Do you think my daughter is getting enough sleep?

I have a two year old daughter that doesn't want to sleep before
10:30-11:00 most nights. Last night she was up until midnight. This
morning, like most mornings, she's up and cheerful at 7:30-8:00. She
gets about a 2-3 hour nap at daycare. The problem is that I'm falling
asleep at 9:00 because I'm 8 months pregnant. My husband will watch
her, but he's been trying to get some work done in the evenings. Does
anybody have any suggestions?

Renee

I don't know if your two year old is getting enough sleep, but mine
needs more than yours is getting. My DS goes to bed at 8:00pm and is
usually up around 7:00am. He takes a two hour nap most days (sometimes
longer).

In all, he gets around 13 hours of sleep a day.

Jennifer in AZ

Renee wrote:

I have a two year old daughter that doesn't want to sleep before
10:30-11:00 most nights. Last night she was up until midnight. This
morning, like most mornings, she's up and cheerful at 7:30-8:00. She
gets about a 2-3 hour nap at daycare. The problem is that I'm falling
asleep at 9:00 because I'm 8 months pregnant. My husband will watch
her, but he's been trying to get some work done in the evenings. Does
anybody have any suggestions?

That sounds like too little sleep by normal standards
for two year olds, but not so little that there aren't 2yos
who would do just fine on 10-11 hours of sleep. Does her
behavior suggest to you that she might not be getting enough
sleep (crabby at times, whirling dervish, easily frustrated,
etc.)? If so, then I'd work on getting her to bed earlier.
If she seems just fine with the amount of sleep she's getting,
maybe it's time to see if daycare will cut back on the
afternoon nap.

Best wishes,
Ericka

"Richard" wrote:

: Renee asked for a definition of sufficient sleep for her
two-year-old
: daughter.

: Ericka Kammerer wrote:
: That sounds like too little sleep by normal standards
: for two year olds, but not so little that there aren't
2yos
: who would do just fine on 10-11 hours of sleep. Does
her
: behavior suggest to you that she might not be getting
enough
: sleep (crabby at times, whirling dervish, easily
frustrated,
: etc.)? If so, then I'd work on getting her to bed
earlier.
: If she seems just fine with the amount of sleep she's
getting,
: maybe it's time to see if daycare will cut back on the
: afternoon nap.

: Or add to it. We had trouble with our now 28-month-old
waking
: early and displaying (too) many of the symptoms of
insufficient
: sleep. We asked daycare to let her sleep as much as
possible.
: She sleeps *more* at home as a result.

: This is very much a YMMV phenomena.

: Fwiw, I personally am in a state now that I would sleep
better
: and easier if I were getting more sleep. Of course,
toddlers
: have their own set of responses.

Often the quick reaction is to have daycare do away with
naps in the hope that the children will be more tired in the
evening and go to sleep earlier. However, from all that I
have read, this is generally not the answer to the problem.
On top of which, it can be quite a challenge to keep
children up from their nap at this age. I have three year
olds falling asleep in their lunch half the time and would
be horrified if I was supposed to 'keep them awake' (I
won't, by the way).

Sometimes shortening the nap and slowly moving up the
bedtime can be the answer. Having a consistent bedtime
ritual is recommended. If she is now going to bed at 10:00,
begin settling her 15 minutes earlier each night until she
is going to bed at a more reasonable hour. Once settled,
she should not be allowed to get up. Perhaps supply her
with some cuddly toys and books to keep herself occupied
until she dozes off. Obviously you cannot make her sleep,
but you can require her to remain in bed. Many times this
is a stage that will work through fairly quickly. Good
luck!
--
Ruth

wrote in message
ups.com...
I don't know if your two year old is getting enough sleep, but mine
needs more than yours is getting. My DS goes to bed at 8:00pm and is
usually up around 7:00am. He takes a two hour nap most days (sometimes
longer).

In all, he gets around 13 hours of sleep a day.

Jennifer in AZ


OUR ROUTINE EXACTLY

Often the quick reaction is to have daycare do away with
naps in the hope that the children will be more tired in the
evening and go to sleep earlier. However, from all that I
have read, this is generally not the answer to the problem.
On top of which, it can be quite a challenge to keep
children up from their nap at this age. I have three year
olds falling asleep in their lunch half the time and would
be horrified if I was supposed to 'keep them awake' (I
won't, by the way).

Sometimes shortening the nap and slowly moving up the
bedtime can be the answer. Having a consistent bedtime
ritual is recommended. If she is now going to bed at 10:00,
begin settling her 15 minutes earlier each night until she
is going to bed at a more reasonable hour. Once settled,
she should not be allowed to get up. Perhaps supply her
with some cuddly toys and books to keep herself occupied
until she dozes off. Obviously you cannot make her sleep,
but you can require her to remain in bed. Many times this
is a stage that will work through fairly quickly. Good
luck!
--
Ruth

Thanks to everyone who responded.

I usually will read or sing to her from a rocking chair about a half
hour before bedtime. Then, when she's in her bed, I read a different
story (over and over) while stroking her back or head. This seems to
calm her down, and she starts to nod off. However, most of the time,
she suddenly jumps out of bed. I think she's fighting sleep. Then, she
fights me when I try to put her back into bed. Usually, my husband will
take her at this point, and she'll fall asleep in his lap while he
works on the computer. It could be that she thinks that is part of her
nighttime routine. Maybe that's the problem.

