The Sleep Chronicles - Nap Time Flux

Over the past week or so, Willow has been refusing her afternoon nap more than she has been taking it. Since she is only 14 months old, it's not quite time for her to be giving up that extra nap. But, we have seen the morning nap migrate from 8:30am to 10:00am.

The whole thing makes me wonder if we should be transitioning her to one nap per day so I thought I'd do some quick research on it.

According to Baby Center, it is very common for a toddler Willow's age (14 months) to start to refuse the second nap of the day. Every parent knows this scenario: Your toddler gives all the signals that she's exhausted and needs sleep — she yawns and rubs her eyes, flops on the floor, and bursts into tears of frustration when her block tower collapses — but she still won't go down for a nap. The explanation is simple, though the solution may not be...

Toddlers fight the urge to rest simply because they are so interested in what's going on around them. Your curious toddler has so much to see and do and she's afraid that if she naps, she'll miss out on something. Also, just like other toddlers, your child is beginning to understand that she's separate from you and is her own person, so she asserts her independence whenever she can. Refusing to take a nap is one way she wrests control from you.

You might be wondering how much sleep your typical 1-year-old needs. This is where a nifty chart from Parents comes into play!!

So, what are some typical reasons your toddler may be refusing to nap? According to Parents factors can include:

• Growing independence. Toddlers love to be in control, so it's no surprise that they'll refuse to sleep on your command. Plus, kids this age are so active and curious that they hate the idea of taking a snooze break ("What if I miss something exciting?").


• Scheduling conflicts. The naptime at your toddler's daycare or preschool may not coincide with the hour your child typically gets tired. If he's at home, his ideal naptime may conflict with a sibling's schedule or your daily routine.


• Lack of sleep. It's hard to believe, but overtired kids may have trouble falling asleep. That's because when toddlers get tired, they often become irritable and hyperactive, says Dr. Owens.


• A major change. Any stressful event -- moving to a new house or switching to a big-kid bed, for example -- may make your child feel too anxious to doze off easily.

Now that you know the causes, what can you do? Well, there are several things:

• Don't call it a nap -- call it quiet time or rest time. That way, your toddler won't feel like he's being forced to sleep when he thinks he isn't tired. Tell him he has to stay in bed (or in his room) for a certain amount of time and do a quiet activity, such as coloring or looking at books. Even if he doesn't fall asleep, you'll both benefit from the break.


• Set a soothing scene. Plan relaxing activities just before naptime to help your child wind down. Try to follow a routine that's similar to her bedtime rituals: Read a book (see "Soothing Stories for Anti-Nappers"), tuck her in with her favorite stuffed animal, or put on soft music.


• Respect his schedule. Resist the urge to plan your toddler's nap around your errands. Instead, watch your child for signs of sleepiness. If he doesn't seem tired at his current naptime, consider switching it to a later hour. Just don't make it too late -- if you let your child sleep past 3 or 4 p.m., you may be in for a big bedtime battle.


• Offer a choice. Your reluctant napper may be more agreeable if you give her some control over when she snoozes. When I ask my daughter the right question -- "Would you like to nap now or in five minutes?" -- she's less likely to start a power struggle.

Check out the graph below for a Baby Center Poll on napping habits of 1-year-olds (toddlers):

What does this all boil down to? Every baby/toddler is different and you should pay attention to your child's individual cues when deciding things like a nap schedule. I, personally, think that maybe Willow is honestly trying to go to 1 nap a day.

Right now, Willow sleeps for an average of 10 hours per night and about 2-3 hours per day divided into two naps. I would not mind at all if she wanted to take one 2+ hour nap per day after lunch. But I'm just not so sure about the transition. My sister (a mother of four) says she thinks it's a little early to give up one of her naps and is sure a few weeks from now she'll be back to normal napping.

What will happen next? Who knows? But I'll keep you informed!! Keep an eye out for the next installment of "The Sleep Chronicles"!! Read more!

The Sleep Chronicles - Time Change!!

This past weekend, as you know, we turned our clocks back an hour marking the end of Daylight Savings Time.

