OT- toddlers sleeping patterns??

[dana1003]

ok i dont know what the heck happened but all of a sudden my twins(3 1/2)started waking up at 5am and wont fall asleep till 8:30-9pm .they take a nap during the day for like an 1 1/2 and then they're raring to go from like 1:30 till 9pm. im exhausted. it feels like when they were babies again. my husband works all day so im home alone w/them . they used to sleep till almost 7am, take a 1 hour nap, then fall sleep about 7-7:30. shoud i give up their afternoon nap? im sooo tired. they're too young for pre-k and we cant afford to put them in day care thats why im home all day. any one else have this problem? any advice would appreciated.

 

[laughinplace199]

I hate to tell you this, but it looks like nap time is over. My kids are now 7 & 5 and they did the same exact thing at the same exact age. I loved afternoon naps because it allowed me 2 hours to myself to get things done, read a book, call a friend, etc and I was really sad to see them go, but as soon as I did away with the afternoon naps, things got better. However, be prepared for a few days of crankiness around dinnertime. Also, if you let your kids watch TV in the afternoon or before dinner, be careful that they don't fall asleep. DS went through a phase where he did this and it totally messed him up.

It's hard to give up that afternoon peace and quiet, but you'll love how easily and quickly they'll fall asleep at 7:00 and your evenings will seem a lot longer.

Good luck!

 

[bumbershoot]

My new 3 year old just changed his patterns, too. But he's still taking a solid 2 hour nap (though he was waking so early recently that the other day he took a near-5 hour nap, which was a little bit scary). We just moved and we're still unpacking, so I continue to HOPE that it's just getting used to all the newness....

Please don't let my boy know that there is such a thing as 5am waking....I don't want him to know that...

Good luck!

 

[txmomto1]

Yep! Looks like they can drop their naps. Like PP said they'll be cranky for a few afternoons, but then will adjust. My son was about your kids age when it happened. I so miss naps!!

 

[dana1003]

oh man nap time was nice..im gonna miss him.i was able to get my headache under control for at least an hour..im experimenting to day. no nap and the whole tv thing around dinner time..your so right on..they would fall asleep on their couch. not today. when i tell people what time they go to bed they look at me like i have 3 heads. their kids go to bed9,10 even midnight!!!! is that crazy or what

 

[Princess Roo]

What happens if you tell them they're not allowed to get out of their room until a more reasonable time? (Put a mark on the clock, unless they can tell time already.) We started doing this with our DS, telling him he couldn't get up until it was light out over the winter (he liked 5AM, too), and it worked after a few days of going in and reminding him. Likewise, what if you put them in bed earlier and tell them they're allowed to play in there quietly but can't get up? Sometimes my son will fall asleep in 2 minutes, but sometimes it takes an hour and a half (!) but he just "reads" to himself and talks to his stuffed animals in bed. We have just pushed his bedtime back to 8:15 because of so many night of him being awake more than an hour, but I don't think it's unreasonable for me to expect him to spend 8:15PM-6AM in his room at this point in his life.

Otherwise, when is your DH home? Hopefully he will agree that he should do half of the early AM wakings (at least) or take the girls some in the evening so you can "chill".

Good luck!

 

[Hannathy]

Nap time is over! Preschoolers just don't need as much sleep as babies. I would go with the no nap and keep them up to 8:30 or 9 and see what time you get in the morning.It will take a week or so to work out a rhythm. I am not a morning person so my kids have always been up till 10 or later but I DO NOT mornings so the 5 AM would mean death to someone! Telling them to stay in their room wouldn't work for me because I would be worried about what they were doing so it wouldn't be restful to me and that is the reason for it correct. Their not babies anymore Mom!

 

[dana1003]

they are allowed to stay in bed and read, play w/toys etc. as long as they dont get out unless its to potty..problem is..they;re twins so they're in the same room and they like to get up and go to the others bed to play, see what they're doing etc. so my night is spent yelling at them to get back in bed..then in the morning i do tell them its not time yet and they will stay for the most part until they have to potty. i can usually hold them off till like 5:45.

