Daughter Has Changed Her Sleep Schedule!

Just try to let her know that she needs to go to bed and lay down when you need her to. If that doesn't work then just try to tell her that she needs to go to bed and don't give in to her. Keep pushing until she realizes that she needs ot go to bed when you want her to.

I have two young daughters of my own and covet a set schedule. The best advice that I have is that you put her down when you want her to sleep and then you wake when you want her up. For example if you put her down at 9:30 am for a nap and the first little while she screams, but eventually falls asleep, wake her up when you want her to wake up (even if it means she only got a 30 minute nap.

dont let her sleep at 6 pm... and a warm bath around 7 will help with the evening grumps..be patient... there are lots of stages...I have one that would wake at 2 and want to play til4 am.. he did this until he was four years old......good luck

I happen to agree with Deb K, it sounds like she is getting way to much sleep, and that can be just as bad as not enough. She will also change her schedule alot, and there are times where we just have to roll with it. I think it was mentioned before but I would cut out all naps except one during the day, and place it around late morning early afternoon, it will be a little hard and require you to entertain for the first few days, but once she has it figured out the nights should get better, and you will find she is ready for bed around 7:00-8:00, she might still have a night wakening but that is Ok at her age, she should be about ready to hit another growth spurt, and they like to eat during those periods :). Hope it helped a little.

sometimes you got to let them get mad mad mad. mine is the same way. the middle of the night wake ups she is old enough to just let her cry herself back to sleep(that is what my pediatrision told me to do and it worked very well. mine goes down now at 8 then gets up at 530 but goes back to sleep til 7

A., so your little treasure is around 7 months old: her teeth may be coming and bothering her... there are other things that may be going on with her growth. you need to be flexible, and understanding it, as nothing is wrong, really! it is true, you were lucky so far... :) You can definitely try different ways, but please do not in any case get frustrated or upset, it is all well. Keep enjoying every moment of life! HAPPY BE !!!

I just can't offer advice because I can't get over the fact that your daughter sleeps SO MANY HOURS out of the day! You are one lucky mom!

Sometimes they need a new schedule. As they get older, they won't want to take as many/as long of naps as they used to. My 8 month old switched his napping on me about a month ago. In order for him to sleep through the night, I took one of his naps away - one of the later ones - and he has done much better. Hope it helps for you.

Try elevating the head of her bed just a little bit. You could put a pillow under her mattress in the crib to do this. Since she had an upper respiratory situation it could be that when she goes into a deep sleep she relaxes enough that the stuff she has been coughing up pools and causing minor blockage to her airway and that is what wakes her up. My youngest had that problem and elevating her head made a big difference in not only the amount of sleep, but the quality as well. Good luck.

Your baby is not getting too much sleep. They will only sleep if they need it and some babies just need more than others. Having an illness can definitely throw off a little ones schedule. despite her history, typically babies do better with an early bed time and waking between 6 and 8 am. It's just the circadian rhythm thing. I would start by setting her wake time and napping her by the clock. My son ( a June baby) gets up at 6:30ish, then a nap at 9:30(about 1 1/2 hrs) then another nap at 1:30-2:00(another 1 1/2 hrs) then to bed at 6:30 for the night. If he wakes in the night, I usually let him try to work it out himself unless I can tell by his cry that something is wrong. Of course, you need to set his schedule so that it works for you, but at his age he probably still requires 2 naps in a day. There is a great book by Marc Weissbluth called "healthy sleep habits, happy child." I swear by it. It has helped me get through all sorts of sleep issues with my 3 kids. best of luck!

A.

I honestly think she is getting too much sleep! I mean she is sleeping 13 hours at night, then 3-4 more hours during the day. Maybe it is time to change it to be more like her going down at 7:30pm and waking up by 6:30-7:30am and then a nap at 10 to 11 and another nap at 1:00 to 2:30???
8:30 is kind of late for a baby, my six year old is in bed by 7:45 every night. Even though you like her sleeping until 9:30 it isn't going to be practical as she gets more active. Babies will rearrange their sleep schedule a lot over the first few years, mainly due to growth spurts and teething. You cannot force her to stay on a specific schedule as she gets oler but modify it to make sense for her getting older. I would say a baby that is seven months needs maybe 14-15 hours TOTAL, she sounds like she is getting 17-18 hours a day, there is only 24 hours in a day so she is spending almost all of it sleeping!

