3yr old dropping naps and not sleeping at night!

[Nelybel]

OK - its 5:41am and I've slept a little less than 4 hours tonight so this may be a chaotic post. Here is the back story.

Around October something I got really tired of late nights up with ds so started getting very organized with nap time so that bed time would come sooner. Worked for a week. Then, any time he napped - he wouldn't go to bed until 11 or after. Just not tired. So - we began to think he was ready to drop his naps. After much experimentation and frustration I sort of relaxed and what we ended up with was napping occasionally but at least 4 days a week no nap with an easy bedtime of around 7. That worked pretty well for a few weeks. But since Christmas (I think) - about a month now - if ds goes to bed early, he wakes up after about 6-7 hours of sleep and doesn't sleep for 2-3 hours in the middle of the night. What is up with that???!!!

OK - to be honest, he woke up about 1:45am - nursed a little and went back to sleep. I came back to my bed and 20 minutes later he was in here again. Tried to sleep with me but was too restless (hanging off the bed etc) so we went to his room. (DH is sick tonight so can't help. Usually he does this). After trying to sleep for a while, I give up and he plays for a while. Then he had a huge poop. So that is probably why he was up tonight. But this is happening almost every time he goes to bed early without a nap. ANyone else experience this? Any suggestions. Its crazy-making.

He just fell asleep about 20 minutes ago. He'll probably wake up again at 7ish. Ugh!

J

[simplify]

Hi. I may not be able to help much, but I can sympathize. I just posted yesterday with a similar problem (see "Help! Little Co-sleeper won't sleep!"). We have the same things going on with our 2 1/2 year old. If he naps, he won't sleep until late, 11, and there goes our short window of alone time (selfish?). If he doesn't nap and goes to bed earlier, 8, he wakes up in the middle of the night and wants to play! I've also noticed that he gets up at the same time, 6, every morning no matter what time he went to bed or how much he was awake! He's fine but I'm tired and grouchy and that's not how I want to be. Again, I know this doesn't help much with your problem, but I wanted to let you know you're not alone. Sending you a smile and a hug. I'll be watching your thread to see if we can get these little guys figured out!

[Nelybel]

Thanks for the btdt! I was so sleep deprived when I wrote I didn't think to check for another related post. I'll go check yours as well.

And yup - he woke up a little before 7 this am. I don't understand how he can keep getting by with so little sleep. I know I can't. Mind you - he doesn't do this every night. But pretty frequently and even on 'good' nights its not great. Is it hunger? potty learning stuff? When he first woke up he wanted his diaper changed cause he had peed. I don't know. I was even wondering if it was related to red dye. But I don't think he ate anything with that in it recently. I try to avoid food like that. Sigh.

OK - off to check your thread. Thanks again.

J
PS - I just noticed your location. I got my masters at U of I and lived in Champaign for 2 years.

[simplify]

Small world! I didn't go to school here, just moved here after I got married. Great place to live and raise a family. Anyway, your points are interesting. Our little one is potty training, too (his own idea). Maybe his nighttime diaper is bothering him? I've noticed he's taken it off a few times at night. I hadn't thought about red dye, but we don't eat much of that either. Older brother has serious food allergies so we're pretty careful about what we have around. Maybe I should be more careful about what he's eating and drinking before he goes to bed. He's always hungry. Also, we did get some green time at the park today and I'm hoping that helps tonight. I know they have had cabin fever this winter. At any rate, it's nice to talk to someone else who understands. Thanks!
p.s.
I'm very new to this. What's btdt?

[Nelybel]

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. Computer time is spotty these days.

How is it going? Is your ds sleeping any better. We're still in wierdsville sleepwise...but at least he hasn't been waking up in the middle of the night the past few nights. Instead, he has been taking some naps - then going to bed very late (10-11ish) and then waking up around 6:30am. That makes for only about 8hours each night!! Still - its preferable to the middle of the night wakings. Too soon to say if there is any change.

Any answers on your end?

Oh - and I'm relatively new to this (internet forums and such) as well. Still can't figure out how to use the cute smileys. Btdt stands for "been there, done that." Hope that helps (HTH). Somewhere on MDC there is a post that explains a good number of those mysterious collections of letters.

J

[timneh_mom]

:hug My almost 15 month old is doing the same thing right now. I think he is changing his nap schedule (possibly going from 2 naps down to 1 per day) but he is up for 1-2 hours in the night too. And when he is up at night, he is really reluctant to nap during the day!! Makes me nuts!! *sigh* I hope things improve for you!

When my son does this, he is visibly tired the whole day. He whines, fusses, falls more, comes and puts his head in my lap and rubs his eyes. And he cannot deal with anything well! Yet he will not nap and will not go back to sleep once he wakes to nurse. Why?? :(

[Nelybel]

Boy - I wish I knew the answer to that question! I spoke too soon in my previous post. Last night ds woke up again around 2am! We're not sure how long he was up. I nursed him a bit...didn't act sleepy so I told him I had to get some sleep and he asked for Dad. Dad went in and basically fell asleep and doesn't know when ds finally went down. Ds was chatty, happy, calm. Its not always that good. Sigh.

Sometimes I wonder if its just a response to some sort of developmental transition. Your child being in the process of dropping naps made me think of that. My ds is in the process of dropping from 1 nap to 0 naps so....Hmmm.

Oh - and my ds will often act more tired during the day too. Nothing dramatic. But 8 hours of sleep a night, with or without waking, just isn't enough.

Heres hoping for a sleep-filled night for all of us.

J