Sleep, my toddler needs to do that

November 07, 2008

Sleep, my toddler needs to do that

According to babycenter.com my little man, Bear, needs approximately 13 hours of sleep, that is about 11 at night and 2 during the day, for proper growth and development and so that mommy gets a break. That, however, is not happening these days. Maybe I bragged one too many times about what a great sleeper he was until he turned 23 months--then, everything changed. I can almost compare that to the day my 14 year old turned thirTEEN. Scary times, but that's a story in itself.

From what I can see, this is a study based only on my children, around the age of 18-20 months they figure out that they can walk, run, climb, push, pull, say NO!, MINE!, STOP! and get away with a lot, at least for a little while. It wasn't long before my little angel,the baby that slept all night long, from 8:00 pm until 7:00 am AND took three hour naps during the day, started changing his routine. Was I consulted about this? Did he submit a request to change his sleeping habits? I DON'T THINK SO!!

Unfortunately, this change in sleep schedule affects me more than it affects him because he eventually goes to sleep and recovers from his late night partying. I, on the other hand, must continue my daily routine running on caffeine and little sleep. UGH!! It's exhausting. He wakes up refreshed expecting me to chase him around the house or yard, the other kids come home full of energy expecting me to hear all bout their day, hubby comes home expecting dinner, my boss expects me to go to work and my teachers expect me to turn in my assignments. OK too many expectations, not enough energy.

Last night was particularly special. Bear had a hard time going to sleep at his usual time - 7:30 PM. He skipped his nap so naturally I thought going to sleep should not be an issue. We have had a pretty excellent routine around here so these sleep issues do throw a wrench in things. But anyway, he eventually went to sleep around 8:00 PM--GREAT!! He woke up at 1:30 AM--Yes, he did. He stayed up until 4:30 AM!! I made life pretty boring for him; we sat on the couch and read, watched a little TV, played some music, I even went as far as rocking him--no luck. One thing I have to say, we smiled,talked,hugged and kissed...it was really sweet. At one point I didn't want to put him back in his crib---YEAH that lasted about 10 sweet seconds!

I have a plan...I must or I will crash and my patience will go out the window.

Obviously my little Bear is growing and his needs are changing. I need to adjust his schedule and his routine to make sure that he is eating enough during the day and getting enough active time as well. He plays a lot in the house but I have to admit, yesterday we did not go outside at all. Give me a break I'm recovering from a head cold. :-) Today we will go for several walks, we'll rake the leaves and play in the yard. I have to work on getting things quiet around the house when his bedtime comes around because with three other sibblings making noise downstairs one could understand his hesitation to go to bed- he doesn't want to miss a thing and I don't blame him. Now that he's older I have to let him pick a book to read before bed, that will give him something to look forward to as well.

As for me, I will have to recover from my lack of sleep by eating healthy, drinking lots of water (not coffee) and taking a nap. Maybe if I tire him enough he will sleep then I can do the same. My workout for today will be with my sleepless little Bear, at least that will give me the energy I need to make it through the first part of the day. Wish me luck!

Stay Well,

Nov 7, 2008 8:58:09 AM | Family, Kids, Sleep, Wellness

9 Comments

I can relate. Both kids have been sick lately and I just plan on waking up a few times to clear airways, check temps, or just give them extra fluids.

I was great with my first, but with my second, I got in the habit of going in there every time I heard him cry. I forgot that babies after 9 months old can cry in their sleep, and can have weird sleep cycles but will fall back asleep if you let them. American Pediatrics Society also agrees that toddlers should get aprox. 13 hours of sleep. When my 3 year old was 18mo he started waking up every night at 1am, but unless he was sick, in pain, hungry (growing to fast), poppy, or very wet, I wouldn’t get him out of bed. Even if he was one of the above, I would keep him in his room, while dealing with whatever was going on. There were a few nights where he was going threw crazy growth spurts or teething that I finally let him watch a little TV. That was a bad decision. It took three nights with lots of crying to break him of that habit I had taught him.

I still check and see if he’s ok without getting him out of bed, and then if everything checked out, I would kiss him on the forehead and leave. I read up on it, and at that age they tend to have more vivid dreams, that can wake them up. He still randomly cry’s in the middle of the night, it’s usually just one random yelp in his sleep, other times it’s a full 15min. I always give him 15-20min, unless I hear a loud crash or already know he’s sick. I have to watch the clock like a hawk to keep my self from going in there and waking him up. He only cry’s over 15min if he’s actually awake, or something’s wrong. But, I still don’t let him out of his room. It’s harder at first, but pays off big time. He’s almost 3 and sleep 12 hours at night and takes a 2 hour nap during the day.

I know it’s personal and every kids different. That just what I do, and it‘s what‘s recommended by American Pediatrics Society. I have a book “Birth to Age 5” by the APS, and it helps me out with everything from temper tantrums, how much they should be eating, to sleep patterns. I have to remind my self how important sleep is to his health. Thanks for the reminder.

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Posted by: Fitness Surfer | November 10, 2008 at 19:46

FS: Thanks for stopping in and for the tips from your personal experience. I did fall back to what I know from my other kids. The first night little bear cried a bit and fell asleep then woke up at 1 am, cried a good half hour, went to sleep. The second night fell asleep all by himself but woke up at 4 am and whined, cried and threw everything out of his crib. He stayed up until 6 am but I didn't give in to him. Third night, he fell asleep no problem and slept all night, not even a whimper. We're back on track!!

Posted by: Spin Diva | November 10, 2008 at 20:27

Oh good. I love the throw everything out of the crib protest. Been there. Sorry for the rough nights I’m glad he’s sleeping better

Posted by: Fitness Surfer | November 12, 2008 at 15:01

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