Need More Sleep - Sausalito,CA

If they need more sleep (ie are not getting enough) an earlier bedtime might actually give a later wake-up time. It did for my daughter. That one nap sometimes decreases as they get older. It might also improve if she goes to sleep earlier. if they are not getting enough sleep they start to sleep less...sounds odd but it's what the studies suggest and supported by what I've seen with my daughter and noticed myself after weeks of to little sleep with a baby.

I agree with Catherine, your daughter needs to go to bed earlier. It doesn't make sense but "sleep begets sleep"- this is the phrase all the sleep specialists use. Especially in children, going to sleep earlier, usually means sleeping later (within reason). Try moving her bedtime up by 10 minutes every night, to 8 or even 7:30. Give it at least two weeks of being consistent and see what happens.
Good luck!

You'll probably see this over and over: the earlier you get her to bed, the longer she'll sleep. My 2-yr-old has a bedtime of 8:00 (we'll go back to 7:30 as it gets darker earlier), and sleeps until 7:30 am, with a 2 hr nap in the afternoon. Her nap is at 1:30 or 2:00. Our night-time routine is dinner together around 6:30, then a bath, then some playtime and/or reading, then Daddy takes her in her room (dark w/ nightlight and ready for bedtime), has some quiet cuddle and pray time, then puts her in her crib awake. Some nights she goes right to sleep, others she talks or sings for a while before going to sleep, but her bedtime is consistent and so is her wake time. Of course, she learned to put herself to sleep early on with lots of effort and sleep training on our part, so if your daughter doesn't put herself to sleep well you'll need to do whatever you usually do to get her to sleep, just do it earlier.

Try putting your daughter down earlier, definitely no later than 8:30 but 8:00 or 7:30 would be even better. It may take a few days to adjust, but stick to it and you'll see better mornings in no time!

J.

Hi A.,

We had the same problem with my daughter at the same age. I stopped her nap altogether and switched her bedtime to 7:00. It was rough for a few weeks, especially between 4-6pm, but ultimately it saved us. She slept for 12 straight hours at night and once she grew accustomed ot the new schedule, it was great!

Greetings A.:
As the mother of 5, and having taken care of one of my 2 1/2 year old gradchildren this weekend. I hope that some of what I say will help.
None of my 5 took regular naps, after they are a year old. So if they took a long nap one day I cherished it and just knew that they wouldn't the next day.
My grandaughter, love her little heart, at 2 1/2 will only take a nap if someone will lay down to her. She has her daddy hold her hand until she falls asleep at night.
What we have done with allt he grandchildren, and what we did with our own 5 was an hour before bedtime we started gearing down as a family. I put on gentle music, relaxzation sounds, or my husband played the gutair or the piano. This became a cue to the little ones that it was getting time. We made sure that meal time was done, baths wee taken care of , story was read and prayers were said. We made sure the TV was off.
We could sit and read to the children at night until they fell asleep-- Ididn't read childrens stories, because I tend to act them out and change voices so it defeated the purpose. So I read scriptures, My school books, my husband read Louis L'Mouir. They all still love western stories becasue of it.
Because I needed some quiet time during the day-- we have what we call the " Perry Mason Hour", becasue when the Perry Mason, show came on- I was not to be desturbed until the show ended. They took quilts and made big bird nests or went to a quiet place and looked at books, played quietly while mom had her time. THE SECOND the show ended they came and got me. Now to give you a giggle--- my daughter came home from work at 1 am, and when she found Perry Mason, she called me when the show ended and we had a good laugh! It can be any good and postive show.
The little ones do need rest and time to renew their body energy so they can be healty and happy children. All of mine are as cuious and creative as Curious George, the monkey, and I don't want it any other way. Good Luck, Nana G

i know this is strange but if i let my daughter (now 3) go to bet later she wakes super early as well and crys because it is still pitch black outside and she doesn't understand it. if i put her down between 8 and 8:30, she still wakes up but at 2 or 2:30 am; where I take her potty and she goes back to sleep until 7:30 when i wake her up. maybe putting her down earlier in the eve will help your daughter sleep too? i hope this helped. -E.

Hi A.,
Like the others said - bed earlier. It always worked that way with my son too. When he would get in a routine of later bed, he was always up earlier. I don't know why it works that way, but it does. Sometimes it takes a while to adjust, but sometimes not. You may notice some sleepy signs right after dinner. If you do, capitalize on that immediately. You may be surprised that she takes to an early bedtime easily.
Good luck.