 

[cuppycake]

We had to drop DD1's nap even before that age. Sounds just like what you are describing. Evening were rough for about a week, but then we got sleep from 7pm-7am!

I would add up the amount of time they usually sleep now (naps and bed), then count back from 7am, and aim for that as a bedtime and see what happens. At that age, they probably need around 10-12 hours of sleep. They might even surprise you by sleeping in longer if bedtime is EARLIER (sounds strange, but sometimes it works!)

 

[Mkrop]

DS4 started waking up earlier than normal because of the sun rising so early. He now calls to me "the sun is up, wake up mommy" Ugh!

So I put a blanket over his window so that not so much sun is shining in and I get at least some more sleep before the alarm goes off for DS9 to get ready for school.

ALso DS4 has been done the nap for a long time for over a year now, it is just that early morning sun!

 

[ThreeMusketeers]

When dd started doing this, she was about 3 as well and she responded immediatly once we took away the naps. She almost immediatly went to her 7pm-7am bedtime. =) Actually works out better now.

ETA: Except for the lovley summer hours, which have gotton dd up about 2 hours early b/c of the big bright sun shining through. So invest in some good shades before you start the new bedtime!! Lol

 

[dana1003]

i just put darker curtains in their room and lo and behold they woke upa t 6:15 i also put them to bed earlier that day..i hope this works..of course that probably means no"wishes" at the end of the day

 

[2cutekidz]

Your twins might be overtired. Kids who don't get enough sleep don't sleep as well. It sounds counterproductive, but try putting them to bed earlier. In bed BY 7:00. Have a routine maybe storytime before bed, but in bed by 7. Keep the naps. I have 2 kids, dd would go to bed at 6:30 and wake up between 7 & & 7:30 until she was 2 and a half. She'll be 5 this summer and still takes a nap, EVERY day, and is asleep by 8 pm!!!! DS is 18 mos. and goes to bed at 7 and both are up at 8 am. No Naps?! No Way!! I also swear by room darkening shades!

 

[ardig123]

Went through the same thing with my DD 3.5...We were having so much trouble getting her to go to bed at a normal hour we had to cut the nap out... BUT because I work from home I really need that afternoon break to get my work done... so now DD has "relax" time... she lays in my bed and watches a movie or Nick Jr. every day from 12:30 to 2pm... she also brings in a stack of books and looks through those. The rule is she is allowed to watch TV as long as she is in my bed... otherwise she has to go to her own bed (with no T.V.) so that usually keeps her in my bed for the full 1.5 hours. On very rare occasions she will fall asleep during relax time but then I figure she must really need the sleep so I allow her the nap. The key is to have the relax time early enough in the afternoon that she is not always falling asleep... if we did this anytime after 3:30 pm she would fall asleep every day... She now goes to bed at about 7:30 pm and wakes anywhere from 6:45 to 8:15 a.m.

 

[graygables]

when i tell people what time they go to bed they look at me like i have 3 heads. their kids go to bed9,10 even midnight!!!! is that crazy or what

Call me crazy. My now 8yo quit napping at about 11 months. I NEVER got her to sleep before 10pm. 11yo was my routine one who did go to sleep at 9pm. There is no way my kids would have ever gone to bed at 7pm and certainly not in the summer when it's light out for another 2 hours. Sometimes kids' circadian rhythms are just different and trying to press them to fit an adult's schedule can backfire. Once we figured it out, we got full nights' sleep and rested children with fewer meltdowns. We have naturally adjusted to the schedule that fits them (and me) best which is 10-11pm bedtime, up by 930-10am (we homeschool, so can do this). Even if we get our full 8-9 hours sleep, if it's the wrong hours, look out.

Definitely pull the nap, but if you want to sleep past 5, you may have to put them to bed later than 7.