Our son is waking up at 5am again! He's taking 2 naps-morning from 9:30-11:30 and afternoon from 3-5. Bedtime is 7:30 and sometimes he falls asleep before 8, other times not until 9! There's truly no pattern and the nights he falls asleep at 9 doesn't mean he'll wake early or late the next day.
My thinking is that he needs less daytime sleep which would lead to more nighttime sleep. Also that he may need more wind-down time before bed. I've tried incorporating books, but he doesn't sit through them and the change to the routine is NOT something he likes. Once his pj's are on, he's ready to be in his crib and cries if that doesn't happen. Is there something else that I'm missing here?
Your thinking is also your gut too! So go with it by 16 months thy should have one nap during the day but that may not always work with waking early in the morning. My son gets up from 5 to 7 Most of the time he is up at 6:00 but lately it's been 5.
Hi A...
I feel your pain. My kids are early risers also, always have been. One thing you may want to try, I know you said he likes his schedule but perhaps you can try to switch him to one nap. My youngest kind of weened himself from his afternoon nap so we were going from morning nap all the way to 6:00 bedtime. That was rough. It took a while but he now goes down around 12:30 or 1:00 everyday, goes to bed around 7:00 or 7:30 and usually sleeps till 6:00 or 6:30. So, maybe you can try to put him down around 11:00 and then he'll hopefully sleep till maybe 2:00, then get him to bed by 7:00??
Good luck to you!!
K. - sahm of 2 boys, 5 and 2
Around a year, my child went to only 1 nap of about 90 minutes.
I would try less during the day sleep.
A., he may be ready to cut out his morning nap (I believe most children lose the morning nap around 1 year), but I would probably judge that by how he acts during the daytime, rather than changes in his nighttime sleep. Try keeping him up through his morning nap, and see how he does -- if he seems like he's not too sleep-deprived by the end of the day (after an afternoon nap) he is probably ready to drop the morning nap. Keep in mind it can be a (slightly) rocky transition.
The early waking may very well be a phase, as their sleep patterns change SO much during those first two years. Things like teething and changes in the household (I see you have a newborn) may lead to changes, but he may go back to his regular pattern soon. Have you read Dr. Weisbluth's book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child? I highly recommend it for situations like this, to try and get sleep patterns "back on track."
All in all, it sounds like you are doing things right, and I'd just go with your gut trying to cut out the morning nap. As a mommy who also has Irish Twins (cheers!) I can warn you that this will now lead to the days of the neverending nap -- where one of them is ALWAYS napping. Eyeroll. But we do what we have to do!
HTH! Good Luck!
Both my kids stopped taking morning naps at around the age of your son. They were then ready for afternoon naps at an earlier time (at around 1pm as opposed to 3pm) their afternoon naps also got longer (from 1 1/2 hours to almost 3 hours). I think I started phasing out morning naps when the kids wouldn't fall asleep for them on a consistent basis. With my kids I did notice a gradual increase in their nighttime sleeping by about 1 hour, after they had lost their morning nap. It definitely helps bedtime to have a routine--if you're consistent about it they will come around eventually too--my kids now expect to be read to every night.
My daughter cut out her second nap at 10months. At that time, she napped 2-3 hours in the late morning/early afternoon and slept 10-12 hours at night.
Now at 17months, she takes one 2hour nap early/late afternoon and sleeps 8-10hours at night.
Yep, it changes... all the time! They develop a pattern that lasts 2-3months (if you're lucky), then it rapidly changes. Keep in mind, they're activity levels and diets change as well, so just like adults, the sleep patterns change to support that. It's all good.