I have been worried about this time change for months now. Worrying about how Willow would adjust and if we could get through it smoothly. I think the cause of the worry was both an underestimation of myself and an underestimation of Willow. But then, underestimating can be a good thing, right?

Here's how we danced around the time change in such a way that Willow never really new the difference...

I had toyed with a slow transition but ended up deciding to kind of "rip off the band aid" so to speak. Friday night we went to bed 1/2 an hour late. She is usually pretty tired by the time 7:00pm rolls around, but she did well. Saturday we got her out of bed 1/2 an hour later. She slept in an extra half hour, which was very good.

Then, during the day on Saturday we just did things later. Her morning snack was 1/2 an hour later and she ended up taking her morning nap an hour later (and then sleeping for 105 minutes, which was unusually long). Then, since she had such a long morning nap it was a breeze to have her afternoon nap an hour later. Then we had dinner an hour later and put her to bed an hour later.

When we woke up Sunday morning, after "falling back", she was just fine with it and the day proceeded just like any other!!

You want to know the hilarious funny part? I am still the one who isn't used to going to bed and getting up later. Go figure.

I think the key to the whole thing is to try and NOT underestimate her and her resilience and ability to adapt to new situations. For example, Willow HATES hats. We had her in a hooded sweater last week and forget about trying to put the hood on. But then, she ended up wearing her Halloween costume with little trouble and it had a hat. This morning, she found her Halloween hat and wanted to put it on. So, she was running around with pajamas and a ladybug hat (complete with antennae) on this morning. Darned if it wasn't the cutest thing. Read more!

The Sleep Chronicles - "Falling Back"

I'll admit it, I'm a control freak. I have a schedule and I like to stick to it. As much as I try to preach (and practice) the whole "go with the flow" mentality, it's just not who I am.

That's why I have (literally) been worried for months about the upcoming time change where we will "fall back" for however long. My friends and family (including David) think I am crazy and they are probably right. Last year when Willow was a really small baby the time change didn't really matter since any sleep was sleep. Now it's a whole different story. Or, is it?

I have decided, after much comtimplation (that even included a slow transition the week previous to the time change) to just kind of take up that extra hour this coming saturday and hope things all work out in the end.

So, We'll be pushing lunch back 1/2 an hour and hopefully the afternoon nap an hour and then eating dinner and putting Willow to bed (at least) an hour late. All in the hopes that she doesn't wake up at 4:00am Sunday morning, but sticks to her 5:20am (or so) wake up time.

Wish us luck!!

As a quick aside, Willow has started walking into her bedroom when she is ready for bed at night. She'll just get up after the book you are reading is done and look at us like we should know what she is doing. Darned if it isn't the cutest thing. Read more!

The Sleep Chronicles - White Noise is a HIT!!

If I didn't experience it, I wouldn't have believed it. However, Willow is sleeping "in" now until 6:30am (at least for the past three nights). And it's all thanks to Baby White Noise.

We have only used the standard white noise sound (basically like static) with her so far, but I think I may try the "rain" this evening with her.

If you are having trouble getting your baby to sleep, or would like an idea to get them to sleep just a little longer in the morning, then I would recommend trying Baby White Noise. They are very reasonable priced and they have a 365-day 100% money back guarantee. And for those of you (like me) who demand instant satisfaction, you can download the mp3 immediately and burn a CD.

Good luck and I'll keep you posted! Read more!

The Sleep Chronicles - Baby White Noise

Willow has been sleeping well, but we were wondering if there was a way to get her to sleep a little longer in the morning. So, we thought we'd try out white noise. But before spending (potentially) a considerable sum of money on a white noise machine, I thought I would look them up and do a comparison.

My first stop (of course) was Amazon because they have great customer reviews on most of their products. And while I found quite a few white noise machines available, with both good and bad reviews, I thought I'd do a Google search. That's when I discovered Baby White Noise.

