Anyone's children really sleep 7pm-7am/12 hrs?

Are there really children who sleep 12 hours a night?? AND have naps too??

I know all kids are different and require different amounts of sleep but really Max seems to need so little sleep! At the moment he is waking between 4.30 and 5.30 - it's killing me!

He has to have a morning nap of around 30 mins and then naps 1 half hours at lunch which is good. He goes to bed around 7/7.30 - so he is only sleeping around 11 half hours every day. He is happy and content most days although am sure he could do with more sleep. How do I get him to sleep later in the morning?? Won't do cio. Could move his bedtime later. Am I just stuck with an early riser?

Elliot, by the way, is excellent - not quite the 12 hours but fine at 11.

Any advice/tips/condolences/similar stories of babes that don't need much sleep?? thanks in advance for replies.

 

Totally possible... My kids go to bed though at 11pm and wake up somewhere between 11am and noon. They are at their best in the evenings and are very pleasant then. They nap 2 hrs from 3-5pm. My secret is to go by what their body tells you...mine would never go to bed by 7pm since that is their most alert time. Have you tried giving bottle and sending right back to bed in the morning? I get to sleep in every day.

 

From 3 months on, mine slept from 7-8 (13 hours). At your kids age, they slept that long at night, and took a nap from 12:30 til 4. I think a big part is we never ran in as soon as we heard noise and allowed them to fall back asleep when they would wake really early and play.

 

Mine sleep 12-13 hours at night... they only have one nap though (2 to 3 hours usually) so I'm sure that's why.

 

Right there with you mine go to bed at 8pm but who know when they really fall asleep and they are up at 6am! Often they are up at 5:30am but I refuse to go in before 6am. They take one nap at 12:30 for 2h but that's it.

If you figure out how to get them to sleep into at least 7am let me know!LOL


Good Luck

Erica

 

Our kiddos didn't sleep through the night AT ALL until they were 15 months old. The all of a sudden they both did....and they slept for 12-13 hours everynight since! They take 1 nap in the afternoon for anywhere from 2-4 hours. They are very busy and on the go boys. I had all but given up on sleeping through the night!

Good luck and may yours be sleepy babies soon!

 

Evan sleeps from about 7:30 - 8 most nights. He takes one 2-3 hour nap in the early afternoon. I was not so lucky with my twins.

 

Our girls have been sleeping from 7-7 for a quite a while now. They are still getting 2 naps a day. Sometimes they sleep for an hour at each nap and sometimes longer. I'd say they average 14-16 hours of sleep a day.

 

it might just be a phase that he gets up so early...our boy did that for about 1 week...they used to go to bed at 7pm and sleep until 6am...then I moved the bedtime to 6:45pm and then to 6:30am and he would not wake up early, they sleep from 6:30pm to 6:15am now.

because they get up still quite early (fine with me, I am an early riser, they still need to go down again latest at 9:30am...only for about 45min...then they sleep again from about 1:30pm to 3pm.

maybe you can try to not put him down for his am nap and do lunch early and then do big nap? and then he'll be more tired in evening so you can move his bedtime earlier for a while.

or what I probably try, delay am nap by half hour every day over a week, so instead of putting them down at 9:30am I try 10, and then later and later....do lunch right after and once they go down at around 11:30 I can do lunch before nap. and hoping they'll take just one long nap, again, they might get overtired in evening so early bedtime required.

I did try just to drop am nap but they would get soooo tired after 2-3 days that I went back to 2 naps....

for the early am wake up, do not go in...eventually he'll get it and either just play quite or fall back asleep, ours would cry and complain for about 15-20min for 4-5 days and then would always fall back asleep at least until 6am.

GL and keep us posted,

 

have you got blackout blinds? sometimes the sun or the sound of the birds will wake our boys up.
x

 

Some of mine did it naturally, others had to be taught that you don't get up before 7 am no matter what. Any wakings before the "get up time" were treated as night wakings. We did do CIO but however you handle night wakings when there is nothing wrong should work with the early morning wakings too. Blackout curtains and white noise were staples for all of ours from the beginning. Just be very consistent about what you expect of them and they will learn.