Renee

Renee wrote:


I usually will read or sing to her from a rocking chair about a half
hour before bedtime. Then, when she's in her bed, I read a different
story (over and over) while stroking her back or head. This seems to
calm her down, and she starts to nod off. However, most of the time,
she suddenly jumps out of bed. I think she's fighting sleep. Then, she
fights me when I try to put her back into bed. Usually, my husband will
take her at this point, and she'll fall asleep in his lap while he
works on the computer. It could be that she thinks that is part of her
nighttime routine. Maybe that's the problem.

I suspect you're correct in that. It sounds like she's
learned that resisting sleep with you leads to time with Daddy
and a later bedtime.
Out of curiosity, why the elaborate bedtime routine?
What would happen if you just read her a story and put her
down?

Best wishes,
Ericka

Renee wrote:
I have a two year old daughter that doesn't want to sleep before
10:30-11:00 most nights. Last night she was up until midnight. This
morning, like most mornings, she's up and cheerful at 7:30-8:00. She
gets about a 2-3 hour nap at daycare. The problem is that I'm falling
asleep at 9:00 because I'm 8 months pregnant. My husband will watch
her, but he's been trying to get some work done in the evenings.
Does
anybody have any suggestions?

No suggestions, but some company. :-) Our 2 1/2 year old goes to bed
most nights by 9:30, but it's not uncommon for him to stay awake until
11:00 in his room. He's skipping naps pretty routinely on weekends
now, and on weekends he'll go to sleep at a more normal 8:30, so at
least for us it does seem to be the case that skipping the nap works.

However, we *do* put him to bed at 9:30 even though we know he'll be
awake for another hour or so, and that at least means neither of us has
to be directly attending to him during that time. He usually
talks/sings to himself in bed, plays with a toy or two, whatever.

Beth

Renee wrote:
I have a two year old daughter that doesn't want to sleep before
10:30-11:00 most nights. Last night she was up until midnight. This
morning, like most mornings, she's up and cheerful at 7:30-8:00. She
gets about a 2-3 hour nap at daycare. The problem is that I'm falling
asleep at 9:00 because I'm 8 months pregnant. My husband will watch
her, but he's been trying to get some work done in the evenings.
Does
anybody have any suggestions?

Renee

I couldn't tell you if she's getting enough sleep or not, but I do know
that my 2yo is usually asleep by 9 or 9:30. He might go down as early
as 7:30 if he's missed his nap or is sick. He sleeps to about 7 am most
days, so he usually gets about 10 hours of sleep at night and 2 more in
the afternoons. I'd like him to be asleep by 8:30, and that has more to
do with our timing of the bedtime routine than with his natural
inclinations.

Our bedtime routine is:
-bath (about 15 minutes long)
-nighttime diaper and pyjamas
-brush teeth
-into bed with sippy cup of milk (yes, yes, I know, bad, we're working
on reversing the milk and the tooth brushing!!)
-drinks milk while reading story, then hands over cup
-one of the stuffed animals turns off the light (dh's idea)
-tucked in with stuffed animals - all the animals get kisses and get
told something good they've done or accomplished today (dh has a great
imagination)
-ds gets told something good he's done or accomplished that day, and
gets kisses
-one parent sits on the floor inside the door till ds is asleep -
usually 10 minutes or so

The last step is part of an ongoing process: at first I was nursing him
to sleep, then just lying with him, then dh lay with him, then dh lay
on the floor right beside the bed, and now either of us can sit inside
the door. The next step will be to sit just outside the door (we're
waiting till this cold passes before starting), and then finally we'll
just leave him.

In the beginning, for about 2 weeks, he took up to 1.5 or 2 hours to
fall asleep with dh in the bed or on the floor, and he would often try
to leave the room. Now, however, usually he's asleep pretty quickly and
even if he's not sleepy, he lies in bed and sings, or plays with his
stuffed animals, and doesn't get up. We've made it clear that he can
stay awake, but he's not allowed to get up.

It usually takes 45 minutes from the time the bath starts, and the bath
should start at 7:45, but we've been lazy lately and have been starting
it too late, more like 8:15 or 8:30.

Melania
Mom to Joffre (Jan 11, 2003)
and #2 (edd May 21, 2005)

"Renee" wrote in message
oups.com...
I have a two year old daughter that doesn't want to sleep before
10:30-11:00 most nights. Last night she was up until midnight. This
morning, like most mornings, she's up and cheerful at 7:30-8:00. She
gets about a 2-3 hour nap at daycare. The problem is that I'm falling
asleep at 9:00 because I'm 8 months pregnant. My husband will watch
her, but he's been trying to get some work done in the evenings. Does
anybody have any suggestions?

No, but as far as your question in the subject heading goes,
it appears to be normal, though slightly on the low end.
According to one site
http://parentcenter.babycenter.com/r...eep/64915.html
Your childs sleep of 11-12 hours a night is within range, though
on the low end. It's about what my three year old gets, though
hers is all at night.

Your child will move away fom her nap at some point. Mine started
that when she was two years, four months. Perhaps when that happens,
she'll move to the 9pm-8am sleep hours that would work best for you.


P.
Tierney