Sleeping FAQ: 18-24 Months – Lunchtime Nap

Ella’s (20 months) short lunchtime nap is causing other problems with sleeping and eating.

Ella is one year and eight months old. The problem is that she is only sleeping 30-40 minutes at her lunchtime nap. The knock-on effect is that she is waking earlier in the mornings too. She also often doesn’t want supper as she is too tired. She is very run down from lack of sleep and subsequently keeps getting various illnesses. She currently has terrible conjunctivitis and a cough and cold. I always put her down at 1pm and she used to sleep for about 1.5 hours but not since the beginning of January. I have tried putting her down half an hour earlier or later but it doesn’t make any difference. She definitely needs more sleep as she often falls asleep in the car at the end of the day. I have tried leaving her to cry to go back to sleep but she just shouts for me. I have tried going into her room and telling her to go back to sleep but this just makes her hysterical. I’m not sure why this is happening. She was a “contented baby” from 7 weeks old, slept through the night at 14 weeks and we haven’t looked back since. We did go on holiday over Christmas and the daytime sleep has been bad since we got back. Her room is dark so that’s not the problem. Please help!

Tracey

You are obviously well aware of what Ella’s problem is. Lack of sleep causes so many other problems. Unfortunately, changes in a toddler’s routine when occasions such as Christmas come along can take a few weeks to sort out.

Try putting Ella down 10 minutes earlier for her lunchtime sleep for a few days. If you notice a small improvement, move it 10 minutes earlier again so she is going down by 12:40pm. Rather than moving the sleep by half an hour sometimes gradually increasing the time she spends in her cot will mean she sleeps just slightly longer each day.

I would also try to wean her off taking her milk to bed at 1pm. Ella may well enter her light sleep after 30-40mins and miss the comfort of her bottle. It would be better to offer this as a drink in a beaker before you settle her down then encourage her to snuggle down with a favourite teddy or comforter.

Have you tried offering Ella a yogurt, fromage frais or milky pudding at lunchtime? This may fill her up enough so she doesn’t need any milk to settle with.

As she is so tired and not always eating a good supper try to offer her a snack of fresh fruit mid-afternoon. This will help boost her immune system and not interfere with her appetite too much. Whilst she is not feeling really well you may have to think up some tasty meals which are easy for her to eat. Making “picture food” often works as does offering smoothie drinks which are made with milk, juice and fruit. Try tiny, bite-sized portions of finger food especially at teatime to help her eat enough.

Whilst she is still missing so much sleep build quiet times into her morning and afternoons. Settle down with a few books together, watch a short video or suitable TV programme which will encourage Ella to rest. Keep her to a very simple routine without too many visits out and about until she improves on her sleep and is better able to ward off infections.

Have a look at Gina’s article on the site at the moment about the lunchtime nap to see if anything there adds to this advice.