Toddler Moms-Help with Bedtime/Naptime
We are having some issues with Ashley's bedtime. We normally put her down b/w 8-8:30, but some nights (OK, most nights!) she will not fall asleep until much later, she will just talk to herself in her crib. I have always been home in the mornings, so it has not been a big deal if she has not fallen asleep early b/c she has been able to sleep in the next morning. She is going to preschool two mornings a week and she is not getting her full amount of sleep and just looks pitiful (circles under her eyes, etc). My work schedule is changing in a few weeks and she will need to get up early four mornings a week instead of two, so I need to get this straightened out soon.
I am thinking she may be taking her naps too late in the afternoon and this is affecting her falling asleep at night. My nanny puts her down around 2 (or later) and naps until 4 (or later!). I think we may need to push her naps up to right after she eats lunch (around 1p) and maybe this will help her go to sleep earlier at night.
What time does your DC nap and for how long? What time does he/she go to sleep at night? How much sleep does he/she get total a day? Ashley functions best on about 14 hours of sleep total and with her new schedule, she is not getting that amount. I am looking for some guidance on nap and bedtimes.
Thanks so much!
Re: Toddler Moms-Help with Bedtime/Naptime
Hey L!
Here is K's general schedule, though it can shift by a half hour either way.
8:00AM - wake up
1:00 - 3:00 PM Nap / Rest time
7:30 PM bedtime
It definitely sounds like she is napping too late if she is sleeping unitl 4 or later. ?I don't think K would go back to bed within 4.5 - 5 hours after waking up, so maybe if you pushed it up an hour or so, she would be able to go to bed earlier.
Have you considered putting her to bed much earlier, so by the time she chats to herself she is still falling asleep at a reasonable hour? ?I know it is no fun because you lose so much time with them at night and it makes doing things in the evening near impossible.
ETA: Total sleep is 12 hours from the night and 1-2 from a nap?
You may want to also consider getting her up early (at the same time) everyday so she gets into a routine (well, maybe not the weekends
) that way she'll probably be tired each night a little earlier. I'm not a huge fan of waking children unless it's disrupting her routine/sleep schedule in the long run. We get Natalie up by 7:15 if she hasn't woken up on her own even though I work from home because otherwise, it throws off everything for her all day long.
Although Natalie is much younger than Ashley, I'll give you my answers anyways
. She gets up around 6-6:15 a.m. usually. Her nap is around noon (usually for only 1 - 1 1/2 hours). She goes to bed at 7:30 p.m. and usually falls asleep right away. So total, she's getting about 12 hours of sleep a day.
On a typical day he gets up at 7:15, naps at noon to 2pm then bedtime is b/w 8 and 8:30. Most nights we start winding down by 8 and having quiet time.
Eli has a pretty set schedule during the week since he's in daycare FT, and we try to keep things similar on the weekends for him.
He normally wakes around 6:30, but I have to get him up at 7 if he's not up already.
He naps after lunch, from about 11:30-1:30 at daycare.
We start getting ready for bed at 7, and he's in bed between 7:30-8, and is almost immediately asleep.
On the weekends we'll let him sleep later if he wants, but the latest he ever sleeps is 8. We also let him stay up a little later, but not much past 8. And he naps later and longer, like from 12-3. I just try to not let him get too far off schedule or it messes him up come Monday. It's nice to let him stay up late and sleep in late, but if we're not careful he doesn't get enough sleep Sunday night.
So he's basically getting about 11 hours of sleep at night, and about 2 hours during the day during the week. On the weekends it's more like 12 and 3.
Wow, I'm shocked at how early you ladies are able to get your child to go to bed. I guess our case is a little different since DH works 3rd shift and doesn't see Connor all day. If Connor went to bed that early he wouldn't see DH much at all so that's part of the reason he stays up so late.
Here's our routine/daycare routine:
Connor wakes up between 8:00-8:30 during the week, 9:00-9:30 on the weekends.
Naps around 12:00 until somewhere between 1:30 and 2:30 (just depends on the day)
Goes to bed at 10:00 and sometimes it takes him 45 minutes to an hour to go to sleep. I have been working on trying to get him in bed by at least 9:30 (right after DH leaves the house) but it's been a struggle.
This is almost exactly Liam's schedule. I would think that she is probably napping too late in the afternoon as well.
Camryn wakes up between 8 and 8:30.
She goes to preschool Tues/Thurs. so on those days and a lot of times on the weekend, she doesn't take a nap until about 2 pm. She usually sleeps for 2 hours. On other days she may go down closer to 1.
She goes right to bed aroun 8:30 to 9.
So for us going down as late as 2 or so works o.k. for us.
My Sweet Girls