Okay firstly let me say I am thankful that in general we have a great sleeper. It's not always the case, when things aren't right or she's unwell she's a shocker for up most of the night and day, but in general she's great with her sleeping. So much so I worry that maybe she's too sleepy? Comments from MIL and friends don't help either.....
DD is just on 18 months old, and usually goes down around 7/7.30pm and until recently would sleep til around 7am the next morning. Lately it's closer to a 6am wake up but hey I'm not complaining. Most nights she'll sleep through, but getting up to resettle her with a quick pat once or twice isn't uncommon either.
Her day sleeps - when at home she sleeps from around 9am - 11am, then down again around 2.30/3 - 4.30ish. If she does sleep til 5 or so she still goes down around 7. On kindy days she'll sleep just on an hour both sleeps, due to a communal cot room, but is VERY tired when she gets home and barely makes it through dinner and asleep by 6.30pm. She does 2 days in a row Thurs/Fri and most of Saturday is spent us waiting for her to wake as she always has such huge sleeps being so tired after 2 kindy days. And I know I shouldn't compare her with the other children in the room but most of them have moved to one day sleep for awhile now.
Now she is a really active little monkey, and has like a 150% energy output when awake, everyone comments on it, so is she just tiring herself out? Someone mentioned I should get her iron levels checked/heart etc because she seems so tired all the time. But the thing is she doesn't seem tired all the time, she's a happy bubbly little kid, but she just needs her sleep. If that makes sense. She eats a balanced diet, and is generally as healthy as a child in child care can be over winter, so am I worrying over nothing?
Once again, I know many would say I'm really lucky to have such a great sleeper, but it's the doubting Mum in me that niggles away in the back of my mind..... I actually feel a bit silly posting it now that I re-read it, but all the sleepy head/is she unwell comments are starting to bug me.
My DD has heaps less sleep, but my niece who is only a little older has similar sleep patterns to your little one- and needs the sleep. If she is happy and seems healthy by getting the sleep i would just go with her flow. She will let you know when she needs less.
I have a 3yr old who will still have a 3hr sleep in the day and sleep at least 10 hours at night (8 until 6am) - healthy as they come he is. If he does have only a short or no sleep during the day he's exhausted by 6 and will sleep through to 7am or so). He held two day sleeps for a very long time it was only with school drop offs and pick ups I had to negotiate it back to 1 sleep. he can sometimes start his 3 hr sleep as early as 9:30 in the morning and some days doesn't go down until 11:30 depending on what we are doing.
Personally, I think that sounds okay. My 2 year old would sleep all up 15 hour per day. But it would probably be worth just getting iron and maybe thyroid checked. I would think that to still be having 2 naps at 18 months is probably getting a bit old-ish but not super unusual.
Did they express any concerns? If you haven't had it yet - maybe ask your nurse?
It sounds like you've just got a child who likes to sleep. My DD is 2yrs 8mths and still has a big day sleep, sometimes up to 3hrs. Every child is different!
What do YOU think? It sounds like you think she's ok - you're her mummy, you know her best!
DD1 is a fantastic sleeper. Has been from day 1. We recently took her to the Doctor to get her checked for a bad cough she seems to always have. Straight away he asked does she snore and mouth breath. She does, long story short DD1 is on the waiting list to have her tonsils, adnoids out and grommits put in. The ENT specialist said that although she may actually be a great sleeper, she may not be getting quality sleep due to constantly been in a state of light sleep. I guess we will find out afetr her operation.
I just thought I would share my story of my great sleeper. Personally I think she is just like her mummy and loves sleeping and the operation wont change it
I've been wondering the same thing lately about my DS, too! But I don't want to look like I'm complaining, because I'm definitely not, just curious...
This is DS' usual sleep pattern:
Bed around 8pm
Bottle in bed at 6am, then straight back to sleep
Up for the day at 9:30/10am
Arvo nap at 1:30 through to 4:30
Back to bed at 8pm
So it sounds as if both our munchkins are sleeping roughly the same amount of time in a 24h period. And my DS is 150% on the go when he is awake as well. Never ever sits still to do something, he's happier walking around while he eats rather than sitting in the high-chair cos he has so much to do! Climbing, running, dancing, wriggling under furniture. Anything but sitting still!
My MCHN appt is in 2 weeks, so I'll check in with her, but I think it's all totally normal and fine, and we are one of the lucky few parents with fantastic sleepers! Woohoo!
Thanks for the replies everyone, I'm feeling a little bit silly for worrying, but certainly a lot better about it too.
OP in general I do think she's okay, it's just when people question things then I start to doubt, which starts the cycle of worrying!! Happens to me often
They are so understaffed at our local community health Centre I'm on a waitlist for her 18mth check up - when enough of us need them they will roster someone on! But I guess I'm not that worried to push it, otherwise I'd see our GP.
She doesn't snore either Kazzo but thanks for the heads up - hope your DD's op goes well and it will be interesting to see if her sleeping patterns do change.
Thanks ReeRee, I don't want to sound like I'm complaining either!
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Too much sleep?
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