Outgrowing Nap?

Woops i wrote to the wrong person the first time...
I think he's fine. Children will do that from time to time. I don't think children are ready for no nap until they are around 3yrs old or older. Just wait it out. Sometimes children wake up earlier because they wake up and see things going on or think something could be going on and they do it for a while to see. But after a while they give up.

It could be the lack of the nap that is causing the problem. It has been proven that lack of sleep causes your body to think it needs less sleep.
M.

When my son was 2, he still needed naps (he'd get way grouchy and over-tired without them), but was starting to be afraid he'd miss out on whatever was going on while he was asleep. At daycare he had no trouble taking naps (everyone napped at the same time), but on weekends at home he'd fight going to sleep. Sounds silly, but when we laid down with him on the big bed, he fall asleep in no time. Sometimes we'd quietly get up and let him nap, but more often we'd all fall asleep and end up taking a nap with him.
He's 10 now. He doesn't need naps anymore, but sometimes I still need them.

At 23 months, I wouldn't say your little guy is ready to give up his nap yet. That usually doesn't start until close to 3. As wierd and counter-productive as it may sound, you may want to try putting him to bed earlier, like 7:30, or even 7:00. Also, I'd make his nap soon after lunchtime, 12:00 or 12:30 start at the latest and don't let him sleep over 90 minutes. That should give him plenty of time to wind down in the evening. I have 2 boys, 3.5 and 18 months and have seen it all with sleep issues. It seems like with my oldest one when I put him to bed too late, he'd wake up way too early and agitated. I hope this helps as I remember the days of being preganat and caring for a 23 mo. old and being worn out!

I have a 2year old boy too. Recently he has been waking up at 5:30. I'm like you and need to sleep at lease until 6:00. So if he is just calling my name and not crying at 5:30 I let him be. Also might want to try night light. If he sleeps with many stuff animals or at lease 2 he might start to use his imagination and play for a 1/2 hour. I know my son is getting ready to cut his moalers on top.Thats why I believe he isnt sleeping and medicane dose ware off after 6 to 8 hours. I would not stop he nap everyone needs a break once in a while. Plus with one the way it will realy help you out. Hope thngs work out.

My daughter stopped napping at 2.5 years old. Bedtime was always 8 and she would play a little in her crib before going to sleep. Well, that little bit of play started dragging out to playing for 1-2 hours before sleep. On days she missed a nap, she went right to sleep so we dropped the nap altogether. It did lead to some very cranky afternoons and some days we just ended up putting her to bed for the night at 7 because she couldn't make it longer, and that worked out.

Her wake up time was always around dawn no matter what we did. Now, at 4, she sleeps a little later until 7 or 7:30 (but since sunrise is at 7ish I guess she's still getting up at dawn). Whenever she got up before dawn (even just 30 minutes) I always emphasized that it was the middle of the night and she must go back to sleep. Sometimes it worked and sometimes she'd just play for 30 minutes in her bed and try me again. After a while, she learned to peek out her curtains to check if it was still dark and the super early wakings stopped.

I'll just echo the put him to bed earlier idea. It seems weird and I never would have believed it, but I saw it happen with my daughter. If we put her to bed a little later, she actually got up earlier. You may want to move his bedtime back slowly (15 minutes at a time). I think the norm for giving up a nap is around 3, but it does vary widely, depending on the kid. Don't give up the nap without trying other things first, especially if he does seem tired at naptime. I really liked "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. No book has all the answers for sure, but he really did seem to know a lot about the sleep needs and sleep patterns of children, in my opinion. Hope you can get some rest soon!

Dear C.:

I asked the same question exactly one month ago today, how funny really http://www.mamasource.com/request/14155796750446624769. Our boys are just the same age. I got a lot of bad advise telling me to give up the nap, but my little guy just isn't nice to be around if he doesn't get it. Luckily waking super early was a phase and only lasted for about a month. Here are the changes we made:

After our son was asleep we would sneak in and put a few favorite toys in the corner of the crib (a magna doodle is great for this)

Your son may need more not less sleep
Now about a month before this phase started we had shifted our childrens bedtime slowly from 6:30 to 7:30. The early wake ups started after two weeks of solid 7:30 bedtimes. What actually worked was putting my twins to bed at 6:30 again which was a bit hectic after getting used to the later time. It took a couple of days, but then the early wake ups started being an every other day thing, and then an occasional thing, and now he hasn't done it at all for a week and a half. I think this was because he was in a stage of light sleep at 5:30 with the old schedule and now by changing the schedule he is in a deeper state of sleep and doesn't wake at that time.

