My almost 2yo DD has started waking up earlier. She used to sleep til about 7am, now it's more like 5:30-6:00am. She goes to bed (and is tired) at 7:00pm, and sleeps for about 1.5 - 2 hrs at naptime. So all in all she's getting about 12-13 hrs of sleep. (where it used to be more like 13.5-14.5)
Is that enough? She's been so edgy lately. I don't know if something else (like teeth, etc.) is bothering her, or if she's chronically underslept.
How much are other toddlers out there sleeping? And how are they doing with it?
Thanks!
Thank you soooooo much to everyone who replied!! Your advice & support was very helpful. We tried the putting her to sleep earlier, which always worked when she was an infant, but that only seemed to make her wake up even earlier.
After a little finessing with a later bedtime, we've found that putting her to sleep about 20 minutes later, and making sure she has a bright enough nightlight in her room, has been working pretty well.
J., you could've been writing about my son, except that he's only 15 months.
I wish I knew! We're tired of waking up so early! And some days he only naps for 45 minutes, and is zooming around the house yet tired and edgy at the same time! We don't understand it. We tried putting him to bed earlier, but he woke up at the same time. We tried putting him down later, but he woke up earlier.
*shrug* We have no idea.
Maybe put her to sleep a little later? How late do the naps run?
Hi J.,
Have you tried putting her to bed a little earlier? I know it sounds weird, but one of the biggest reasons for an early wake up is too late a bedtime. I have this problem with my daughter from time to time and I move her bedtime up 30-45 mins. Try that for 3-7 days to see if she sleeps later. Good luck!
L.
My just turned 2 year old used to sleep until 6/6:30 but in the last few weeks has moved his wakeup time to 5/5:30. He goes to bed between 7-8pm. Neither my husband or I are real early birds so it's a bummer to have a son who is but he's super cuddly in the mornings so that more than makes up for it. We are looking forward to the daylight savings time change in a few weeks.
You can look it up for each age on www.pantley.com/elizabeth
Currently, my 4.5 year old son sleeps about 11 to 12 hours at night, plus a 2-hour nap each day.
In the books I have and from talking to my son's pedi, the amount is 11-14 hours a night for a 2 year old.
Hi J.,
My daughter will be two in March, and goes to bed about 8:00pm (but often will be awake talking to herself til 8:30 or so). She wakes up about 7:00am. She also takes a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon. So, in a day, she's sleeping about 13-14 hours.
You might want to put your daughter to bed a little later if you want her to wake up later. You can make the transition slowly over the course of a week or two. She's probably just getting to the age where she needs less sleep.
If you need advice about baby/child sleep, please check out www.sleepsense.org. I have learned so much from Dana Obleman, an infant/child sleep specialist. She has a lot of great things to say on her website. Good luck!
J.,
My daughter just turned 2 and she had always slept for 13-14 hours as well. This morning though she woke up early and unfortunately we're going to have a long day so we'll see how long she lasts. =)
My daughter has also been cranking/"edgy" for the last week or so. I'm thinking it's not sleep related though. Good luck with the sleeping issue and maybe it's just a phase. I think her going to bed at 7pm is a good time but maybe she's just changing or growing and it's causing her to wake up earlier.
J.
Hi J.,
I had the same problem with my son when he turned 20 mos. By adjusting his bedtime and naptime he got back on schedule in the mornings (not waking at 5:30). He was going to bed at 7:30 and taking his nap at 11am. Now he takes his nap at 1pm and sleeps for 2-3 hours and goes to bed at 8:30 and sleeps until 7:00. Our doctor said that if he sleeps between 12-14 hours he is on track. So your daughter is getting enough sleep but waking up at 5:30 is not good for anyone. Good luck!
My daughter turned 3 in Dec. She falls asleep between 8:15-9 p.m. and gets up between 5:30 -6:30 a.m. She naps about 1.5 hours on average each day. This seems to be all the sleep she requires. The dr. says at her age, a child needs 10-12 hours of sleep each day.
Hi. I am a mom of 5, and have been a daycare provider forever. It seems to me your child is changing and doesnt need as much sleep as she used to. Its a hard cycle to break, going to bed early and waking up early, but if you want to sleep later she needs a later bedtime. My kids at that age went to bed about 8 and up between 630 and 7. you may find that she will also change again at age 4 or 5. good luck
Hi, J.,
I have heard that 12 hours or so is about average for a toddler. Obviously, kids differ by an hour or two. My son sleeps about that amount each night and with a day nap and is fine, so I don't think she is underslept and chronically tired. I would agree with the other mom that posted about trying to put her to bed earlier to see if that works. I tried this with my son, who normally goes to bed at 9 PM and falls asleep around 9:30 or 10 PM (I started putting him to bed at 8 or 8:30 PM), but he started waking up an hour earlier! So I quit that really fast! Instead of getting up at 8 AM, he started waking up at 7 AM and even 6 AM. Too early for me! best of luck to you.