But first, what exactly IS "white noise"?? "Despite its name, white noise is not a noise. Rather, it is a sound frequency or signal, a subtle, steady sound found in nature, such as the sound of ocean waves gently caressing the shore, a rain shower, a waterfall, or even the hum of a vacuum cleaner or clothes dryer.

"For many babies, especially crying sleepy babies and babies with colic, the monotony of an external noise is especially soothing. (How often have you gotten drowsy with the gentle sound of a motor running?) That's why many pediatricians recommend white noise as part of a baby's sleep regimen.

"In addition, general environmental noise, like noisy traffic outside the baby's nursery or loud noises created by the baby's siblings, may upset your baby or keep your newborn infant awake. Research has also shown that a steady stream of the same peaceful sound, such as white noise, can filter and mask distracting noises, while at the same time calm your child down. That's why white noise is a very safe and effective sleep sound for babies."

Baby White Noise is a company who specializes in making white noise sounds especially for babies. From their website: "BabyWhiteNoise.com is an audio development and production company studying white noise and its many applications and benefits to children and adults since 1985.

"As audio specialists, we combine the science of both sound and relaxation technology with the art of white noise, to promote relaxation and sleep in both children and adults.

"Our Baby White Noise sounds are not a sideline product or an afterthought. It's all we do. Our main and only objective is to provide our customers with the most effective and best baby white noise sounds available at an affordable price."

So, after thinking about it, I decided to purchase their "baby's white noise" and "baby's rain shower" sounds for Willow to try out. We downloaded the Mp3's and made two Cd's.

When we put Willow to bed at night, we have a fan on in her room. Both an overhead fan and a oscillating fan in the doorway. Her room does not cool well since the ducting upstairs was not done very well, making the oscillating fan necessary. (We plan on getting that fixed in the next year or so) However, as soon as we go to bed for the night, since the house is cooled down to the "night time" level we turn the oscillating fan off, and close her door for the night.

Last night, when we closed her door for the night we turned on the "baby white noise" CD, and left it on "repeat" for the night. Willow woke up this morning at about 5:00am, but she was soon back asleep. We ended up getting her out of bed at 6:30am, but she would have slept longer if we let her. I honestly cant even fathom the possibility of her sleeping until 7:00am, but I have my hopes slightly risen.

We just started this yesterday, so you'll have to wait for an update in the next week or so. Wish us luck! Our goal, as always, is the best possible sleep for Willow. If she is sleeping longer, we are sleeping longer and that is always a good thing!! Read more!

The Sleep Chronicles - Early to Bed, Late to Rise

Since I have been "going with the flow" Willow has been sleeping better. Looking at and listening to her cues has really been helping us in the sleep arena. She now sleeps for as long as she would like during the day and goes to bed half an hour earlier (in her crib for sleep at 7:30pm). Willow is now going to bed before she is overtired. This has resulted in her sleeping better at night. She has been routinely sleeping until between 5:30am and 6:00am and I am so glad!

Apparently the "Early to Bed, LATE to Rise" mantra worked! The whole concept behind that is when babies are overtired, they do not sleep as well. But, when they are sleepy and NOT overtired, they sleep better and longer. From what I have read, if your baby is rubbing his/her eyes they are already overtired. However, I am sure that's not true for everyone.

Although I say I am "go with the flow" Willow still has set start times for her naps during the day. But they have been established by her, not me. I have had to tweak a little here and there, especially getting her form three naps to two naps a few months ago, but it has all worked out in the end.

Even though this has worked out, I still feel like I don't know very much about sleep and babies. I have read books and I have experimented with Willow but since every baby is an individual and there is no one answer, it is just trial and error. No matter how many experts you consult, it is up to you and your baby in the end. I still encourage people to read books, especially Ferber's book (Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems), and to research on their own. No one knows your baby as well as you do.

If you are having trouble getting your baby to sleep and they are over 5 months old (when babies are capable of self-soothing) I wish you luck and I hope that maybe The Sleep Chronicles have been of some help to you! I'll still be updating as the need arises!! Read more!

