Taking over an hour to fall asleep

How old is he?

What’s a day schedule look like for him from wake up to bedtime?

In my opinion I have two kids and another on the way. It sounds like your little one has a sleep crutch. And is overtired.

Hi, Taking him 1+ to fall asleep means he does not have enough pressure before bedtime and an incorrect schedule for his age. Which is his schedule? How many naps and for how long? How many night wakings? This is not due to regression this is due to bag sleeping habits which can be corrected with a good schedule. It is normal for them to protest but it is very important for parents to be consistent!

It's different every day. At the moment he is: -Waking at 5am, sometimes wanting to go back to sleep, sometimes not. - nap 1 at 9 for sometimes 45 mins, sometimes 1+ hour - nap 2 between 1 and 2 - wake by 3 ish - bedtime at 7.30 If he gets up at 6.30/7, I try the one nap which he sleeps for 1.5 hours or less. As I said, we have tried making bedtime earlier, and later and neither work. It makes no difference if he's had a total of 45 mins nap to 2.30 hrs nap in a day... We have tried making the awake time shorter and longer between nap and bedtime, makes no difference! Also if he's awake for 5+ hours before bedtime, he wakes up in the night more. At the moment he is waking 1 to 2 times a night, but as above, it's different every night. What I haven't mentioned is he has slept through the night (i.e 7.30- 6) before. But it's not regular..

It is important to know his age. And let’s start with that, the problem is he has a different schedule everyday!

Sorry yes he's 16 months

@Elena Yeah that's frustrating for us also! No matter how strict we are with wakings and sleep, he will not stick to sleeping and waking the same time every day..

I say he is ready for one nap. He just sounds bit overtired to me. Yes if he is on two naps he might not have enough sleep pressure but on one nap you don’t want him to go over 5 hours at all. The key is to stay consistent. I’ll send something over to help you. What are you doing when he wakes up in the night is he looking to be rocked again. And is he waking up say 3.5 hrs after going to bed? If he is that is a night time sleep cycle.

Thanks @Lauren He does do one nap I would say once a week, but it is Impossible to keep him awake long if he gets up at 5am so he stays at two. His one nap schedule is usually 5 hours awake. But like I say, he just goes hyper the minute we start bedtime routine! He ended up being 6 hours awake before bed last week... So no matter how consistent we are, it's still different every day. Thanks if you can send something. We have to hold him again to sleep when he wakes up in the night, he would just become so upset and be wide awake if we left him in bed. Yes sometimes he wakes after 4 hours. But yes I do agree he should be on one nap now.

Can get to a happy nap time. The idea is to eliminate the first nap.

If you would like my Mobile number I can give it to you if you need any further help. I know how isolating it can feel and helpless

First of all, I want to mention that I am a baby and toddler sleep consultant, and the advice I m giving is based on my education. There is a lot to cover, but I will try to share some tips that might help you. Consistency is the key- whatever schedule you choose to implement, stick to it for at least 3-5 days to assess whether it s working or not. It s hard to say whether he needs 2 naps or 1, but let s assume his average wake up time is 6am. Typically, the best approach for 1 nap is to establish a midday nap around 12:00. For example, aim for nap between 11:30-13:00(1:30h). And bedtime 19:30. To conclude, there are certainly many other details to discuss but I hope this information provides some guidance.

I know how you feel, I have been there but all I can say, do not give up!

Thanks Lauren ☺️ The past week, the first nap from waking at 5 only lasts 40 mins. When he does wake at 5, we do the usual going to see him in the dark to get him back to sleep as we would if he woke at 1am/3am. We have tried the controlled crying, it does nothing but keep us all awake all night, we have tried training and sticking to it, it's not worked. i know the transition from losing a nap is tough as I've obviously been through it earlier in his life to get to the current two. Will try the early bedtime of 5.30/5.45 again, we have done that before, he's still one plus hour until he shuts his eyes 😑

Thanks @Elena for bedtime 7.30, would you be expecting him to be asleep by 7.30, or put in bed at 7.30? When we have done that before (the 1.30-7.30pm awake time with the exact example schedule you've stated) he still won't fall asleep until an hour's time i.e by 8.30..

Bless you lovely! It will take a good month to get into a good routine. Elena has some good advice as well.

For bedtime - place him in bed with 15 min before. For nap with 10 min before only. Make sure you have a consistent bedtime routine for 20 min. For nap keep it quick and sweet, pyjamas, sleeping bag if you use, pull the curtains and time to sleep. The wake window last nap- bedtime for 16 months is around4:45-6:30. But because he is getting closer to 18 can be pushed to 7, depending on his sleep resistance.

I would not recommend bedtime earlier than 19 or later than 21:30 but this is my opinion.