Hi Moms, I am a mother of a 14 month old wonderful son and a 3 year old daughter. My daugher was a fairly easy baby and toddler. It was easy to have her on a schedule as she was my only child. With my son, I have tried to protect his naps and night sleep as much as possible. I read and follow Dr. Weissbluth, "Healty Sleep Habits, Happy Child." My concern is that he is not getting enough sleep. He is up so early, today 5:40. I try not to go into the room until 6 am. I am let him "cry it out, " but it seems like he has been sick a lot of is teething, that I am not able to sleep train as much as I'd like to. I am still nursing him. This morning when he got up at 5:40 crying, I went into his room as he as a bad cold. She nursed and slept until 6:50. Then, time for his morning nap, which he sttill needs. 9 am is too early as he nursed and slept until 6:50, so I put him down at 9:45. He talked and played in his crib until 10;15. Slept until 11:25. Down for his afternoon nap at 2:30. Didn't fall asleep until 3;05 and only slept until 3:35. Very tired. Put him down at 6:45 for night time. Didn't fall asleep until 7:35/8:00. We do the whole ready books routine. What is your sleep schedule? Any recommendations. He has been a more fussy child. I think this is because he is not getting enough sleep. Thanks for your help.
Honestly, I never had a regular schedule for them. I was on what I always called baby time. And they grew up anyway.
Honestly, he sounds overtired. They get overtired, then they can't fall to sleep easily/ sleep less than they otw would.
Whenever kiddo was or is sick, our sleeping routine goes out the window. Last week he woke up at 730, was up until 830, went back to bed for 4 hours... was up for an hour, had some soup... back to bed for 4 more hours... up for a few hours watching movies, ate a bit more and back to bed. The next day his dad had him, and instead of letting kiddo sleep himself out, he was up all day (hyper and cranky), and then didn't get to sleep until 11pm and woke up at 6am. 3 hours later I tucked him in bed with a movie and zzzzzzzz sleepin. My H couldn't get our son to nap, even though he was sick, because he was waiting until kiddo "should" be tired. Which was hours after when he actually was. Instead he tried to keep kiddo entertained until it was "okay" to take a nap. IMO "okay" is when they get sleepy. Even if he's only been awake for half an hour to an hour.
I have a 15 month old and a 3 year old. I will list below my 15 month old's schedule which has worked perfectly for me. We cut out the morning nap because 1 long nap seemed to work better for her and myself. I am not sure how long you are planning on nursing, but most kids sleep better once they are weened. Do you nurse him to sleep or put him in the crib awake? The teething thing can also be a major disruption too- my daughter cut 2 molars this week. An ear infection could be a possiblity too. My oldest got them sometimes after she cut teeth and definitely after a cold. Good Luck.
7:30 approx wake up (6 ounces of whole milk)
8:00 breakfast
10:00 snack
11:30 or 12- Lunch (6 ounces of whole milk)
12:30-3:00 Nap
3:00- Snack
5:00- dinner (6 ounces of whole mik)
7:00- bedtime
I suggest that when he's ill that you respond to his cries. I'm not a fan of the cry it out routine anyway but definitely believe that it will not work when a baby has needs. Especially when he's ill, he needs the reassurance that you will respond and help him. When I have a cold or congestion I wake up miserable. Don't you? So does he. He needs help clearing out the mucous. His gums are sore and he may be congested while teething also. He needs the reassurance of your presence.
The fact that he doesn't go to sleep right away suggests to me that he may need to be put down for naps at a later time. Try being flexible with his schedule, while watching him for signs that it's nap time, until you find a time that works. Put him down for a nap when he starts to appear sleeping but before he's overly tired. I also suggest that you have his naps too close together. Try dividing the day up into thirds with the night time third being longer.
Some babies just aren't as able to settle into a routine as quickly as other babies. Experiment until you find a pattern that works for both of you.
I suggest that even when he's not ill, crying it out is not an effective way to train a baby to sleep. Letting them fuss for awhile is necessary but once they begin to truly cry they are upset and have a difficult time getting to sleep. They aren't able to self soothe when that upset. They fall asleep because they're exhausted from crying. Is that really what you want.
I suggest using a modification that allows time for him to fuss and try to get to sleep. After he's been fussing for 5-10 minutes but before he's started that frantic crying, go into him. Leave him in his crib, rub his back, say soothing words to him and leave. Repeat as often as necessary gradually lengthening the amount of time in between going in to him.
Also try putting or doing different things in his room to help him soothe himself. Put on soft music, perhaps leave on a soft night light. Attach a music box with moving characters on a screen on his crib rail.
I think it's fine for a child to take 30 minutes to fall asleep. I'm making these suggestions because of your concern that he's not getting enough sleep.
