First off, Jackson has always been the kind of kid that when he gets super tired-- he sleeps less. He does not make up for sleep; he just continually gets less and less, which is what's happening here. Second, he's always napped more than the average kid--last week he would have gotten around 11 hours of sleep at night with anywhere from 3-4 hours in naps during the day, at almost two years old.
It all started with a busy weekend and a messed up nap schedule. Sunday night he was up in the middle of the night for over two hours, but only took one nap on Monday. Since then, he's only taken one nap a day and I have just assumed it was time for that adjustment.
The thing is, is that he still needs more sleep than he's getting. I've tried moving his naps to later in the day, but he gets cranky around dinner time and stays that way until bedtime (has always been 8:30-9ish). And then, this morning he was up at 5:45am (his normal is 7:15ish). For the day. During the five o' clock hour. This is my indication that he needs more/longer naps. He has gotten progressively less and less sleep each day this week and I just can't handle him loosing anymore sleep. Last night he got 9 hours of sleep at night and if he naps like he has been this week, the nap will be 2-3 hours.
We went from 14-15 hours of sleep a day to 11-12 hours in a matter of days and statistically speaking, that's quite a bit. While for some kids, I know that's totally normal, it's just not Jackson's normal. And I would think this change might be okay if he wasn't showing signs of tiredness throughout the day.
And since he's able to climb out of his crib, I've lost a bit of the power in just putting him down and letting him cry himself to sleep.
Is this no sleep thing a phase? Is he just exploring his freedom of escaping the crib? Does it ever end? What's the best way to adjust to one nap (and to make it count!)? What can I do when it's 5:00 and evidently tired and cranky but we still have hours until bed time? HELP!
Ugh! I feel for ya! Try making is bed time earlier....like 7:30 or 8. Also...try just 2 naps a day if he usually takes 3. Javen started the 1 nap a day thing around age 1, and he sleeps anywhere from 2-3.5 hours in the middle of the day. Also...have you tried black out curtains? We went through a phase where he Javen wouldn't nap, so I upped the activites and tried my very best to wear him out (running around, going outside, etc.) I know it's not easy when you're preggo and have low energy, but for me, the nap in the middle of the day was reward enough to keep busy in the morning! Praying for ya!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the above poster - try moving bedtime up a bit. But also? Mommy is totally jealous - I'm one and *still* don't consistently sleep through the night - AND I don't regularly nap. She's tired!
ReplyDeleteI hope it gets better. I just learned yesterday, when a friend came over with her daughter and our baby girl played happily through nap time. I stupidly thought "Oh well, missed nap means she will sleep longer and earier at bedtime" BOY was I wrong. I feel your pain in the sleep deprivation dept.
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