Hello A., As children grow, their sleep patterns change. We just have to change with them. The key is getting everyone to be satisfied with the changes that are made each time. I recommend reading, "The No Cry Sleep Solution," by Elizabeth Pantley. She gives all sorts of ideas for adjusting to children's changing needs (and times) for sleep, while honoring what we as parents need, too. Enjoy! ~T.

I would definately start by not letting her sleep at 6pm. She might be a little grumpy at first but she'll compensate by sleeping longer at night. With kids. You just kind of have to force their sleeping schedule at first but then they get used to it and more comfortable with it.

I have found that with my daughter and now with my 4 month old son, the least stressful thing to do is adapt to them. We never had a strict schedule with either of them because life happens, and trying to stick to a strict schedule is more stressful than the alternative. We usually put them to bed between 8 and 9, and they wake up between 8 and 9. We put them down for naps whenever they start acting tired. Which babies/toddlers will let you know. They usually get pretty grumpy. It's important they get the sleep they need, but trying to stick to an exact time can be crazy because days change, kids change, everything changes.

I really liked the book, "Healthy Sleeping Habits, Happy Child." From what I have read, and if she has three naps, then he would say something like, put her down at 10 AM. Let her sleep or cry for only an hour. Next nap is at 1 ish. Let her sleep for 2 hrs. She can then have a late afternoon nap for an hour. Put her to bed at 7:30. He swears it works. I have no idea, but good luck! I'm trying something different with an older child. :)

A.,

I imagine you will hear it both ways. I've found with both my kids that they constantly change up their schedules. I follow their cues and decide how best to change up the rest of their schedules to keep things how I want them.

Is she better from the croup yet? If not, I'd leave things be. If she's better, I'd work on getting her back to only two naps, first by delaying that first nap in the AM as much as you can. Try adjusting by 30-60 minutes first and just bump until you find the best schedule. I found with my son (who is now 3) that we would just have to try different things for about a week before we found what really worked. Then, a few months later, he would change up the schedule and we'd be starting from the beginning again.

I would also say it depends upon the child. My son thrived on a strict schedule, but my daughter (now 5 months) does not. So it very much depends upon that, too.

Good luck!

A., it sounds like you might be expecting your babe to sleep too much. You may consider a couple of books. the american academy of pediatrics has one out about sleep needs and so does dr weissbluth (healthy sleep habits, happy child) They'll at least tell you what's normal, and how much sleep your baby needs at different ages. They also have good advice on nap schedules, bed time routines, etc.

Most babies this age take 2 naps a day or possibly 3 short ones, and sleep at least 11 hours at night. I have 3 kids. The youngest is 11 mos. I found that each of my children went through some pretty predictable sleep patterns and changes. At 8 mos, they all slept 11 to 12 hrs at night, with about 3 to 5 hours of total daytime sleep, usually split into 2 naps. One in the a.m. around 9. One in the afternoon between 1 and 3, and then bedtime between 6:00 and 7:30 at night. They'd always seem to wake between 6:30 and 7:30 in the morning. I REALLY BELIEVE SETTING UP A ROUTINE SLEEP SCHEDULE WILL HELP YOU BOTH BECAUSE THEN, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO TELL WHETHER SOMETHING IS ACTUALLY WRONG WITH BABY VS WHETHER BABY IS JUST CRANKY OR TIRED. I also think that you can tell when they are teething, sick or have ear infections a lot better. And, you'll find baby is a lot happier and easier to deal with when she is awake. Also, if you ever have a change of plans and have a crazy day or vacation, etc., you can always get back to the routine, and baby will get right back on it.
I hope this helps you.

If you haven't yet, you might read "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr. Marc Weisbluth. I found his advice very helpful. My son's four now and it's amazing all of the changes in rest and sleep patterns he's been through since birth. My advice: read up on the subject, reach out to other moms and hold on for the ride- whee!

When my childern were younger they also had a very tight sleeping schedule. When one or the other would get sick it would change everyones sleep. The best way that I could fix that is to just tough it out. I would have to just go with the changes. As your child grows their sleep habbits change with them. Just be supportive. Dont fight them but be positively tough on them. Example. Make a routine. Bath time, 7pm every night. Read a book 8pm until 8:30pm. This also gets them ready for reading early on. Depending on your childs age they only require so much sleep. To much can be harmful as not enough. If you have any questions the best thing to do is ask your childs doctor. My children are now 7 and 8 years old and we still have a very tight routine for bedtime. Both of my girls are in bed by 8:30 and up by 6am every day. Because of School this is a must. I hope this helps.

