19 Month Old Just Won't Sleep

C.,

At what time and for how long does he nap during the day? If he's napping too late or too long you may need to shorten them or perhaps try putting him to bed one hour later.

OMG!!! We had to stop one of our kids from taking a nap during the day or I'd be up all night pacing the floor. While I tried the earlier nap time, the shorter nap time, and the later to bed it didn't work; we had to cut them out altogether. Once we did that it was lights out at 8:30; until 7:00 the next morning...talk about a refreshed mom!!!!

Good Luck!
CM

I think it is just a normal thing.

Try putting him to sleep a just little earlier (half an hour, 45 mins). He may be over-tired, especially if you have recently switched from 2 naps to 1. I have found that if I put mine to sleep even just a little late for a few nights in a row, it leads to night waking and earlier mornings. A good schedule for this age is bedtime at 6:30 PM, Waking at 7 AM, nap at 11:30 or 12 (at least 1 hour, but 2 is better). If he is whining or throwing temper tantrums, I would bet he isn't getting enough rest. A well rested child is not as emotionally volatile as children that are only sleeping 8 or 9 hours.

They are such little pinballs at this age. He may be working on a new skill--when mine learns anything new (especially big stuff) he loses a little of the other stuff that he already knows for a little while then once the new skill is incorporated suddenly he's back to doing it all. (When he learned to walk, he stopped using his 30-50 words and really freaked me out--he was down to 5-10. After a couple of weeks, he went back to talking.)

He might also be getting some teeth. Tylenol before bed might help. They might be bothering him without really being incredibly painful.

When you go in, don't talk or interact. Don't turn on lights. Comfort him as needed. But keep it as short as possible.

It will pass in a week or so.

as they get older, they require LESS sleep, so bedtime maybe should be later? and make sure he gets plenty of physical exercise to wear him out. and a warm bath might help relax. but do try moving bedtime to a bit later.
also they do outgrow naps, mama. my son -especially- outgrew naps before age 2, and the struggle simply was not worth the nap. so maybe skip the nap and keep bedtime at 7?
but it sounds like he doesn't need the amount of sleep he was getting anymore. boys are busy! one good thing about no nap is they fall out hard, early! good luck!

Hi C.,
I agree with cutting out the daytime naps. And then keep him up as long as possible in the evenings. I believe in lots of hard play, outside if possible, and getting them very worn out! Then a bath and bed. Also, you could try a white noise machine of some sort. It sounds silly, but we've used my hair dryer for years on my kids and it works so well. I just set it on the lowest settings and it blocks out everything. They just pass right out. I have a 7 year old who started having trouble getting to sleep just out of the blue. She would go to bed and lie awake for hours. I felt so bad for her because I have such a bad problem with insomnia. So I bought her her own little CD player/radio, and bought some nice lullaby CDs, and she goes to sleep with those on so nicely. Just another thought. But definitely wear him out during the day and have a good "slow down and get sleepy" routine for the evening. It really should work. God bless.

Hi C.,
It sounds like you have heard from the best of them. I agree with what the others have said about him growing out of the need for the naps. My son took no naps at that age and had no problem sleeping through the night. Good Luck.
L.

It sounds to me like progression rather than regression. They go through stages, and it seems like he is in a stage that requires less sleep at the moment. I'm sure you have reasons for putting him to bed early, but try an hour later for a week or so, than back to the regular time when he is back to needing more sleep again. Often, as they grow and develop new skills, they dont want to sleep as much. Perhaps it's time to reduce napping as well. Be sure he gets lots of excercise...

Good luck.