How much physical exercise is she getting? I find that little girls often will be more likely to play quietly than little boys. If she's doing this, try to make sure she gets at least an hour every morning and an hour in the afternoon playing outside, running if possible. My daugter sets her girls up with races, either against each other, or just a timed race to see how quickly they can get to the fence and back. She will have them make that run about ten times a little while before they go down for their naps, just to be sure they have a reason to be tired. It's a game to them, but helps. You can also just go on a nice walk. I see you live in Sausalito where walking should be not only good exercise, but you should be able to point out a lot of interesting things that will help her develop language skills, observation skills, possbily work in math, color, and other concepts as you are walking. When the weather isn't conducive to a walk, which it appears is going to be the case later today, try working in some active things you can do with her inside the house. I put on CDs of lively music with the children I care for, and we have wild dances in the playroom. They love it, especially when they can see me dancing along with them. Half an hour of dancing will not only help tire her out, but it will give you some great exercise too.

You also do need to remember that as she gets older, she will naturally begin to need a bit less sleep. But at age two the amount of sleep she's getting does seem a bit on the short side.

My daughter is 18 months old and her schedule has been 9 to 6:30 or 7 for at least 8 months now. She naps 1-2 hours per day. I talked to her doctor because I wished she would sleep more. But she isn't cranky during the day and doesn't look sleepy other than just before nap time and just before bed. Her doctor said some kids just need less sleep and if she didn't exhibit signs of not getting enough sleep - then she's probably fine. On occassion she'll take a very late nap - like around 6 or 7 and used to think "ooh, maybe she'll just stay asleep". Nope. She wakes up, eats dinner and is ready for bed around 9 that night.

Hi A.

it may seem counter intuitive but try putting her down much earlier like 7 pm. Have her in bed, bathed, fed and ready for shuteye by 6:50. Apparently there is a resetting of the body clock after 7 pm.

Good Luck.

Agree with the others. If you need a great sleep book it is called "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weisbluth. He starts with infants but there is some useful information for children as they get older too. I am having exactly the same problem with my 2 yr old and the earlier bedtime helps. If she skips a nap (which is a battle every day now) I get her to bed as soon after 6 as I can and she sleeps until 6:30. If she goes to bed later than that, she is up around 5 am.
Good luck!

Hi A., I remember our DD went through a phase around the same age, where she was even getting up around 4:30 a.m. Yikes! We would be so tired, we'd pull her into bed with us to see if our warmth and sound breathing would entice her back to sleep, but she'd squirm and wake us up, so we found that putting her in front of a kid-safe video in the living rm. worked for us. The phase only lasted a short while, but long enough that both my DH and I remember it!

I can also say that later to bed, doesn't = later up in the a.m., it can actually cause some kids to wake up earlier because their biorhythm becomes neurologically disorganized. Earlier to bed and more sleep actually cause a child to sleep in more. I think Dr. William Sears mentions this on his website.

If you suspect that the afternoon nap is interfering with nighttime sleep. you might try telling her that she should just lay down on her bed for 20 min. without moving a lot or talking (show her on her bedroom clock what number the minute hand needs to be on in order to get up). This method has helped my son tremendously, he often will fall asleep watching the clock!) You can even lay down with her the first few times to show her what it feels like. Tell her you are going to wake her up in less than an hour, if she falls asleep. That way you can both have a nice break, yet not revive her for the next 9 hrs!

A warm bath, stories and laying down with your kid, scratching or massaging their body, rocking chair, singing lullabies are all lovely ways of bonding, ending the day and helping kids to drift off to sleep. Like you said, sleep is good for the brain, kids this age need 11+ hours/day.

Wishing you all lots of ZZZZZ's,
Mama in CA

I think one of the most important things you can give to a young child is an early bedtime. It does not matter when my boys go to bed, they always get up between 6:30-7:00am. As my son turned 4, he started getting up later, but he still goes to bed by 8:00pm and he's 5. My 3 year old gets up around the same time and he goes to bed by 7:30pm. At age 2, their bedtime was 6:30-7pm and they still woke up at 6:30am. They always wake up refreshed and happy. Early wake up times will be a blessing when they start school! I would suggest slowing moving the time earlier each night by a half hour or so until you get to at least 7pm. Good luck!!

Hello A.,
My daughter turned 2 last June and she is in bed and falls to sleep quickly at 8:00. I think the 9:30 bed time may be too late and your daughter may be over tired causing her to wake up earlier. My daughter does not sleep through the night most nights, but she doesn't get up for the morning until 7 or 7:30. She usually wakes up one, we go in and tell her it's still night night time and she lays back down and goes to sleep.
Best of luck,
C.

I know it sounds crazy, but 7:30 is a fairly common bedtime for 2 year olds, and it will probably make her sleep in LATER as well.

Hope this helps.

T.