Need Sleep Advice

Hello, I'm new here but probably should have found this site awhile ago! I have 15 mo twin boys and we are trying hard to figure out how to get them to sleep through the night and NAP - preferably at the same time (roughly) each day. We thought they were ready for 1 nap, but now as I look over some of the other posts I see most babies continuing to have 2 well past 15 mo. We are "forcing" a nap after lunch at 11:30 or 12:00 by putting them in the car - but this is not sustainable! We need to transition them to their cribs for a more normal routine. We walked them in the stroller before this, but G would always wake J before he was ready. Other problem is G almost always wakes after 30 minutes. On the button. The car puts him right back to sleep... but the crib. I don't think so. I feel so trapped!
Thanks for any sound sleepy advice.

 

Hello and welcome to TS!

One thing I always did with my LOs was to put them in their cribs for some quiet playtime. You could try doing that. Give them some toys and any comfort objects (like pacis, blankies, etc) in with them and leave them to it. That way they will get used to their cribs and start to feel more at home in them. They may even just drop off whilst playing. My DD loved talking to her stuffed animals and to the Winnie The Pooh characters on the wallpaper! :lol: DS loves his music so he gets his music box and maybe a small toy that has lights and music. Sometimes they resist their naps but they know they wont be coming out to play for a little while as thats the only time I have to get things done!

We had to do CIO (i.e. crying it out) with DS when he was 10 months old for his naps. He used to fight them and we´d end up with an over-tired cranky baby. Since doing that, we´ve never looked back and he sleeps his nap 99% of the time now without any fuss. You may eventually have to do CIO if that´s something you agree with.

What is your routine like? I moved my LOs to one nap in September (they were 15 months old) as they started nursery in the afternoons. They consequently slept longer at night (before they were sleeping 2 naps of 2 hours and waking at the crack of dawn!). They go to bed around 11.30am-12pm and will sleep for 2 or 3 hours. They sleep 9pm-9am more or less.

GL and I hope I´ve helped a bit!

 

A great book to read is Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. I bought mine used on Amazon for about $5. I started using his techniques when they were around 4 months and since then they have sttn.

He really stresses that they only place they should be sleeping is in their cribs. Sleeping in cars, strollers ect. does not get them into REM sleep. Also they need to learn to self soothe and put themselves to sleep.

What does their day look like? What time do they get up and go to bed?

FWIW: We went to one nap when they turned one. I had one that would talk during their a.m. nap and then the other one would do it for the afternoon nap. Naptime for us is at 1:00 and they sleep for a good solid 3 hours. It's been that way since they were about 16 months.

 

:welcome: to the SY!

In addition to Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child, another book I found useful was Sleep Solutions for Your Baby, Toddler and Preschooler by Ann Douglas.

I would see if you can try to institute a new routine with them. Before nap and bedtime, I give my kids 30 minutes or more of TV free time and quiet time so that they could kind of slow down and be prepared to sleep. I do mini bed time routine before naps, I read to them, have their fans on and play their music to help them sleep at nap time. For the one that does not like the crib, I would make sure that he has lovies and things that make him comfortable around him. It might be a hard few days for him to adjust to a new routine but he will get there.

 

Thanks Gals! All really great thoughts. The boys go to bed at 6:45 and 7:00 each night after our pre-bed routine of bath, books and nursing all with low lighting and quiet voices. My DH brings them up to their beds while they are still awake. They have been sleeping better and better over the past few days - with only one night waking, but they are up for the morning around 6:00. Sometimes 6:30 sometimes 5:30 (ack!) They are quite active until around 9:30 - which was their morning nap - so there is still a bit of a slow-down there. Sometimes G takes a short nap, J rarely. Lunch is at 11:30 ish, diaper change then head for the car. We have decided no more car as of Sunday. So far 2 good days and one lousy. Today they slept 2 hours each. G woke after 1 hour, then my DH got him back down for another hour. We hope this progress continues. We have had to do a bit of CIO, but not alone. My DH is with them patting them down. I have not luck whatsoever with this. Perhpas I am too much a softy. Ahhh yes - music also seems to be helping. We are playing the same harp music that we would play in the car. So this cue is working.