The Sleep Chronicles - Going With the Flow

I have to laugh (a little) at people who complain when their kids don't sleep past 7:00am. Especially when they are talking about babies under 2 years old. Not that there is something magic that happens when a child turns 2, but still. Willow usually wakes up sometime in the 5:30am half hour. Every day. Without fail. I would give a LOT to be able to sleep IN until 7:00am.

But, now I am going with the flow and I am letting her nap for as long as she would like and we are actually putting her to bed earlier and she is (surprisingly) sleeping better.

That's another lesson. If you are the type of person who likes everything on a "schedule", having a baby is probably not for you. Babies don't do what you want them to. And I have found that if you try to force them to do something, they hold out even longer before they are "ready".

Yes, you may feel like you know better (since you are the adult and all) but figuring out stuff on your own evidently starts early and it's what kids need to do to learn, right? Read more!

The Sleep Chronicles

Well, waking up after 6am for two days was a fluke and Willow is back to waking up at about 5:30am. This is after about five days of her waking up in the middle of the night between 1am and 3am. We tried everything to get her to settle down and go to sleep but she was not having it. We held her. She just got her second tooth so we thought she might be teething and gave her Motrin. The Benadryl worked when it was closer to 3am but I think I believe the study I sighted a few posts ago that said it had no effect because when I tried it earlier in the night it didn't work.

So, we are just chalking it up to a strange phase she went through for a few days.

We still have her napping for about two hours per day (two one-hour naps) and we put her in her crib for sleep at about 8:00pm. She has a well established bedtime routine that includes a bath, bottle, and books. Last night we were a little worried she wouldn't sleep as long as she did because she had about 50 minutes of additional sleep during the day. We had gone to my sisters for her eldest's 7th birthday party and it's a 30 minute drive each way. Willow never makes it awake unless she just woke up from a nap and even then it's iffy. But she surprised us both and slept through for 9.5 hours. Go figure.

Like I was telling my sister this morning on the phone, I don't think I'm ever going to have this sleep thing figured out. But, as I try different things, I'll keep you posted! Read more!

The Sleep Chronicles - A Fluke?

I am kind of cranky today because Willow slept in until 6:40am so I didn't get to see her before I left for work at 6:30am. :-(

One of my favorite parts of the day is being the person she sees first when she wakes up in the morning. But, I go to work early so I can get home early and spend more time with her in the afternoon/evening.

Anyway...the awesome news is, she slept for 10.5 hours!! HOLY CRAP! This is practically unheard of!

Was it a fluke? Who knows? I think it's probably a one day thing but I'll keep my fingers crossed for sleeping in tomorrow morning! Read more!

The Sleep Chronicles - Revisited

Soon after successfully getting Willow to "sleep in" until 5:30am to 6:00am, she was right back to getting up at 5:00am. So, we decided to try restricting her daytime sleep again.

And...it worked!! Now, Willow sleeps for two 1-hour naps during the day and she sleeps until 6:00am in the morning and has no trouble staying up for an 8:00pm bedtime.

Willow has slept solidly through the night since about 4-4.5 months old so that was never a problem. And now we have a solid schedule where she has set nap times and lengths and we are all happy in the end.

Sometimes we have to wake her up from her naps during the day but it all works out in the end.

I just wish she was one of those "average" 9-month-olds who had 11 hours of sleep at night and 3 hours of sleep during the day. Too bad fishes aren't wishes. (Then I may actually like seafood) Read more!

The Sleep Chronicles - We are in Business!!

Willow slept another 10 hours last night!! I thought I would sum up what we worked on and the successes we had over the past week or so of trying to change her schedule.

The Problem:
Willow was waking up too early in the morning. She was waking up before 5:00am, which was too early for our liking. However, she had trouble staying up past her well established 7:30pm bedtime.

The Experiment:
We have been charting Willow's sleep patterns since December when she was 3 months old. We first experimented with restricting her daytime napping to see if that had an effect on the duration of her night time sleep. That did not work as we discovered (and had suspected) that the amount of time she slept during the day had no bearing on how long she slept at night. This was confirmed when she slept 3, 2, and 1 hours respectively over a three day period and slept the same 9.5 hours per night each night.

