14 Month Old and Sleep!!!

hey!

honestly if i were you i would not put her to bed this early. i have a 16 mths old daughter and she goes to sleep at 9:30 (sometimes 10 ) and she sleeps very well until 8:30-9. she still wakes up in the middle of the night for a drink, usually water or orange juice, which i have ready at her bedside but she goes back to sleep right away. she also has just 1 nap of 2-3 hrs at noon. so maybe just try this for a few days, put her to bed a little later in the evening, and also make sure she gets busy during the day (maybe take her out to play a few times/day so she is tired when she goes to bed.
i really hope this helps because i know how tiring waking up at 4 can be. good luck!

Hi K.,

As others have suggested, her nap should be after lunch. (It could even be an early lunch - 11:30a and then nap at noon.) You've got good suggestions on the cold feet issues too. If you have a programable thermostat, maybe you could program the heat to come on a little earlier, before she wakes up. I've also heard of people using heavy tape to keep diapers on babies... maybe you could try it with her socks?

I will add two things: one, do not go to her before you want her to be awake! (unless she is really hysterical). She will figure it out and learn to go back to sleep. Turn off the monitor if you have to.

Second - do not put her to sleep later at night hoping she will sleep later in the morning. In general, sleep doesn't work like that... in fact, the more sleep you get, the more sleep your body wants. If she becomes sleep deprived, she will have a more difficult time falling asleep at night, because the body starts releasing stress hormones to keep itself going. (It seems counter-intuitive, but think about how hard it is to fall asleep sometimes if you've stayed up late.) I recommend the book "Helathy Sleep Habits. Happy Baby." by Dr. Weisbluth. Its pretty straightforward and was very helpful to me.

Good luck.

She may be having a growth spurt. Feed her more during the day to prevent her waking up during the night.

Also I would buy her footie jammies in a bigger size so her feet fit in them. My kids wore big baggy hand me downs and loved them. Sometimes we put socks under them in really cold weather.

The cold feet thing is a tough one. The best I can think to do is to find some soft-soled lace-up shoes that you could tie and double-knot so she couldn't get them off. They have some cute ones at Zappos.com. You might be concerned about her getting the ribbon off, but if you double-knot them tightly, I'm sure you'd be fine. But then, of course, you might struggle to get them off later yourself.

About the sleeping, you might just try keeping her up a bit. If you can get her set to go to bed around 8:30, she should give you the extra time in the morning. I know it will be tough to keep her up in the beginning . . . think of it as payback for all the times you wanted to sleep and she couldn't! (I know that sounds harsh, but the more kids you have and the older they get, the tougher your skin gets!) If you can't do that, I would just suggest letting her talk to herself and play in the crib for some quiet time during that first 'missed' nap, and YOU take a nap during that time for a bit. At least that way you'll have a bit more energy and patience to deal with her.

Finally, don't beat yourself up about bringing her into bed in the morning. It is not a heinous crime and you will not become a contestant in the bad parents hall of fame for doing so. If it helps you to help her and nothing else is working, then do what you need to do.

If all else fails . . . welcome to one of the many downsides of parenting. I love my two kids to pieces, but they were both miserable grumps and terrible sleepers when they were babies (so I feel your pain!), and they both have outgrown it. Yours will too!

Best of Luck!

G.

2 issues: first, the cold. I have a big footed son too, and I buy his sleepers up one size to fit his feet. Nights it is really cold I put the socks on under the blanket sleeper. You could try one of those wearable blankets, but I found once my son was up and walking around in the crib he would trip on it, fall, and hit his head on the crib.

The sleep thing stinks, but you are going to have to get her naps figured out and then get a little tough on her. She's ready for one nap a day-- probably over due. Most kids when they switch to one nap a day go down right between 12-1. Eat lunch and put her down. She will probably sleep 1 1/2-2 1/2 hours in the afternoon, and 11-12 at night. So, monkey around with naps and bed times. Once you've got something that works, and you think she really SHOULD be sleeping until 6 or 6:30, you will have to get tough on her. Go in, tell her it is time to go back to sleep, and leave. Do not pick her up and DO NOT PUT HER IN YOUR BED (unless you want her there until she is 5). Let her cry. She'll eventually get it. If you think she really IS ready to get up, then you have to respect that. But you should be able to get her straightened out so she sleeps until 6 at least,

as for the cold feet-my daughter also has big feet, so i buy the footed sleeper one size up. they have elastic at the ankles so the extra fabric will bunch there a bit, but it works. my other thought was a Sleep Sack/Wearable Blanket.

