My DD will be 3 years old in 6 weeks and just will not go to bed! I am at a total loss as to what to do. She is not nursing and sleeps in her own room, and has been for over a year. If she naps she will be high energy until we say it is time to go to bed but then she pulls out every stalling tactic possible. If we try bad-cop approach she sits in her room and howls, cries, and then we will find that she is just sitting up in her bed in complete darkness making every sort of annoying noise possible just to protest going to bed. And this will go on way past 11:00 pm. Up until a couple of weeks ago she would gladly go to bed at 8-9 no problems just want a story and to get tucked in. Yesterday I finally remembered that she pulled this last year at about the same time of year.
She is use to 4-6 hours outside a day and now that it is December in MN and we are rural she barely gets 30 minutes outside. This whole week it has been below 10 degrees so other than 30 minutes tonight, not so much outside time. Unfortunately our town SUCKS for activities or places to take her to during the day and the other nearest places are all 40 minutes away.
If she doesn't nap she crashes into bed at 7:00 which seems really really nice until she is up at 2:00 am with some issue or another. There's "ladybugs in her room", there are "shadows in her room", or she will just say she is done sleeping and wants to be up. Yesterday she napped and was still fighting about going to bed at 11:00....and then got up promptly at 6:00 am
. AND she is a morning person, even on that amount of sleep! I have even talked to her a few days ago after I realized how utterly crabby I was being to her in the morning, that 'if you wake mom and dad up in the middle of the night, we are pretty crabby the next day.' Then I tried to throw in that we can be woken up if you have an owie or have to go potty.
I know that she could probably drop her nap being the age she is, and I am wondering if maybe starting her on some vit D would help, but any other suggestions are very appreciated!
**Would getting some magnesium from an epsom salt bath help at all?
She is use to 4-6 hours outside a day and now that it is December in MN and we are rural she barely gets 30 minutes outside. This whole week it has been below 10 degrees so other than 30 minutes tonight, not so much outside time. Unfortunately our town SUCKS for activities or places to take her to during the day and the other nearest places are all 40 minutes away.
If she doesn't nap she crashes into bed at 7:00 which seems really really nice until she is up at 2:00 am with some issue or another. There's "ladybugs in her room", there are "shadows in her room", or she will just say she is done sleeping and wants to be up. Yesterday she napped and was still fighting about going to bed at 11:00....and then got up promptly at 6:00 am
I know that she could probably drop her nap being the age she is, and I am wondering if maybe starting her on some vit D would help, but any other suggestions are very appreciated!
**Would getting some magnesium from an epsom salt bath help at all?