Ds has never settled into a regular sleep schedule. We've tried at various times but now at 19 months I feel like I'm missing something altogether.
Right now he consistently wakes up at 8:30. Most days he naps from 1:45ish to no later than 4:00 (if he is asleep at 4 I wake him up). He goes down for naps very easily 90% of the time.
But bedtime is a gamble every. single. night. When he is ready to go to sleep he lays down, nurses & is down within 10-15 minutes. After that he sleeps well through most of the night waking up once, sometimes twice.
When he's not ready to sleep he'll either fight us tooth & nail or just lay there nursing with his eyes wide open wide awake for an hour or more.
We've tried doing the whole bath, teeth, pj's, book, bed thing & it does nothing for us. The bath just stimulates him & he's got no interest in books right now (except to throw them). We do have a short getting ready for bed routine.
Lately he's been going to bed anywhere between 9:30 & 1:00!!! 9:30 is sort of ideal in my mind (yes, I realize over all this is a shifted schedule than many lo's).
This weekend we decided we would start approaching bedtime more like nap since naps go so well. In the morning we are usually out of the house doing stuff, come home for lunch & then straight to bed. So tonight I purposely brought him out for a bike ride, came home for a snack & then straight to bed. He went down well at 9:15. But then he woke up a half hour later & has been up ever since. He's done this before when he does get to sleep at a more normal time.
I guess my question is, at what age do you stop going by their sleep cues & simply go by the clock? And how do you make that transition?
Right now he consistently wakes up at 8:30. Most days he naps from 1:45ish to no later than 4:00 (if he is asleep at 4 I wake him up). He goes down for naps very easily 90% of the time.
But bedtime is a gamble every. single. night. When he is ready to go to sleep he lays down, nurses & is down within 10-15 minutes. After that he sleeps well through most of the night waking up once, sometimes twice.
When he's not ready to sleep he'll either fight us tooth & nail or just lay there nursing with his eyes wide open wide awake for an hour or more.
We've tried doing the whole bath, teeth, pj's, book, bed thing & it does nothing for us. The bath just stimulates him & he's got no interest in books right now (except to throw them). We do have a short getting ready for bed routine.
Lately he's been going to bed anywhere between 9:30 & 1:00!!! 9:30 is sort of ideal in my mind (yes, I realize over all this is a shifted schedule than many lo's).
This weekend we decided we would start approaching bedtime more like nap since naps go so well. In the morning we are usually out of the house doing stuff, come home for lunch & then straight to bed. So tonight I purposely brought him out for a bike ride, came home for a snack & then straight to bed. He went down well at 9:15. But then he woke up a half hour later & has been up ever since. He's done this before when he does get to sleep at a more normal time.
I guess my question is, at what age do you stop going by their sleep cues & simply go by the clock? And how do you make that transition?
Since I still nurse my daughter to sleep I can't put her down until the 10 month old is napping.
