to play quietly in his room for 30 minutes, that's OK, but bedtime needs to be bedtime.

This. If DSs room werent boring he would party all night. He only has books and stuffed animals in their 

sakana1840

here is a wild idea, don't put him down for a nap!

 

sometimes when kids are growing they will go through phases of not wanting to nap to wanting to sleep for hours and hours.

 

i teach three year olds for a living-and trust me it will go the other way again, he'll want to sleep more.

 

but IMHO 10:30 is way too late for a 2.5 year old to go to bed. when are you supposed to have quiet adult time?  

i would say, don't force him to nap, but instead, have him have "quiet" time, like in his bed or a playpen (whatever works for you) where you just let him be

HTH

B&C03

sakana1840:

here is a wild idea, don't put him down for a nap!

 

sometimes when kids are growing they will go through phases of not wanting to nap to wanting to sleep for hours and hours.

 

i teach three year olds for a living-and trust me it will go the other way again, he'll want to sleep more.

 

I appreciate the time you took to respond to this but you are wrong abut eliminating the nap. On tow occasions he did not nap during the day and still did not go to bed until 9:00 PM. Also if he does not nap he is cranky as all hell until he finally crashes at around 9-10:00. Yes, I am fully award DH and I need quiet time together, this is why I am posting this. Also I really only keep books and stuffed animals and no noisy toys in his room. A lot of his other toys are in another room.

 

but IMHO 10:30 is way too late for a 2.5 year old to go to bed. when are you supposed to have quiet adult time?  

i would say, don't force him to nap, but instead, have him have "quiet" time, like in his bed or a playpen (whatever works for you) where you just let him be

HTH

B&C03

nic326:

KathrynMD:

I would start making his room boring - you don't need to strip it down, but there should only be a few quiet options in his room - books and stuffed animals - so the only thing to really do there is sleep.  

Then, you start slowly putting him to bed earlier - he'll protest of course, but that's because it's something new, not because it's bad or he's hurt or anything.  If he wants to play quietly in his room for 30 minutes, that's OK, but bedtime needs to be bedtime.

This. If DSs room werent boring he would party all night. He only has books and stuffed animals in their 

He basically only has books and stuffed animals in his room now. Funny you or no one else mentioned that he does not want to go to bed or a nap because he is afraid he will miss out on something.

sakana1840

I appreciate the time you took to respond to this but you are wrong abut eliminating the nap. On tow occasions he did not nap during the day and still did not go to bed until 9:00 PM. Also if he does not nap he is cranky as all hell until he finally crashes at around 9-10:00. Yes, I am fully award DH and I need quiet time together, this is why I am posting this. Also I really only keep books and stuffed animals and no noisy toys in his room. A lot of his other toys are in another room.

 

i admit, i didn't read the OP fully (sorry). all i'm saying is that this might be a phase, related to growth and it probably won't last forever. good luck though!

jlw2505

My older DD always hated naps and was the classic "I will miss out on whatever else is going on" type of kid.  I put a sound machine in her room so she couldn;t hear whatever else was going on in the house, daycare always had quiet music playing.  We stuck to a very stick schedule timewise until she was in a very good routine.  She never napped more than an hour at a time in her life.  Bedtime was always at the same time, even on weekends at that age.  Since she was in daycare 5 days a week, we followed daycares schedule for meal times and naps even on the weekends.  We also never forced a nap, but called it quiet time.  At that age, she would fall asleep almost every day even if she fought it.  I would let her cry and not go in (I could always tell her "I need something"cry from her "I just want attention" cry).  Make sure the room is dark.  We set rules - you can call us 3 times and then we stop coming (I gave her 3 stuffed flowers and I took one each time she called.  Once she was potty trained, this got a little harder.  YOu need to be strict.  If he comes out of his room, without talking, take him back to bed and keep doing it over and over and over again until he gets it.  If you give in even one time, you have to start all over.  Not sure what time he is waking up in the morning but I would be aiming for 10-12 hours of sleep at night depending on how long he naps in the day.  My kids, at that age, went to sleep at 7pm and woke up during the week at 6:15 and napped for 1-2 hours.