NOW what???

[Curlyfry7]

I had posted a few weeks ago about getting my kids on a better bedtime routine and into bed earlier, as they weren't getting enough sleep. Here's a link:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?t=1240193

We are now consistently getting DS to sleep between 7:30-8 pm, with DD taking a little longer but usually out by 8:15. To do this I am getting them up at 7am, getting them outside early (before 10am) for physical exercise and setting their body clock, naps for DD end by 2:30 at the latest, no TV for DS after 4pm for sure and preferably 3pm, getting out again in the afternoon, making sure dinner was ready earlier, being consistent with bath-books-bed, 3 stories and he loses stories if he acts like a wild hooligan. Oh, and we got black out shades.

I was pretty happy with things for a couple weeks-they were getting roughly 11 hrs for DS (compared to 9-10) and 12-13 for DD (compared to 10-11)-still probably on the lower side of average but much better.

And NOW they are waking up at 5:30am. So we're back to only 10 hours of nighttime sleep for each of them, and DD is only napping roughly an hour a day (sometimes more, sometimes less)

I can't get them to bed any earlier than 7:30-it is all I can do to get them in by this time. And waking later than 7am means mornings are rushed, plus there are some days they HAVE to get up by that time, which would throw everything off.

Am I just doomed to have tired cranky kids all the time?? Or could there be something else going on?

[One_Girl]

Have you tried phasing out the naps completely and seeing if that helps? When my dd was ready to phase out of naps she would have a difficult time falling asleep at night and she would wake much earlier. The first two weeks of phasing out naps was horrible, but once she adjusted it was wonderful. I also put blankets over the windows in the summer so the room is much darker when we sleep and that helps a lot because she tends to sleep and wake with the sun otherwise.

[Curlyfry7]

I HAVE actually thought about that. DS doesn't nap (except for occassional sleeping in the car) but I have actually been wishing she would stop napping as we could do more in the day. I gave up naps myself when I was 18 months old (and was a pleasant, good sleeping 12 hours a night kid, or so I'm told) I've hesitated because 1) there are days she REALLY needs the nap and 2) everything I've read about sleep (like SIA or NCSS for tod/PS) states kids SHOULD nap until 4-5 years old. Now, obviously I don't agree with everything I read but these are pretty well-respected AP friendly sources, so it makes me not know WHAT to do, LOL.

And, stopping DD's naps won't help when DS wakes up early, although it IS more common for her to be the one up first.....hmmm.....

I will say that the black out shades have been the bomb!!