Toddler Suddenly Sleeping a Lot Less

I have a 2.5 year old too, and some mornings we've been dealing with the same thing. We have found that if she is really unreasonable, and there's nothing wrong (not sick, not needing to potty, not hungry, etc) it works to tell her that she needs to go back to bed until she can stop being so mad and sad. We put her back in bed, give her a kiss, and tell her that she can get up when she is ready to, but that she needs to rest some more, so that she's not so crabby. She doesn't like this, and typically screams and cries for a few minutes with the door shut, but then she gets quiet, and a few minutes later she is usually saying she's ready to get up, and is much cheerier. For this she gets a big hug, and the day goes on.

from what i remember (mine is 4) 12 ish hours is fairly typical, he may just be getting to where he needs less sleep. you mention he is getting up at 6, so to me that sounds normal (as a working mom, my son goes down at 8 and is up by 6 for preschool, and he always takes about a 1 1/2 hour nap - this has been his routine since about 2). unfortunately for you, if he is getting 10 hours of sleep at night, ideally you should be able to get your 8, if not for the baby, so to me it sounds about right...maybe i'm wrong, i am sure you'll get lots of responses. good luck and i'm sorry i can't say anything more than "this is normal" lol. hang in there mama. everything looks worse with no sleep!

My son went through phases like this too and still does. He's 3 and still takes a nap-if he doesn't he's a cranky bear too ;) I thought maybe it was because he was still taking naps but it doesn't seem to matter whether he takes a nap or not he still gets up at the same time. For my son, it lasted about 2-3 weeks then he seemed to realize he needed more sleep and so he slept longer. I wish there was an easy fix, but for us anyway, it seems to pass like all the other phases we've been through. I think eventually, this will equal no naps, but for now he still needs them and so do I ;) What seems to work too for my guy is wear him out before nap and bedtime. My husband has this amazing ability to wear him out and he seems to sleep really well. Usually it's outdoor activities or just running around the house (for me this is is exhausting since I'm 28 weeks pregnant), but for daddy and him it's a nice activity. You can take him to the park or swimming etc which might help if your the one who needs to wear him out and your 10 month old might enjoy the change of scenery too. Best of Luck, I know how much I love my sleep too and it's exhausting!

My situation is a little different because I don't have a 10 month old in the mix. My 2.5 yo is also an early riser. I figure I'm getting payback for my early rising when I was a kid. If she tries to do 5 am, I send her back and she'll typically fall back to sleep. I stay with her for a little while because she shares a room with her older sister and I don't want her waking the 6yo up. If it's 6am, I suck it up and stay up with her. I did find that putting her to bed earlier helped her get at least 10 hours. Otherwise, she's still up early no matter how late she went to bed, cranky and no fun to be around. Also, be sure he's getting his naps during the day. You may think that he goes to sleep more easily if he skips his nap, but he's really just becoming more and more sleep deprived. Napping will actually help him sleep better (and longer) at night. Can you nap or rest when/if they nap at the same time? You need to make sure you get your required z's too. Being well rested does wonders on your outlook on life. These little guys will be drawing your energy by the boatload for quite a few years to come. Having two under 5 is severely draining. Give yourself some slack. Shut off the distractions in the early evening and try to get yourself to bed early (if they let you) too. It's the toughest time for me because I have coveted time w/o kids; why waste it sleeping, right? I've said enough. Hope this helps a bit. Good luck!