Sleep

Maybe it’s too early for him? How old is he? A lot of people don’t want to but the cry it out helped with us, she now settles herself after a cuddle and bottle and straight in to bed

Does he still nap? If so, how long for & when does he wake?

When is his nap still, they tend to work on 12 hour days, and about 5 hours after a nap is bed time?

Like my daughters wake up is 8am then 1pm nap wake back up for 3ish then bedtime for between 8 and half past

Same as above really, what is his schedule? Probably isn't tired enough.

He's 2 and in a bed. He wakes between half 5-6 then has a nap about 1ish. So take him to bed for 7ish

Cry it out doesn't work cause he gets out and opens the door 😂

He naps for like 1.5-2 hours

We've been struggling for a long time too. I did loads of research and learnt a couple of things that helped us for this age..., like 4-6 hours awake time between nap and bedtime to build enough sleep pressure for them to be tired.
The biggest thing that helped was learning if he was a sensory seeker or sensory avoider, which helped to build in the right things into his bedtime routine that covered his sensory needs.
Also to be curious on what need he was trying to communicate through his behaviour in his sleep struggles is it Separation, Scared, sleep pressure, sensory or situational.
Also do Epsom Salt baths and use Rescue Remedy night drops
I feel you how draining, frustrating it is and straining on your relationship. Hang in there.

Do you think maybe he wasn’t ready for a bed, my little one has just turned 2 and no way is she ready for a bed yet?

If you can I’d try and shift the nap forward if he will then he’d be awake earlier for a 7 bedtime?

It's hard cause he can nap any time between half 11-1 depending on what we do in the day. If he doesn't nap at all we will put him to bed at 6pm and he goes down perfectly! He was starting to climb out his cot so bed was safer x

If he’s awake between 5-6, I’d try for a 12pm nap and no later. He’s maybe overtired going for a nap and it’s impacting bedtime and pushing on by the time he’s up.

3pm is also quite late to get up for a 6:30 bedtime routine to start. Seems way too early so he’s probably not tired enough.

Try 12pm nap time, up no later than 1:30/2, bed for 7/7:30 with bedtime routine starting around 6/6:30. X

I would try reducing the daytime nap or pushing bedtime back as it sounds as though he isn’t tired enough at bedtime. My little one naps 45-60 mins after lunch & if she sleeps longer during the day, she won’t go to sleep at her normal time of 7/7.15pm or will start waking during the night for ages (split nights).

Maybe he’s ready to drop his nap? How is he if he doesn’t have one? We’ve gone through times where we’ve questioned whether mine was ready to drop it she became horrid if she didn’t have it but still wasn’t going to bed till late, I’d try maybe just not letting him sleep atm if it’s later than 1 to try and get him to re learn his body clock for the time your wanting him down by, or if he does wake him up for 2, half past latest. Is it him waking himself in the morning?

I'd defo say try and get him to nap earlier if he's waking at that time, try nap for 11am-12pm if my LO naps after 1pm she's not tired enough for her, usually bedrie of 7.30pm alos I'd cap nap defo not let him have 2 hours cap it to 1 hour and you should notice a big difference. Also, what's your bedtime routine?

I just don't understand. He woke at half 1 from his nap and is still awake now. We usually do bath teeth story and then bed

How long did he nap for? It sounds like the length might be the problem.

Hour and 15inutes

It sounds like he is getting ready to drop his nap. My daughter is 2 and some days she won't nap and go down at 7ish (like today). If she does nap, I cap it at an hour or an hour an a half (depending on the time she woke up in the moring) and between 9 and 10 pm would be her bedtime.

Also they do go through a regression at this age

Does sound like he might not need a nap. If he gets enough sleep through the night, try and avoid a nap and do bed early. I feel you as i would like for my girl to take a nap when she is up early but when she does she is up until 10/11pm but will be all tired so we just don't do a nap unless we really need it. Usually, depending on where we are going and the time of day she will fall asleep in the car for an hr. Recently i was really tired that i felt myself falling asleep so took her to bed with me and she fell asleep too tho this was around 8/9am and slept with me until 1pm. Bed time as normal. We do around 7/8pm as that's usual wake up time, especially during the week.

My friend had this exact situation and a sleep therapist did suggest that putting her back into a sleep and back into the cot as she may not have been ready...
But you know your daughter best! Xxx

he's climbing out the cot though so that's not an option. Once he's asleep he stays a sleep, it's just getting him to sleep x

I would try capping it to an hour & seeing if that helps. It might need to be capped further but would try that before attempting to support him dropping the nap. Occasionally my little one will either not nap or nap for 5 mins before being ready to go again, but usually she naps for 45 mins & whatever happens she goes bed at her regular time so I don’t feel she is ready to drop her nap just yet as generally she has it

I don't think he's ready to drop his nap completely either. Thank you ill try this today

He probably isn't ready to fully drop it, however his sleeps needs are decreasing gradually, which is why his bedtime is relatively late. I know it can be quite tiring but it's a phase and you can't fully avoid it. Try to adapt, maybe go for a walk in the evenings and start the process of getting him to sleep later, so you don't end up spending all your evening taking turns feeling stuck with him in his room. He will start going for his nap later and later over time and at some point you can try keeping him awake and to bed earlier. But remember there is only so much you can do, you just can't force a child to sleep.

I was going through the same thing and I had enough and cut their nap time completely cause even nap time they would take an hour to fall asleep. So I stopped giving them day naps and they fall asleep within 5 min of laying down. It took them a week to get them used to no naps they would try fall asleep at 4/5 but i didn’t let them and but their used to it now

I think your daily routine ‘as is’ sounds totally fine - I’d consider this as just a phase to get through, maybe the two year sleep regression? I definitely wouldn’t cut the nap - most children need this for a while longer yet.

Perhaps focus on wind down time in the evening. No tv, lots of books, milky porridge, warm bath with lights low etc. to help get your LO sleepy?

Bedtime takes us 1-1.5 hours each night - we’ve reframed it in our minds as a lovely time to chill out together and reconnect. No pressure to get through it quickly, we all cuddle up on the bed and chat and read, and then eventually he drops off (and me too usually…!)

Don’t get me wrong, it’d be lovely for him to fall asleep quickly on his own, but that’s not our reality right now and rather than fight it, we’re just leaning into it and finding the joy in it!

Just another perspective in case it’s helpful! Your LO will get there in their time, do allll the things to make it easier on you in the meantime!

Half an hour tonight! Had an hour nap 10-30 till 11 as he got up at half 6. We went to soft play and went got a walk to tire him out. It work and he was asleep at quarter to 8. Thank you for your help!!!!!