My 2 year old seams to always be tired--PLEASE HELP!

[mommyapb]

I am not even sure how to start this post so here it goes.

My 2 yr, 4 months old dd spends a great deal of the day "lounging around" and obviously tired. The easiest way I can think to give you all the info is to outline her day:

7am wakes up & hangs out in bed with me while DH gets ready fro work
8am breakfast & ready for the day (dressed/bath if needed etc.)
9am - 11am Playing at home or on an outing. ***By now she is tired, I mean looks like she could nap tired. If we are at playgroup, she will often want to curl up in my lap & "cuddle". If just playing at home, will NOT play by herself. Asks to watch TV or eat as a way to deal with being tired. She will spend the majority of these 2 hours sitting in my lap if I let her.
11:30-12: Watches Word World
12- Lunch
1- Nap
2 -Awake from nap2-5: Play. May or may not have a repeat of the 9-11 scenario. Today while at a play-date, DD kept climbing out of the kiddie pool after about 5 minutes to snuggle on my lap & suck her thumb. It was kind of ridiculous I thought!
5:30-Dinner
7:30 or 8-Bed

So to sum it up, she gets roughly 11 hours of sleep at night plus a 1 hr nap. (Has always been a 1 hr nap since infancy.)
She generally will spend several hours a day doing nothing but laying around sucking her thumb if I let her. She plays very little by herself. And will even act tired at playgroups. I have discussed this with 2 different pediatricians. Both have told me not to worry.They said (their words not mine) that DD is bright & gets bored easily. I try to have constant activities for her but I would think by this age she could entertain herself for awhile without just laying on the floor.

I am sure that I am rambling now but would love to hear other mom's advice. Anyone been in a similar situation? Is DD just lazy? Why routinely, day in & out, is she getting sleepy b/t 9 & 11 am?

Thanks for all the help & comments!
Amelia
DD 3/06

[JTsMom]

Is there any way you can get her to nap longer? DS needed more sleep than that at her age.

[mommyapb]

DD has always been a 1 hour napper even as an infant. She would sleep awesome at night (12 hours) and only in 1 hour intervals during the day.

If anyone has suggestions for getting a toddler to nap longer I am all ears.

Thanks

[JTsMom]

Have you tried laying down with her? DS will sleep for ages if I lay next to him and read or something. White noise? Earlier nap? Darker room? Just throwing stuff out there- don't know what all you've tried. It just seems to me if she really seems like she could fall asleep early in the morning, she needs more. If she won't nap longer, what if you put her to bed a little earlier?

Do you think it could be a physical problem, or do you think it's just a behavioral thing? Could she be anemic? Does she have any other issues? Does she get tired when she's being physical- like worn out tired- or just bored tired?

[KrisM]

Until we had a major breakdown of all types of sleep a couple of weeks ago, my 2 year old DD would sleep about 12 hours at night and 3 hours during the day.

I had success with longer naps by starting them a bit earlier than I had been, rather than trying to stretch them longer.

If she won't nap longer than an hour, can you put her down earlier at night to encourage more sleep overall?

[o_mom]

Does she snore at all?

[cvanbrunt]

Maybe she needs a morning nap or put her down for the afternoon nap earlier. My almost 3 yo wakes up and goes to be at the same time as your daughter but sleeps for at least 2 hours in the middle of the day.

We found Weissbluth's "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" to be particularly useful.

[pb&j]

Maybe try shifting her nap time(s) to when she seems tired. Maybe she needs to start her nap at 11 instead of 1. Or maybe she should go to bed earlier. DS has been more tired during the day this summer because the long days have made it very difficult for him to wind down and go to bed. But when he goes down earlier, he doesn't wake up earlier, he just gets more sleep.

Also, watching TV when her body is tired can actually wake her up, and make it harder for her to sleep. Maybe TV after the nap instead of before?