 

It sounds like a phase he might be going through. It is possible for kids to sleep 12 hours at night, mine do and will take one 2.5 -3 hour nap a day. I wish I had some advice to get him to sleep longer. Does he wake up crying or is he just playing in the crib? I would say if he wakes up that early and is happy, I would go back to sleep, maybe he would just play for a while and go back to sleep. I hope this phase passes for you soon :hug:

 

Mine do sleep from 7 to 7 as well. They take one nap for about 1.5 hours (2 if I am VERY lucky) around 11:30 or noon.
I agree, we keep their room really dark which I am convinced helps :good:
Also just keeping a very consistent schedule helped us (and them).
Good luck!!

 

QUOTE(tamaras @ Jun 28 2009, 11:02 AM) [snapback]1372228[/snapback]
I agree, we keep their room really dark which I am convinced helps :good:


We have Home Depot shades on the windows and then lined curtains. Their room is almost pitch black at anytime of the day like this. We are on vacation today and Rose woke at 7am when the light came in.. YIKES>> I will be fixing that tonight.

 

Great previous suggestions! I agree - darkness and white noise help mine sleep soundly at night. They were waking early there for awhile, but we moved their bedtime later and they started sleeping in later (it wasn't quite as easy as I make it sound - we really struggled with it). At that age, they were sleeping from 6-7, so 13 hours, and then two 1-hour naps. Now, at two, they sleep from 7-7 with a 1-1.5 hour nap.

:hug: I hope he starts sleeping better for you soon!

 

Ours go to bed anytime between 7-8pm, depending on their sleepy signs, and how long its been since theywoke from their afternoon nap.
Our typical schedule is:

Up between 7-730
First nap around 930-10am for 1-2 hours
then second nap 3-4 hours after they woke from the am nap (so usually around 3pm) and sleep for 1-2 hours
I dont let them sleep any later than 5pm so even if they dont take a nap till 4pm I wake them at 5.
then bedtime between 7-8pm.

We dont do CIO, and we didnt have 2 great sleepers until around 13 months. Whenever I hear someone fuss in the night I look at the clock and give it 3 minutes if they are still fussing after 3 I go in and back pat, rock shoosh etc and then go back to my room. Thats how we handle night wakings. We also use white noise & have since birth. the only other thing I think that helps us is I put my kids down with a cup of water. Alot of times when I go in, like in the mornings, they are jibber jabbering over their cups of water Its like their own little am coffee date

 

Mine go 11.5/12 hours at night ( 830p-8aish) and a 2/2.5 hour nap in the afternoon. I worry that they sleep too much, so I guess its always something. For us the key was an early bedtime, the later they went to bed the earlier they got up. Now that they are a bit older and summer is in full swing that has changed as bedtime creeps later and later, we're hoping to get them back on an earlier bedtime come fall.

 

I agree that the blackout shades are KEY! Before we got them, the boys would go down at 7pm and wake up at 6:30am. Right after we got the blackouts installed they would start waking at 7:30 but would be content until about 8am. They nap from about 12:30pm - 2ish.

 

Mine take a 3-4 hour nap during the day. They go to bed around 7:30 and wake up between 7 and 9. We have a blanket over the window to black out the sun. We leave the fan on in their room and start them out with music that runs about 50 minutes. They also both have 2 or 3 binkies in their crib at all times. And we've had to separate their cribs so they aren't tempted to play with each other. They are sleeping godesses most of the time!

 

Mine sleep about 11 1/2 at night and get a nap of 2-3 hours. They go to bed around 7:15-7:30 and wake around 7:00. Naptime is at 1:00 and they'll wake between 3:00-4:00.

Lately though, Jake has been having a party in his crib at night. I will hear him walking back and forth, bang on the wall and laugh. This sometimes goes on for an hour. As long as he is not crying, I'm fine with it. I'm pretty sure Josh goes down right away because I have not heard him join in.

 

Ok, so I am now jealous reading about how much some kids sleep!!! Mine are in bed around 8:15 and asleep by 8:30pm. They wake between 6:30 and 7:00am--that's a total of 10 hours or night sleep. They also take a 2 hour nap from 11:30-1:30. That's a total of 12 hours of sleep in a day.

