Bedtime and Nap Schedule Help!

NathsPrncssD · May 2011

Hello! I hope you don't mind me asking this here - I figure some of you have been through this age/stage before, where as many of the 12-24 month ladies are in this age/stage right now.

My DD is almost 15 months. We seemed to have hit a weird napping phase. She needs to nap, but often doesn't or just takes a short nap. She's never been a good sleeper and still wakes up at least once a night to nurse. I know, I know - I am working on that! She's a terrible teether and wakes up more often when she is teething. The last few nights have actually been pretty good! She's only woken up once and one night she slept 10 hours and then went back to sleep for another 3. However, she's been getting sooo tired that she basically combusts and I have to get her into bed as early as 6 pm! I don't mind her going to be early, but 7 or 7:30 would be much better. And, I think she goes to sleep early because she doesn't nap and is so tired.

Sometimes I can get her down for a shorter morning nap...maybe 1-1.5 hours. But, she is still sleepy early. Some days I can get her down for a decent afternoon nap...but that hasn't happened in about 3 weeks. And sometimes, she takes a quick 15 minute nap in the car and that's it - and she gets so tired early.

Any tips for getting her on a better routine? What schedule should I be following? How do I make sure I am putting her down for a nap at the right time? Sometimes I notice that if I am too early or too late - she won't nap as well. I am going to see her pedi in a few days for her 15 month appt., so I will talk to her there.

Thanks and sorry this is so looong! Just looking for any advice or help!

Stacyc625 · May 2011

From what i remember at 15 mon Gisele was on a solid 7am up - nap from 1-3pm and bed at 7pm schedule. it worked REALLY well for us. So much so- we are STILL on that schedule.

Geek_Girl · May 2011

Stacyc625:
From what i remember at 15 mon Gisele was on a solid 7am up - nap from 1-3pm and bed at 7pm schedule. it worked REALLY well for us. So much so- we are STILL on that schedule.

Ditto except DS's nap is from 12:30-3:30. That was right about the time we transitioned DS to one nap. For the oh so wonderful joys of teething... We'd give DS a dose of ibuprofen right after dinner (which was right before bath/bed) and it worked like a charm.

And don't feel bad about the night feedings. We went through that until DS was 16-17months or so. We ended up cutting out his afternoon snack so he'd eat really well at dinner which would hold him through the night. This also really helped him eat a good breakfast since he wasn't up eating at 3am. Once he was finally eating a really good breakfast, he wouldn't want to snack much before lunch, then he'd eat a really good lunch and sleep well for a nap.

juliane2004 · May 2011

DD was at one nap by about 12-13 months, so maybe try just one nap / day?

Go out or something in the morning (going out distracts my DD and keeps her up a little longer, whereas if we were at home she'd be cranky), and put your LO down after like 1pm or so, and see what naps are like.

NathsPrncssD · May 2011

Thank you for your advice on this...we were doing really well with one afternoon nap for a few weeks and then all of a sudden she wanted a morning nap again...then wouldn't take the afternoon. We normally get out in the morning - Gymboree two days, story time at the library, etc. But, sometimes she falls asleep on the way home and then I can't get her back into her crib for a real nap. I think I need to work on getting her down a bit earlier to see if that helps. I think as she gets better sleeping a night, that will help put off a morning nap. Ugh, I just hate stressing about sleep and naps...

NathsPrncssD · May 2011

Geek_Girl:

And don't feel bad about the night feedings. We went through that until DS was 16-17months or so. We ended up cutting out his afternoon snack so he'd eat really well at dinner which would hold him through the night. This also really helped him eat a good breakfast since he wasn't up eating at 3am. Once he was finally eating a really good breakfast, he wouldn't want to snack much before lunch, then he'd eat a really good lunch and sleep well for a nap.

Thank you for letting me feel better about her waking up at night. I stressed about her sleep for months and then just decided not to worry or fight it. I know she will grow out of it and I try my best to help her sleep through the night! I had to teach her how to fall asleep on her own two times - once at 4 months and again at 11 months. All the books say, once you teach them to fall asleep on their own, the night-wakings will stop. They lied! And, I have such a hard time letting her CIO when she wakes me from a dead sleep screaming. We do the tylenol at bedtime and that does help. I figure when she is a teenager I will just make sure to pay her back and wake her up at 5 am on weekends! LOL!

juliane2004 · May 2011

NathsPrncssD:
Thank you for your advice on this...we were doing really well with one afternoon nap for a few weeks and then all of a sudden she wanted a morning nap again...then wouldn't take the afternoon. We normally get out in the morning - Gymboree two days, story time at the library, etc. But, sometimes she falls asleep on the way home and then I can't get her back into her crib for a real nap. I think I need to work on getting her down a bit earlier to see if that helps. I think as she gets better sleeping a night, that will help put off a morning nap. Ugh, I just hate stressing about sleep and naps...

If I know DD is tired after our morning outing, and she falls asleep, we have the same problem: she won't nap at home. So, I try to distract her with something in the car, like I'll give her my iPhone to play with (locked, so she can't actually do more than push the home button). This keeps her awake enough to get her home and nap in her crib.

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