Okay, I'm sending out a distress signal. For those who may have insights into dealing with toddler sleep habits, I need your ears please!
For the better part of the past two weeks, the kids have started waking up much earlier than normal & refuse to nap even one minute more than an hour and a half. At this point, you may be skeptical of my distress, but hear me out.
Our normal routine for the past few months has been that the kids go to bed around 8:30 & sleep until about 8:00. (Please don't hate me for their late rising!) They would also take a nap that I considered acceptable once it hit the 2-hour mark. Some days, it would go longer.
Their waking time has been creeping earlier & earlier since my surgery & hit an all-time, ungodly hour this morning at 5:55. What to do? I certainly want to fix this in order to get more rest for myself & Justin, but honestly, my bigger concern is that they're getting WAY less sleep than they should.
The manner in which they wake up has also changed. Rather than talking & playing in their beds before hollering to be set free, they go from absolute silence to deafening screams in 0.2 seconds. Once up, they're cranky & irritable.
I'm at a loss as to what to do since I will once again be flying solo during the day time starting on Tuesday. HELP!
For the better part of the past two weeks, the kids have started waking up much earlier than normal & refuse to nap even one minute more than an hour and a half. At this point, you may be skeptical of my distress, but hear me out.
Our normal routine for the past few months has been that the kids go to bed around 8:30 & sleep until about 8:00. (Please don't hate me for their late rising!) They would also take a nap that I considered acceptable once it hit the 2-hour mark. Some days, it would go longer.
Their waking time has been creeping earlier & earlier since my surgery & hit an all-time, ungodly hour this morning at 5:55. What to do? I certainly want to fix this in order to get more rest for myself & Justin, but honestly, my bigger concern is that they're getting WAY less sleep than they should.
The manner in which they wake up has also changed. Rather than talking & playing in their beds before hollering to be set free, they go from absolute silence to deafening screams in 0.2 seconds. Once up, they're cranky & irritable.
I'm at a loss as to what to do since I will once again be flying solo during the day time starting on Tuesday. HELP!
8 comments:
Sounds like our house some days! So sorry, kids just have the best timing don't they? I looked it up and at 2 years old average sleep is 13 hours a day. I would suggest that either teeth or ear infections sound like the culprits. Since this is totally not normal for them. Motrin seems to help Noah best with both. Maybe move one to the pack n play if they wake up too early so they can cry without rousing the other? Let me know how it plays out!
When my kids wake up screaming, I leave them in their cribs. It has been my experience that they will calm back down, and possibly go back to sleep. I know the nap is done and they are well-rested, when I hear them awake AND happy.
Hope this is just a phase for you!
Sorry, Alli! I hope this changes for you soon!
I don't know what to tell you about nap times, but a friend of mine had a similar problem with her daughter waking up earlier and earlier in the morning. She put a digital alarm clock with large numbers by her daughter's bed and set it 30 min behind the actual time (which I guess is optional). She then told her little girl that she could not get out of bed until she saw the "7", "8"...whatever time you want to make it on the alarm clock. Kelly could be awake, but had be quiet and could not get out of bed until she saw the "7". It worked well for my friend's family and is certainly worth a shot.
I am also a fan of leaving them in cribs for chance of falling back to sleep. Could it be molars? Ears?
I'm not one to give advice, my daughter gave up her daytime nap before age 3. I wouldn't wish that on you. Hope it gets better!
Sorry about the sleep problems...especially with the timing!
I've always had an early riser (Ranger gets up at 6:45), but I've learned a few things. No matter when I put him to bed, that's the time he wakes up. So, there isn't any benefit to him going to bed later - whether he goes to bed at 8:00 or 7:15, he wakes up at 6:45. So, I put him in bed earlier so he gets his full night. Some things I've read say to tweak the bedtime by 15 minute increments either way. It's a small change, but it's a good way to find an ideal bedtime if they are transitioning for some reason. Same rule for naps.
Maybe they are just going through a phase though. They've had a busy few weeks with travel, ear infections & your surgery. Hopefully it passes though! It's rough when you've got tired, grumpy kids!
bless your heart. Both of my kids have always woken up around 5 when they are teething and the twins could be getting their two year molars. I found that if I gave them a dose of tylenol or motrin before bed they did not wake up quite as early. I also waited a little while to see if they would settle down and they usually do. A few times it has taken a bit of fussing, but to me 5:55 is still night time. Not sure what to do about the naps. Trevor wakes up early sometimes and I just don't get him and he falls back asleep. Layton is a bit different because he is old enough to know he has to stay in bed until the clock reaches 7. Good luck. Hopefully it is a phase.
Love learning from other moms,great question Ali! Helps us moms who are further behind. Praying for your cute ones.. We 'visited' PC this last week and saw your beautiful family from across the foyer Sunday morning before 2nd service. It was so nice to see so many familiar faces.
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