I would suggest trying to put him to bed a bit earlier and maybe down for a nap earlier. When the body (and more importantly, the mind) is overtired, it has a harder time getting truly restful sleep and enough sleep.

When my son goes to bed at 7:15, he sleeps until 8:30 the next morning. If he doesn't go to bed until 8 or 9 at night, he's up by 6. Also, when he doesn't nap enough, he's up by 6.

Also, studies have shown the t.v. can get the brain over-stimulated and can disrupt sleep. Maybe making t.v. something that occurs at wake up, rather than before sleep, would help. Set-up the mind to sleep - darkness, quiet or soft music, read a story or two (or three or four...whatever you prefer).

2 years old is just way too early to give up naptime altogether. Hope that helps!

My oldest son did the same thing and once we cut out the nap, he was sleeping a solid 12 hours a night again and only getting cranky and tired in the evenings. I know you said your son still gets tired for his nap, but that will only happen for a few days as you adjust. After a day or two, he'll be doing all of his sleeping at night instead of waking up so early and then needing a nap. My son outgrew his naps at 2 to 2 1/2 years old but some kids need to keep their naps until they're 5. Every child is different, but I'll bet your son's metabolism is telling you that he's ready to work on getting rid of the nap. I know you feel you need his nap, but whatever you do during his nap can be done while he's sleeping the longer sleep at night. If it's sleep you're catching up on, then once he's sleeping better at night you won't need to do that any more, and if it's housework, you can get that done once he's asleep for the evening. Don't worry, these things even themselves out and you will find that it's really six of one - half dozen of the other.

I have gone through this many times in different forms with my now 4 year old son over the last few years, currently waking up every night at 3am on the dot. It's a phase, and you should, in my experience, try to keep his routine as normal as possible. Move his nap time up an hour (in 15 minute increments over several days) but keep giving it to him. He's way too young to give it up. Eventually he'll fall back into his old routine, especially with the time change coming. In a few weeks his 5:30 will become 6:30 again anyway and if you are lucky he'll go back to his old ways and the clock will say 7:30!!

I would try the going to bed earlier, but I disagree with the people that say 3 is the age to give up naps. I napped until I was 5, but my son stopped at about 26 months. The books I read said if he is tired and cranky, then he needs more sleep. Well, my little one is not tired and cranky and only gets 10 to 11 hours of sleep a night. So try the early to bed...tired kids find sleep hard, well rested ones sleep better, go figure, but giving up that nap made bedtime much easier at our house, and truthfully is very freeing. The first two weeks were an adjustment for me, but when the nap goes you can take day trips...the zoo, the aquarium, stay home in the morning and go to a park in the afternoon. The trick for me was not being home when he used to nap because it would make me want to have "me" time. I really love the freedom, and we have fewer sleep issues now than we had with the nap. Good luck! D.

keep the nap, put him to bed earlier, sounds strange, but they actually will sleep later when they are getting more sleep. I would also watch what time he is getting up. I have had this problem lately when my son sleeps until 4 PM for his nap. Also, check out what may be happening outside his room (I found the birds to be extremely noisy and part of the problem). A white noise machine may help.

Probably not ready to give up the nap, he's just two and learning to be independent. This means he wants more control over his life and he'll do it wherever you let him. Just remember you are the mom! Your word is law. I say keep to your regular schedule, just be firm about it. When he gets up at 5:30, tell him it's too early and put him back to bed like you would if he got up at night.

-S

i second the 'try going to bed earlier' approach. at two children should get around 13 hours of sleep total (nap + nighttime). some children give up naps very early (mine was ready around two) but that is not the norm.

My daughter is 3 and she really likes Red Robin. It has a good children's menu where it gives you fruit instead of fries as a side option.