Schedules for Low Sleep Needs

How often is he waking up overnight and is he like awake awake not wanting to go back to sleep or just needs support to get back to sleep? My 2 year old daughter is low sleep needs as well. We finally were able to get her sleeping through the night more consistently by dropping naps to 30mins or 1hr tops. Sometimes she has no naps. I also use the 8sheep organics magnesium lotion on her feet every night and I swear that helps!

Also idk why but a 6.5hrs wake window after her nap seems to be the magic number lol If she has no nap, then we do 8/8:30 bedtime she just cannot go to bed any earlier than that or she’s up super early

Okay sorry for the multiple messages but my daughter also will only max out overnight sleep at 10-10.5hrs and if she does get a full 10-10.5hrs then she is maxed out and we absolutely skip a nap the next day!! Bc if she naps after getting all that over night sleep, the next night sucks bc she already reached her sleep cap and is under tired

Second 8sheep magnesium lotion. Rub it on my daughters feet and calve before bedtime when she is restless. Also I keep her hatch on the red light and she also has a red star projector in the room. Red light can signal the brain to prepare for sleep, potentially leading to better sleep quality and easier sleep onset. My daughters bedtime was pushed to 830. She is in her bed by 12:45 for nap, she naps from 1-2pm. I also read to her before bed. 3 books. Now sometimes she will sleep from 830-830. (She did get up at 530 this morning 😩) I think it's just trial and error.

Following because my daughter is exactly the same only difference is that she doesn’t wake up at night. But exact same schedule otherwise. I wish she slept more because I have a newborn and I’m so freaking exhausted 😴

@Myranda Usually once or twice up in the night and just needs someone there to go back to sleep. I'm not sure he could go without nap since he's pretty ready for one by 1pm but maybe cutting it way back could help. We use magnesium lotion as well and it has helped him not be as restless. That was an issue too. He's super active but also looks tired so I worried that he wasn't getting enough sleep but maybe it's too much sleep with the nap

@Jillian we do magnesium lotion and a star projector as well! We're in the 530 wakeup club for a few months now and it's so draining

It definitely takes a bit of an adjustment period for them when reducing nap time and even skipping some days. What I did was just for the first week made sure we had somewhere to go during nap time so it was just a quick car nap and she adjusted and ended up sleeping so much better at night. And nothing is concrete so you can let him take longer naps on days you think he’s especially tired like when they’re going through teething and growth spurts! But I’ve also read a ton that low sleep need kids just usually are up at least once a night until around 5 years old!🫠 So I’ve accepted it at this point lol I have baby #2 coming in July and I am praying she is high sleep needs!!!! Idk how I’ll handle another low sleep needs baby lol

Have you tried an earlier nap time? Someone else mentioned nailing the awake window between nap and bed is key, once you figure that number out adjust the nap to be up by a certain time regardless of length of nap. Make sure they are tired enough for bed (but never overtired !! Lol)

@Myranda We are talking about having a second and my only hesitation is how I'll function with 2 kids up all night 🤣. I might have to try the quick car nap and see what happens for a week. Would be magical if he started sleeping all night!

I know, it is a scary thought lol I’ve always joked that I’ll be up more with my toddler than my newborn 😂 But truly the very short naps have worked for us. Our sitter let my daughter nap for 1.5hrs yesterday and she woke up around 2am and STRUGGLED to get back to sleep!! So I hope the short naps work for you!