A little about me.
Married for 11 years. Mother of 2, 8 3/4 yrs. and 7 yrs. Work Full Time in Car Sales

Hi A.. Well, I feel with you. Our children's sleep time has always been a priority in our lives, and we try to respect their sleep (nap and bedtime) schedule as much as possible. My daughter, like yours slept a lot as a baby and is STILL a good sleeper/napper at nearly 4 years old. If you are able to work with your daughter's schedule, see if you can adjust to the changes she is going through. My daughter too used to go to bed at 7:30pm and wake up around 8:30am, with 3 naps. then she switched it all around and started going to bed around 6:30-7pm and waking up around 7am. We had to just adjust to this and shift her 3 naps around her new bed time (based on her need, too). I wouldn't try to keep her up if she was tired and she continued with 2 naps a day until she was 2+ years old. My daughter has always been very busy (inquisitive and active). Good sleep (and lots of it, in her case) keeps her happy, energized and able to learn a lot. We do have a bedtime routine: Get cleaned up (wash hands and/or teeth), read two (small) books, and go to bed. Which the professionals suggest as a good help for establishing good sleep habits. Also, my pediatrician reassured me that if my daughter needed that much sleep, then it wasn't too much sleep. :) Good luck. We've learned that as soon as we have a routine down they change it all around... the good news is that it's a normal aspect of their development, and the changes slow down as they get older.

She may just be going through a phase of growing, teething or having trouble digesting new foods and new experiences. Make the best of it, try just one nap a day and if she gives out for the night at 7:30 let her and enjoy your evening with your husband. My daughter was born in May, so we just went through that not too long ago. It will settle down again.

I remember with my first child...if she got off of her schedule it would totally devastate me!! AND it usually only happened when she would get sick. The best advice I have is to try to get her back on that schedule only after she feels completely better. Keep her up until her "old" nap time and then put her down. Try just working it to where you are putting her down at the old times. BUT, she may just be changing - they all do - and YOU will have to be the one to adjust to HER schedule now! There really isn't a magical answer for that one! :)

Well I can only recommend deciding on a specific routine and making her stick to it! I found that for me I wanted my chidren in bed by 8pm so I could have a couple of hours in the evening to myself. A 7:45 AM wake up doesn't really sound excessively early to me -- if you at some point need to work outside the home, you will need her to have an earlier wake up time.

But, ultimately, you need to decide on what works best for your family. Pick a bed time, set up a routine and consistently put her down the same time every night. Don't wait for her to decide when she wants to go down. Also, if she wakes in the night, give a quick cuddle (and feeding if needed) and put her right back down until morning. As far as naptime-- it's the same deal. Pick a consistent time that you want her to nap and put her down then. It's all about creating a consistent routine. I would suggest to put her down right after lunch for a couple of hours. That way, by evening, she'll be tired again and ready for bed.

You will be tired for a couple of weeks implementing a routine, but trust me, it will all be worth it when she's settled in.

Also-- I think it's a bad idea to just let them cry it out as the poster below me suggested. You should at a minimum check on your child and make sure he/she isn't sick or hurt or in need of water or food. But, do keep it very business like and keep it quick.

To a point, I have always just gone with the flow when it comes to sleeping concerning my 3 children. My first daughter slept a lot like yours and it was very spoiling for me! This made it harder for me to accept that at some point, she just wasn't going to sleep so much anymore. My other two children never slept as much as my oldest. I've just made a routine and set schedule which I stick with concerning sleep times and do not worry or try to force them to sleep. I just don't get them up or play with them, etc. if they do not want to sleep (I'm talking past and present since my children are 2, 7 and 10...obviously the older two no longer nap!). Anyway, I focused myself and them on the idea that it is rest time, period. If they fell/fall asleep, great. If not, I do not give in for about an hour. My 2 year old knows now that she is either going to rest for an hour or sleep...it's really up to her. When she gets up and up and up, I simply go to her room, put her back in bed and tell her it's night night time...then I leave. I just do it over and over if neccessary which can be a pain, but the result is that I rarely have to do this because she knows simply from the routine of it.