According to Ferber, the average amount of total daily sleep for an 18 month old is just under 12 hours. When I read that, I realized my kids are totally normal and some parents are blessed with kids who just need more sleep than average.

I think the amount of sleep kids need is biologically determined, not set by anything we really do. We can make their environment conducive to sleep so they'll sleep as much as they need, but we can't make them sleep more than their body needs. Some kids who are in their beds for 12 hours at night and 3-4 hours during naptime are probably not sleeping that whole time. They've just learned through CIO or other means that they need to be in their bed and quiet during those time frames until mom or dad gets them.

Personally, I'd move their bedtime back so you don't have such early risers. With a later wakeup, they will probably take just one good nap after lunch. (It might take a week or so for them to bed used to the new routine. You can help them adjust by moving everything back by 15 minutes a day.)

 

ooooooooo I like this last post the best!!!! Made me feel sooooo much better! Thanks for all the replies ladies. Am also jealous of those great sleepers!

Elliot does only have one nap and is doing around 11/11 half at night so he's good.

Gave Max milk this morning at 4.30 and with 30 mins sushing he finally did another hour till 6. With only one nap today of 1 half hours he is now down for the night at 7. His room is really dark - have just put up another blanket at a doorway that was a little light so we will see! Some days he does one nap but mostly 2 because he is up so bloody early!

Thanks for the advice. Will try tweeking the routine a bit and see if it makes any difference. Nice to know he's not abnormal acacording to Ferber!

 

Just what I need a sleep thread to depress the hell out of me.

Mine just turned one, but we never have gotten 12 hours; granted they still take two naps, so maybe that makes a difference.

 

QUOTE(JessiePlus2 @ Jun 28 2009, 06:30 PM) [snapback]1372659[/snapback]
I think the amount of sleep kids need is biologically determined, not set by anything we really do. We can make their environment conducive to sleep so they'll sleep as much as they need, but we can't make them sleep more than their body needs. Some kids who are in their beds for 12 hours at night and 3-4 hours during naptime are probably not sleeping that whole time. They've just learned through CIO or other means that they need to be in their bed and quiet during those time frames until mom or dad gets them.


I am a little taken aback with this portion of your post. I do agree with you that the amount of sleep that a child needs varies and is somewhat biologically determined but to make this broad generalization that kiddos who do need that extra sleep aren't really sleeping but bending to their parent's whim is a bit offensive. I never needed to use CIO or any sleep training with my DS and with my DD very briefly around 6 months to curb some going to sleep initially issues and I can tell you that my kiddos do in fact sleep 12+ hours at night plus take a 2.5/3 hour nap, its just who they are and what they need.

And to the poster right above me, 1 vs. 2 naps made a huge difference for us, once we dropped to one nap it went from 1 hour to 2.5-3 and night sleep got longer as well b/c we had an earlier bedtime with the same wake up time.

 

Mary, I'm sorry I offended you. I specifically said that "some" kids are probably not sleeping the entire time they're in their cribs if they're in there for 14+ hours. I'm sure there are kids who really need that much sleep. And I am sure there are others who play quietly until their parents get them up and out for the day.

My point was to share some research about what the average amount of sleep an 18 month old needs. I know I was surprised to read that it was only 12 hours because I always felt like my kids slept so much less than others I hear about.

 

QUOTE(JessiePlus2 @ Jun 28 2009, 10:19 PM) [snapback]1372873[/snapback]
Mary, I'm sorry I offended you. I specifically said that "some" kids are probably not sleeping the entire time they're in their cribs if they're in there for 14+ hours. I'm sure there are kids who really need that much sleep. And I am sure there are others who play quietly until their parents get them up and out for the day.

My point was to share some research about what the average amount of sleep an 18 month old needs. I know I was surprised to read that it was only 12 hours because I always felt like my kids slept so much less than others I hear about.

Ferber's kind of old school; I'd be curious what HSHHC says because the numbers are alwys higher than I think. Right now my boys get about 10-11 hours at night, and about 3 hours of naps a day, so that's 13-14 hours. I don't know if that drops off dramatically in the next months.