So, we were left with changing her bed time. This proved to be a little difficult since her bed time had been established for a long time and she was having a lot of trouble staying awake.

The Solution:
Over a few day period, we gradually (in 5-10 minute increments) changed her bedtime from 7:30pm to 8:00pm. This is what did the trick!! (Just like Ferber said) She is now waking up just after 6:00am in the morning!! Since we knew what her night time sleep length was, and that was not changing, the solution was to change the time she went to bed. That way, she gets the same amount of sleep (in Willow's case 1/2 an hour more) but she is waking up at a more desirable time.

Sure, our nighttime "alone" time is slightly compromised, but it's only 1/2 an hour and everyone is happier when Willow has a better night's sleep.

I hope this has helped you if you have an "early riser". I know most children are "up with the sun" but now her wake time is much better for us all. As such, we are closing "The Sleep Chronicles" for now. But they will be back if we need to tweak anything in the future! If you have any questions or would like advise, feel free to comment! Read more!

The Sleep Chronicles - Success??

Yes!!!

Willow actually slept 10 hours last night! I think that is because she is feeling under the weather. Today she has diarrhea (which is new), and still a slight fever and runny nose.

The real test will be this evening when we try again to get her to stay up until 7:30 again before getting ready for an 8:00pm bedtime. I think that's what made the difference.

Now, if she will stay on the 6:00am wake-up schedule, we will be golden!! Keep your fingers crossed!! Read more!

The Sleep Chronicles - For Willow, Naptime Doesn't Matter

So, how long did Willow sleep last night? Seeing as how she only slept for 70 minutes during the day yesterday, I was sure she would sleep longer then 9.5 hours.

Was I right?

Nope. She woke up after 9.5 hours, on the dot.

Today Willow was not feeling well. She had a slight fever and her nose was like a faucet. Not stuffed, but constantly running. She was grumpy all day and very tired. She also did not want her formula. Needless to say, I was quite surprised when she made it to 7:20pm before we headed upstairs. Not only that but after her bath and bottle (she left 1.5 out of 9 ounces) she was awake enough to read two books, like normal.

So, tonight she was alseep by around 8:00pm. That's 1/2 an hour later than normal. Let's hope this means she will sleep until at least 5:30am.

The interesting news is that we have confirmed that her daytime nap has no bearing what so ever on how long she sleeps at night. She has had everything from one hour of sleep all day long to three hours of sleep all day long and she still wakes up after 9.5 hours of night time sleep.

Go figure. Read more!

The Sleep Chronicles - Success??

Yeah, I wish. Yesterday was good during the day. Willow took two, one-hour naps, just like I was hoping. But, unfortunately she was very tired when 7:00 rolled around, so we only stayed up an extra five minutes before getting ready for bed. She had her bottle and passed out again.

Then, this morning, she actually woke up after 9 hours 20 minutes sleep!!

Today Willow wasn't having daytime napping. She took two 35 minute naps. I would have tried to keep her up but she was crying and very cranky. So, when bedtime came around we actually ended up going up ten minutes early. She promptly passed out again right after her bottle.

I have a really good feeling that she is cutting a tooth. I felt her gums and noticed that the bottom right side is puffed up more then the left. She has been slightly warm and has the sniffles, which started yesterday. We gave her some Motrin this afternoon since she seemed achy and she was in a little better mood afterwards. We are prepped to give it to her again if she wakes up tonight.

Looking back at her sleep patterns, she is sleeping an average of 36 minutes less this month than last month and her total sleep has been getting less and less over the past 4 months or so. What does it mean? I have no idea...

Here's hoping that she sleeps in until, I don't know, 6:00am? That would rock. Read more!

The Sleep Chronicles - Duration of Night Time Sleep

So, as I mentioned yesterday, I am experimenting with Willow's sleep time. She used to sleep 10.5 to 11 hours during the night and the past week it has gone down to 9.5 hours. I have read and researched a lot about sleep and infants so I have a couple of approaches I am trying.