Thanks! I will look for the cute flashy things for the bottom of my signature. They are cute - but I am way new at this.
Sheri

 

Sheri: glad things are getting easier. You´re right to break the car habit too, the sooner the better. You will have 2 or 3 rough days then they will realise. Stay consistent and it will pay off. GL!!

 

My guys are 17-months old and are still on 2 naps a day. Nate is starting to fight the first nap, so I think he's about ready to transition to 1 nap. Jack must need his beauty sleep because he's still firmly on 2 naps! We started the 2-3-4 method when they were about 9 months old and it's worked for us all this time. About 2 hours after they get up in the morning they go down for their first nap. About 3 hours after they get up from their first nap they go down for their second nap. About 4 hours after they get up from the second nap they go to bed.

Best of luck on this transition; sounds like you're heading in the right direction!

 

I think you're on a good track with the crib napping for sure, especially since you've already had some success with 2 hour naps!! That's awesome. We did two naps til somewhere around 15 months. It sounds like your one is ready for the transition but I agree it is best to have them on the same schedule for your sanity. We started by doing the one nap on the early side, like 10:30, then very gradually moving it back. We are just at 11:45 now and it seems to work, although there are days that someone doesn't nap (ugh!). It sounds like your husband is a huge help and doing a great job. Consistency is the key, and mine do cry more for me than for my husband...it's tough, but I'll do the backrubbing/soothing when needed and try not to talk or interact with them too much so they don't crave the social time when they're supposed to be sleeping. I still refer to HSHHC book and it is great for nap help, assistance with transitions too.
Good luck!

 

I don't have much time to post... but I wanted to say Welcome!

we were on 2 naps a day until 19 1/2 months... it was working well until probaby 19 mo. for us, then I realized that they were getting too much daytime sleep and were waking at night. some babies do great with different amounts of sleep.

anyway, yes, I think you're doing a great job breaking the car sleep... the books suggested were great, hopefully you can keep on track with the patting and such.

we do white noise at both night & nap, and now I really feel like their schedule is solidifying since we've gone to 1 nap a day. in fact, their morning wake time has lengthed a bit, so maybe you can get that too!

ours still get cranky after about 4 hrs of wake time in the mornig (7a to 10:30p-11a), but I try to keep ours up until noon and do lunch. then put to a nap by 12:30p or 1p. They will sleep about 3 hrs. then bedtime between 7 and 8p.

I have had to figure out how much snacks to give etc, b/c seems like I'll give too much snack (but not really a lot of food)... and then they won't be ready for lunch, then I feel like I'm putting them to a nap on an empty stomach. all that is to say that the whole schedule thing is a learning curve!

 

[quote name='Nate and Jack's Mom' date='13 January 2010 - 07:12 AM' timestamp='1263395561' post='1553438']
My guys are 17-months old and are still on 2 naps a day. Nate is starting to fight the first nap, so I think he's about ready to transition to 1 nap. Jack must need his beauty sleep because he's still firmly on 2 naps! We started the 2-3-4 method when they were about 9 months old and it's worked for us all this time. About 2 hours after they get up in the morning they go down for their first nap. About 3 hours after they get up from their first nap they go down for their second nap. About 4 hours after they get up from the second nap they go to bed.

Best of luck on this transition; sounds like you're heading in the right direction!
[/quote]
My girls are doing to same as your boys... one is showing signs of being ready for one nap a day while the other "needs her beauty sleep" so is firmly stuck on two. UGH... I'm struggling to find a balance that I can live with. The best solution for them would mean me having little to no time with them both awake or asleep and as a result no shower, meals prepared or errands ran! I tried pushing them toward one nap and we had four days of total melt down and OMG I thought I would lose my mind with all the tantrums and fighting that was going on so I BACKED OFF and have them back to their old two naps a day schedule. The problem with the two naps per day is that they are now able to stay happily awake longer between naps (and won't sleep before they're tired... oh I try) so the result is that they don't go to bed for the night until sometime between 9 and 10 (vs. their normal 7:30-8) because they didn't wake from their second nap until nearly 6! Them going down sooo late means I don't get that much needed nightly "down time" but whatever! I can survive as long as I have time throughout the day to shower, etc...! UGH... Ummm maybe I should have posted this as a new topic so I can get some suggestions!!