26mo...Sleep issues...

PayolaCrayola

DD is my first and I am not sure if this is normal but she doesnt sleep very much. I bedshare with her in her room and in the last 3wks she has started waking up sometime during the night and staying awake for 4-6hrs then falling back asleep for 2-3hrs(if we're lucky). She also started fighting her naps and can go days without napping then she will nap for a few days straight 2hrs. We keep her very active to try and tire her out but its not helping. We have had the same bedtime routine since she was a baby.

We used to get in bed by 730-8 but in the last week i tried moving it to 830 and she still wakes up. We always keep everything dark and have a fan on for white noise. The dark doesnt seem to phase her in the least. She climbs off the bed randomly and plays w/whatever she can find in her room then gets back up when she wants to sleep. Or other times she will just lay next to me and giggle hysterically and talk.

She has no health issues and has always been in the 90th percentile for growth. She has a pretty good vocabulary for her age and has hit all her milestones. I guess my question is...could it be that she just really doesnt need that much sleep? Her mood is good too. She doesnt show signs of being overtired or anything. Im just at a loss. Should I just leave it alone? TIA

Cherryblossoms07

A 2 year old needs 12-14 hours of sleep a day (that is naps and sleep).  She could be going through a sleep regression stage if this has not been going on very long.  DD has had a few episodes like that, where she will wake up and play a few hours and go back to bed, but it never lasts more than a few days and she usually makes up for any lost sleep at nap time. 

My first instinct would be that something is waking her up though, especially since you bed share.  I know my DD never sleeps as well when she is sleeping with us because we wake each other up when we move around in bed.  Also, if she does wake up she seems to stay awake longer since she has our attention so close at hand. 

PayolaCrayola

I do want to bedshare but I also think that at this point no ones getting sleep. I have been reading about sleep training but I dont agree with CIO and also we live in an apt with very thin walls. She screams horribly the times I have broken down and left her to sleep on her own and I feel bad for her and my neighbors. What I have been trying is having my husband put her to bed then he transfers her to her bed alone. She still wakes up and comes to find me. It doesnt even seem like she is getting into deep sleep because its like shes alert from the minute her eyes open.

Last night she slept in her room from 830-1230. Then she woke up and came to our bed but refused to sleep and was up until 5am talking and laughing. Im still waiting to hear back from her dr. Thanks anyway for the replies.

cyprissa

Ferber has some good helpful advice on this type of waking. For sleep training, we had really good luck with the Sleep Lady Shuffle and then once he was used to sleeping on his own we did something similar to the Supernanny stay in bed technique when he was giving us trouble going to bed. Good luck.

PayolaCrayola

Thanks guys for your replies. I spoke to her pedi yesterday, who is a very hyper person herself lol and she said if its not affecting her in any way then she could just be the type of person that doesnt need a lot of sleep. She said her whole life she has only ever slept 5-6hrs max. Her suggestion was to let DD know that its quiet/sleep time and let her do it on her own.

So yesterday before I even spoke to her DD didnt want to nap but I did haha So i took her in her room and laid on her bed then I said "ok its nap/sleep time Mommy is going to sleep. You can play quietly then when you are sleepy come to bed." She said ok. She played for about 30min then climbed up and went to sleep. At night I did the same thing and she only played about 15min then went to sleep and slept until I got up at 4. Then she went back to sleep.

Hopefully this will help her get back on track!