I have been charting her sleep since December. I successfully got her from 3 naps during the day, to two. I like the time she goes to bed but not the duration so I have to work on that.

Last night I experimented with the "Early to bed late to rise" mantra. The philosophy behind this is that when a child is overtired, they will not sleep as well as they would if they went to sleep when they were just plain tired. So, I started getting Willow ready for bed at 6:45pm instead of the normal 7:00pm. She was tired. She was rubbing her eyes and yawning so I thought this may just work.

When I laid her down after her bedtime routine (bath, bottle, books) she went right to sleep. Unfortunately, I didn't fool her and she woke up promptly at 4:45am. This tells me that she is just one of those babies that only needs 9.5 hours of sleep. I am not one of the lucky ones with a child who likes 11 or 12 hours. And that is fine. We will work out a happy compromise.

According to Dr. Ferber, when you have a situation where your child is an early riser, you have to adjust the time they go to bed in order to adjust the time they wake up. Most children have an average amount of time they sleep in any given day. If they are napping when and for a duration that you are happy with, changing the bed time is the alternative we are left with.

Willow seems to sleep 9.5 hours at night irrespective of how much daytime sleep she has. But, just in case, I instructed her daycare teacher to only allow her to sleep for 2 hours during the day today. (Ideally these two hours will be in two one-hour increments but Willow will decide that) Two to three hours has been her average amount of daytime sleep for a while. She actually had three hours yesterday.

If her 12 to 12.5 hours of sleep during a 24 hour period holds up (which it has lately) she should sleep about 10-10.5 hours tonight. So, by restricting her daytime sleep and pushing back her nighttime sleep by 15 minutes tonight, I should have her waking at a more reasonable time in the morning.

I'll keep you posted! Read more!

The Sleep Chronicles - The one thing I obsess about...

Well, okay there are several things in everyday life that I obsess about, but the one thing with Willow that I have been obsessed with, since before she was born, is her sleep. I have read books. I have done searches on the Internet. I have asked other moms, both old and new, what they have done. And I think I got it right from the beginning. Willow slept through the night very early and we were happy. We have a well-established bed time routine and she knows all the steps. She goes to sleep in her crib and sleeps soundly until the morning.

The problem we are running into is the time she wakes up. Her night time sleep amount is getting less and less. I hear about moms and dads whose children sleep 12 or more hours a night and I am happy for them and secretly jealous. Willow is now sleeping about 9.5 hours per night. This is irrespective of how much daytime sleep she gets. Whether she gets 3 hours or 1.5 hours during the day, she sleeps 9.5 hours at night. It used to be 11 hours and I am not sure what changed aside from her growing up a little bit. (We have been charting her sleep since about December)

In the beginning of her life, we started the bedtime routine at 8:00pm. This was a good time for us because we knew we wouldn't be sleeping for long before we had to get up again to see to her needs. Now a days, the bedtime routine starts at about 7:00pm and she is asleep by 7:40pm at the latest. This means that she is waking up at 5:00am, but I'll get to that in a minute. Getting her to sleep at this time is good for us because it allows us to get the dishes and cleaning and whatnot done before we go to bed ourselves at about 9:30pm. And the past two nights, she hasn't been acting overly tired when I start the routine (bath, bottle, books) but when she is done with her bottle she is passing out in my arms and going immediately to sleep when I lay her in her crib.

So, I like the time she goes to bed but not the time she wakes up. I get up at 5:00am myself so that I can get ready for work and have everything finished before she gets up, eats, and gets dressed. So lately, I have been leaving her in her crib to play while I do the things I normally would in the morning. She never cries or is unhappy about this situation. I have been thinking about what I can do to get her to sleep later in the morning and I think I am at the point where I need to push her bedtime later by half an hour. I am undecided. I guess I'll see how the evening goes and go by her cues.

It may mean less time to myself at night but it can also mean sleeping in a little bit on the weekends. I'll let you know how it pans out!

Welcome to The Sleep Chronicles!! Read more!