She probably is cold. It may even be that 4 or 5am is when she has always woken, but just always gone right back to sleep. My son is 18mos and he STILL wakes up at 1am if his diaper is very wet!! It's just a habit at this point.I don't mind because it's only long enough to change him, but I feel your pain!!
Maybe you could try moving bedtime to 7:30? I know that half hour later is tough (most especially on you!!),but myabe it will help. Another thing, try putting socks on her feet after she is asleep, so if that is what's waking her you can sneak them on before wake up time! :) Good luck!

We had similar issues with our little girl, at roughly the same age. When we figured out that being cold was waking her, we bought some of the fleece baby sleepsacks available, that are designed to leave lot of room below her feet. The sacks let her move around freely, did not bunch up under her chin or neck, and kept her toasty warm. It was the end of her sleep issues.
Someone below also suggested buying a larger size of footie pajamas, to allow room for her feet. That sounds like a good idea. One that's not too warm, under a toastie sleepsack should have her comfy in no time!
Good luck.

If you have a little girl you probably also have a plethora of tights. Try putting socks under tights, under her pjs. If she's cold that should keep her feet cozy!

Three of my friends are going thru sleep issues with their 15mos - - - there's lots going on between 14-18mos. First year molars (which killed my son for 3wks), growth spurt, large motor skills are being practiced in their sleep, the second separation anxiety spurt.

It may take one thing, or a combo of several things to get you thru the next few months, just keep trying - good luck!!!!

do you have a sleep sack?? its like a wearable blanket. would keep her warmer at night.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2479332

Have you tried to put socks on her after she falls asleep at 7pm? Other than that, I don't know. I had a friend that her son was a habitually early riser (4:30 am) & he eventually out grew it (after 1-2 years). Nothing she tried worked, it just seemed to be his nature. However, this doesn't sound to be the case with your situation.

Most likely, your daughter could be at her 15-month growth spurt, which affects sleeping, eating, etc. When our older daughter would wake up early (or in the middle of the night), I'd bring her into our room, have her lay on me, and I'd sing her a song as I rocked back and forth to keep her calm. I also gently rubbed her back up and down. I'd get up, bring her back into her room, and put her music CD back on. Sometimes she'd cry/fuss a little, but it wouldn't be for long.

I know that you (and ALL parents) dread getting up EARLY in the morning, but we do what we have to, even when our kids go growth spurts, sickness, etc. If she's struggling with morning naps and going from 2 naps to 1, I'd suggest that you just be patient with her. Most likely, her crankiness is probably due to her being so tired, but again, it's most likely because she's growing. Try to adjust your schedule/routine with her during the day and keep her busy (go to the park, run errands, etc.) so that she at least knows what's normal in your family, and be prepared for her sleeping in the carseat, stroller, etc., especially when she leasts expects to fall asleep. Basically, keep her busy so that she'll fall asleep and STAY asleep as much as possible.

Good luck!

If you think she is cold, I would use a sleep sack. It's a blanket with armhole and zips up so she can't throw off the blanket. They are great.

My son is 8 months and always wakes up with cold feet even with footie pj's so I put socks on under the footie pj's so he cannot pull them off. He at times wakes up early like that also but I wait and he usually puts himself back to sleep. I was worried he would wake the others because I also have a 4 and 6 year old but so far that hasn't happened and he only cries for a few minutes. Good luck.

I agree-put socks on her after she's sleeping.
Also, since she's down to one nap per day, try to reschedule her so her nap is only in the afternoon--like at 1 or 2 after lunch. I know that will take some juggling at first since she's up so early, but when my son went to 1 nap, it was always in the afternoon. That way, she'll be more pleasant at dinnertime and ready for bed by 7:30 or 8 o'clock. Maybe then she'll sleep til 7-7:30 or so. Good luck!

K.,

I have been going through the same thing with my 15 mo. old son. He has started waking up very early around 5 am and somtimes I just hear him in his crib talking and playing and sometimes he cries. This has been going on for about a week and a half now. I was going in and rubbing his back and that didn't work. So, I would pick him up and rock him for a bit and he would eventually go to sleep but it seemed to take too long expecially at that time in the morning. I started thinking about what was going on with him at that time and realized that he has been teething and also very cranky and just whiney throughout the day. He has always had 1 nap a day anywhere from 1-2 1/2 hrs. I ended up giving him a dropper of motrin the one night before bed and that seemed to stop it. I'm not sure if it was coincidence but that worked and he hasn't woke early since. You definitely do not want to get into the habit of bringing your daughter into bed with you because she is always going to expect that. I'm sure you know that. Also, sometimes if you just give them a bit of water or even a little warm milk, that is enough to get them back to sleep. Hope this helps a little.