Toddler sleeping tips

**sajimum** · 07-03-2012 12:33

I am desperate for some tips to help get my almost 2 yo DD to sleep. Once she's asleep at night she generally sleeps through, but I am finding it harder and harder to get her to go to sleep both at night and during the day.

We have a bedtime routine of dinner, bath, teeth, books/quiet play in her room, cuddles, bed. We aim to have her in bed by 7-7.30pm (closer to 7pm is better) but no matter what time we put her down it takes 45min-1 hour (or longer) for her to wind down enough to go to sleep. In that time we need to be sitting next to her cot or she screams. But at the same time, sitting next to her seems to rile her up more. DH put her in her cot last night at 7.15pm and she literally ran laps of it, jumped up and down, etc. until 8.15pm when she finally fell asleep. She is then overtired during the day.

Her daytime sleeps have been variable. If she actually sleeps, she will generally sleep for close to 2 hours. But in the last couple of weeks she has had probably 5 days where she just won't go to sleep at all (generally when at daycare, but also at home once). On these days I try to put her to bed early, but she still won't sleep until 8pm.....arghhhhhhh.

I should also mention that she has 2 of her two year old molars coming through at the moment so I expect some disruption to sleep patterns (I am happy she is still sleeping through!!) but the difficulty getting to sleep at night has been getting worse over the last 6 months.

We were also considering transitioning her to a bed, but I don't think there is any way she would actually stay there so don't think that's a good idea at the moment.

HELP!! I am struggling to keep up with my studies because I rely on the time after she's asleep to catch up! So, share some tips that have helped you to get your toddlers to sleep.

**duckduckgoose** · 07-03-2012 13:27

Subscribing

**duckduckgoose** · 07-03-2012 15:49

Bump for the op

**OurLittleBlessing** · 07-03-2012 15:50

Do you think she might be ready to drop her day sleep? Both my girls dropped theirs around 2.

**sajimum** · 07-03-2012 15:58

I did wonder that, but even on days she has no sleep she is wired and up late.... Some days she copes well with just a rest and others she becomes completely overtired and can't cope with anything.... So, short answer is I don't know!

**pooks** · 07-03-2012 18:57

Subscribing too!! (unfortunately

)

**sajimum** · 08-03-2012 08:36

Bump.... Anyone got sone tips for those of us with toddlers who don't like to sleep?

**decemberbubba** · 08-03-2012 08:58

I'm another one who is finding it increasingly difficult to get DS (14 months) to sleep. He used to have a bit of playtime after his bath, then boobie then bed. I've found the playtime after bath was making him so wound up he would be jumping around in his cot and me being there trying to settle him was like a big game - but if I left he would scream. So we've made playtime after dinner, so after his bath it's boobie and bed. He's still taking ages to get to sleep, but he's not as hyper in his cot. In short, I have no idea if this change is working yet, but anything is worth a try.

**cindye** · 08-03-2012 09:01

My 26 month old DD takes a good half hour to settle and get to sleep when we put her to bed. But we have 2 others so she is just left in her room with lights off and just settles herself.
My DD rarely has a daytime nap anymore. If she seems tired early in the morning we'll put her down between 10 and 11, but if she goes down for a nap after midday she won't go to sleep until after 9pm.

**babylove81** · 08-03-2012 09:16

Hi, this was us about 4-6 months ago, DH did some searching and found The Kissing/Patting Game! We already patted her to sleep but really with no 'structure' and she was waking 3-4 times a night, so we'd pat to sleep and as soon as we left the room she'd wake! I think there was a time there where DH didn't spend a night in our bed for 3 weeks!

Anyway, DH found this method of sleep training which is what we were essentially doing, but this just added the structure to it I guess. Within 7-10 days our DD1 was sleeping through again and we've not had a problem since! Good luck...

Taken from:
http://www.netmums.com/baby/sleep/sl...her-approaches

This approach is particularly suited to children age between 6 months and 2 years, though it can be used for older children.

The key principles are:

Have a consistent bedtime
Develop a positive bedtime routine
Put your baby down to bed when s/he is drowsy
Promise to return in a minute to give another kiss
Return almost immediately to give another kiss
Take a few steps towards the door then return to give another kiss
Promise to return in a minute to give another kiss
Put something away, or do something in the room
Return to give another kiss
Promise to return in a minute to give another kiss
Pop outside the room for a few seconds
Return to give another kiss
As long as your child is lying down, he gets more kisses, but no more chat, cuddles, stories or drinks, just kisses until asleep
If your older child gets out of bed say something like ‘into bed and I'll give you kiss'
Help him back to bed and give him a kiss
When your child is sound asleep you can stop

This approach takes a lot of energy and time. It may take about 3 hours for your child to settle off to sleep, and you may need to give 300 kisses in one night. You can exchange kisses for patting/stroking if you wish. See the book National Childbirth Trust, Help Your Baby to Sleep for more information.