 

Does 11 1/2 count? The boys have gone 7:30pm - 7am since 10weeks. They still take 2 naps for a total of 2-4 hours on top of that, too. Our boys briefly went through a phase of getting up at 4:30 am around 4 months. What's it about that time anyway? At first it was to eat, then it was because they were used to it and wanted to play. We started not running in to get them every time they made a peep, and instead letting them fuss for up to 5 minutes before we went in and they quit waking up (or at least making noise and waking us up).

 

I have one who sleeps for 12 hours, which is wonderful. The other usually only sleeps for 10 hours. I wish I could figure out how to get her to sleep longer. They both take a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon. I actually have to wake Karina up after 12 hours because Annelise has been up for nearly 2 hours by that time and is starving.

 

QUOTE(JessiePlus2 @ Jun 28 2009, 06:30 PM) [snapback]1372659[/snapback]
Some kids who are in their beds for 12 hours at night and 3-4 hours during naptime are probably not sleeping that whole time. They've just learned through CIO or other means that they need to be in their bed and quiet during those time frames until mom or dad gets them.


That's certainly not true for my kids. Believe me, when Karina is awake, we know. She actually sleeps 12-13 hours at night (I usually wake her up after 12 hours) and sleeps from 2-3 hours in the afternoon.

 

Mines sleep from 730 or 8 pm until 730 to 830 am. They take one 2 to 3 hour nap around 11 am. Having a routine helps.

 

QUOTE(JessiePlus2 @ Jun 28 2009, 09:19 PM) [snapback]1372873[/snapback]
Mary, I'm sorry I offended you. I specifically said that "some" kids are probably not sleeping the entire time they're in their cribs if they're in there for 14+ hours. I'm sure there are kids who really need that much sleep. And I am sure there are others who play quietly until their parents get them up and out for the day.

My point was to share some research about what the average amount of sleep an 18 month old needs. I know I was surprised to read that it was only 12 hours because I always felt like my kids slept so much less than others I hear about.


Sorry Jessie to jump all over you, things often come accross different via computer than IRL. I do think different sources say different things, out of curiousity I looked it up in my Healthy Sleep Habits book, they quote the average for 2 year olds as 11 hours overnight and 2 hours at naptime. That said I don't put much stock in 'books', if a child is happy, healthy, and not constantly tantruming out of overtiredness than they are getting enough sleep IMO.

 

Mine do 7 to 7 with a 2-3 hour nap, although we are on a bit of a nap strike lately and waking up a little earlier, so I'm thinking it may be time to move bedtime to 7:30.

 

It's too loud at my house with too many schedule variances!

 

QUOTE(sullivanre @ Jun 28 2009, 06:48 PM) [snapback]1372837[/snapback]
Just what I need a sleep thread to depress the hell out of me.
Mine just turned one, but we never have gotten 12 hours; granted they still take two naps, so maybe that makes a difference.

hon, i'm w/you!.... the most either of mine have ever slept w/out waking and crying is 8 hours--and that's once in a blue moon! generally one or the other is up every 3 hours or so... they might sleep 11 hours all together, but it's never in a row.

decent nappers, however. but that's cuz i always make them take an extra little short one in the stroller while i jog....

everyone's different, that's all i can say!

 

we are very blessed to have great sleepers... we try for 7p-7p, sometimes its 7:30p to 7:30a etc... or something around 11-12 hours at night. We also get about 1 1/2-2 hrs naps 2 times a day... around 9:30a to 11:30aand then again 2:30p-4:30p. So ours get between 14 to 16 hrs of sleep a day.

One of the books suggested that it takes about 20 min. for the babies to calm down and start sleeping... I find this true - its not crying that mine are doing, usually just babbling and talking to each or themselves. I have found that a schedule does help us a bit. But I also know that when we tire them out they fall asleep quicker too.

Teething has kicked us in the butt every other month it seems... it seems to take a few days/week to go through the issues, and then sometimes its another week to get back to sleeping through the night...

anyway, with that said, I will say that when ours get their day naps they sleep better at night (just like HSHHB book says...)... we went on vacation over the weekend and didn't get their day naps and we didn't get them to bedtime until 2 to 3 hrs later than normal... and sure enough my boy woke up at 1a, 4a and 6a... anyway, good luck.