For the past 13 nights, a battle has raged in our home.
The sleeping battle.
Me, exhausted and haggard, vs. a 21 month old, willful, determined toddler.
Guess who wins.
Last night I thought I'd try a new bedtime routine. Similar to what we had, but come 9:30pm, I shut all the lights off, all the TVs and had NO noise WHAT-SO-EVER.
I thought maybe Roo would get sleepy, roll around for a bit and doze off to a peaceful sleep. I even set the alarm for 8am, thinking she'd get up early.
Wrong.
She did the same exact thing she normally does. Giggles, laughs, rolls around, kicks the wall, etc. The lights and TV being totally out did NOTHING for this child.
She finally went to sleep at 11:00, like every day for the past 13 nights.
And that 8am wake-up call, I was so exhausted I snooze until 8:40am (so much for getting Roo up early).
The thing is, I can't take the 11:00pm bedtime. It makes me grumpy to have a child that stays up that late!! I miss my 10:00pm bedtime b/c then at least I got some time to hang out with my hubby, read, whatever. When Roo goes to bed at 11:00 (and sometimes even later!) I'm so tired I can barely roll over to take my glasses off!
Egh... I've always been a student of the theory that child will do what they're supposed to do when they're ready... should I just accept this? Adjust our schedules? Give in to the fact that my night owl child, who has healthy 2-3 hour naps everyday, wants to stay up so late?
I need a nap.
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The Waiting Game
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15 comments:
2-3 hours naps!!!! WOW! Miles has NEVER slept for more than an hour (1.5 if he's really beat) and never --even as a tiny baby... taken more than one nap a day. He's totally beat by 8pm telling us "nite nite mommy" Would you be willing to try cutting her nap short... maybe it'd make her more tired after the sun went down? Just a thought. I too REALLY enjoy my nighttime to unwind.
I would cut the last nap and stretch him out as long as you can and then ease him into a 8pm-ish bedtime. He seems to stay up until 11 because he takes long naps and clearly isn't tired. Just my 2 cents! ;)
I put Babe on a sleep schedule. It was rough for me while I was waiting for him to adjust, but it has definitely paid off in the long run. I know you co-sleep so that probably makes it a tad tougher. I know when I co-sleep with Babe (usually nap time when he refuses to go down for a nap!), I snuggle him against me and go to sleep. My breathing in his ear usually will help him sync up with me and he drifts off as I do.
I feel your pain. I have just recently given up the nap for my 2 year old so that I can get her in bed before 8, when she naps she is up until 10. Her bad behavior in the late afternoon to me is the lesser of the two evils. If you don't give up the nap altogether than limit it to an hour or an hour and a half. Good Luck and I love your blog.
I'm not a parent of children so I don't have any useful advice for you, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry you're doing through this. I'm a monster when I'm lacking sleep.
Here's hoping your little beauty starts going to sleep earlier!
Hugs!
2-3 hr. naps?! Holy moly! I wish my kids would do that. Perhaps cutting the nap short? I dunno man. I think some kids just like to stay up later, although, perhaps Roo is too tired and gets that crazy second burst of energy and is up later? What if you tried the "turn everything off" trick a little earlier? Like 7:30 or 8pm? My son will stay up till 9:30 or 10pm if I don't quiet down the house by 7:30. When I do, he's out for the night. Good luck. Sorry you're having a rough couple of weeks.
Wowza! Those are some longs naps she's taking. Maybe try not letting her sleep so long at nap time?? We had to do that with Ally. She too is a night owl and will stay up to 11 if we let her. But we start our night time routine at 7:30 and she's out by 9. I'm sorry you are so tired...it's tough work being a Mommy!
We're having sleep issues here too. Waking up in the FIVES for the past five days. I can't figure out what's causing it but I get progressively more tired each and every day. Granted he goes to bed at 7. What time is she waking up from her nap? Bub's nap is 2-3 hours too, but he's awake by 4:30 aqt the latest, so he'll go to sleep earlier. Maybe adjust her nap time? I don't know. People always have suggestions for me and I'm always thinking "Eh, that won't work for us."
Sorry about your nights!!! I agree with the other mommies, cut the nap short or wake her up earlier in the morning and then try an earlier nap.. then she might be ready for bed earlier. Hope it helps!!
:)
~Tabitha~
freshmommyblog.com
Is she still in a crib?
You could give her 'down time' w/ books for her to look at by herself for a bit w/ a lamp on and then lights out a bit later.
Don't give up, it'll work itself out.
You can do it!
The new routine will settle itself out if you just stick to it.
I hope you get it sorted out! Sounds exhausting!
I'm a little late on this, and I'm sure you've all ready had some great advice. But, I'll throw my 2 cents in anyway.
Cut out the nap and see what happens. On the other hand, some kids do better with later bedtimes. My daughter even now at 9 will not go to sleep at most children's bedtimes. She just can't do it. She's a nightowl and has always been like her parents.
Hi again from farmsuite... With our four we've had the whole gamut of sleep issues.
Maybe someone else suggested this, but... can you make her room completely baby safe and tell her that as long as she's quiet she doesn't have to go to sleep? Do the routine of your bedtime: bath, book, teeth, whatever you do. Then tuck her in, put up the baby gate or close the door, whichever you're comfortable with. It might take two or three nights but NOT 13, I'd think.
Just in our house, we've never had luck with cutting naps short to try to get better nighttime sleepers. They're just cranky and wired if we cut the naps shorter than their natural schedule.
You poor mommy. You must be tired.
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