19 month sleep help

[kappachi]

My DD is now 19 months and since i can remember she's only slept 9 hours a night plus one one hour nap a day. I've talked to our ped. about this and she's not worried as she's developing great. But the problem I find is that she wakes up at 5 and wants to go to sleep again at 8. This does not work well for either of us because it means she doesn't take an afternoon nap. Does anyone have suggestions on extending her sleep so that she won't feel tired again at 8am? I can tell her 5am body clock doesn't work for her as she is cranky within an hour of being awake. Anyone else have this problem?

[Verloren]

I had this problem with DS at just about the same age. I started putting him to bed REALLY early (5:30-6 pm) and that definitely helped. Eventually he just grew out of it and now he sleeps until 6-7am, takes a longer nap in the afternoon, goes to sleep at about 7:30 pm and is a much happier kid.

[kappachi]

Maybe I should try a really early bed time. Right now DD goes to bed at 8pm and wakes at 5am. I could really use an extra hour of sleep! Especially with a new baby coming in August.