DS sleeps about 11-12 or so hours at night. He naps 2-4 hours during the day, all in one stretch. So, his total daily sleep usually exceeds 13 hrs, and is often as much as 15-16. He sleeps in a dark, quiet room. On the days he's not in day care, I put him down as soon as he seems sleepy (if we're not out and about). This can be anywhere from 11:30 to 1:30. And I always leave a sippy cup half-filled w/water in his crib so that he won't get out of bed just b/c he's thirsty. He also gets half a sippy of water in his crib at night. I really think that's helped prevent a lot of nightwaking - the cup is always empty in the morning.

[kellij]

I think it sounds like she's overtired and needs a morning nap. My daughter, who is 2, often is tired after only being up for about 3 hours. If I were you I would try to put her down at 10ish and see how she does. If she's only sleeping an hour at a time, she might take 2 one hour naps. Otherwise, I would probably give her a snack at 10, put her down for a nap at 11, then lunch after she wakes up. Then I would get her to bed for the night closer to 7. My kids do better with at least 12 hours of sleep at night. And they are far from lazy. I would definitely play around with her schedule, she sounds like an over-tired little girl.

[niccig]

When did she go from 2 naps to 1 nap? When DS did the transition he needed the nap to be earlier around 11am, it took us a few months to get it to 1 pm. He's 3.5 yo, generally sleeps 8 or 8.30pm - 7am and then has a 2-3 hour nap. If he went to sleep later at night - sometimes still bouncing at 9.30pm, then nap is 3 hours. I try to keep it to 2 hours and done by 4pm so that it doesn't affect night sleep.

[lisams]

Could she be anemic? Does she drink a lot of cow milk (too much cow milk can actually cause anemia in a normally well nourished child)? Another thought is she often constipated? When DD was potty training she got constipated often and would start laying around and wanting extra cuddles - turns out she was feeling rather uncomfortable. Does she have any signs of allergies - dark circles under her eyes, rubbing her nose a lot, etc.? Just some ideas off the top of my head.

I'd get the ped. to take this more seriously, just to be sure. Maybe work on making some changes to her nap and bed time and see if that helps in the mean time.

[mommyapb]

Thanks everyone for the responses. DD use to go down for the night between 6:45 and 7. She would then sleep till 7 or 7:20. Over the past 2 weeks she had been progressively waking up earlier & earlier until she hit 5am. By trial and error we found that if she went to bed closer to 8 then she slept till 7:15ish. Tonight I put her down at 7:15 so we'll see what happens in the morning.

I may try the 11am nap & see what happens. It certainly can not hurt. I do not lay down with her for naps (I think someone mentioned that option). I do put a sippy cup of water in her bed. She has the fan on for white noise.

Another post mentioned anemia. DD does not drink much milk at all (maybe 2-3 oz a day). The only symptom she displays is her energy level...she just isn't the energetic on the go toddler.

My pedi said that at her age kids need anywhere from 10.5 to 14 hours of sleep a day, so she is in the range. Uhhh so frustrating!

Thanks so much for all the ideas. I will be sure to let everyone know what happens tomorrow.

Amelia

[AngelaS]

My girls at that age were always ready to sleep again after being up for about 3 hours. So if they got up at 7, they napped at 10 for an hour or so. Then if they woke at 11, they'd go back down around two and sleep until 4 and then be ready for bed by 7 or 8 at the latest. They would all sleep a good 12 hours at night plus two naps. :)

I hope you figure out what works best for her soon. :)

[kcandz]

My thought when I read this schedule was about food, not sleep. My DC needs to eat every 2-2.5 hours. My DC is almost 5 but this has been the case since 18 months at least.

breakfast 7:30 am
snack 9:30 or 10:00 am
lunch 11:30 or 12:00
nap 1-3 or sometimes 12:30
snack 3:30
dinner 5:30 or 6:00
bed 8:00

My DC does not nap anymore - just tossed that in for reference from past schedule.

[mommyapb]

Oh we do a snack at 9:30 or 10 and another around 2 or 2:30 :)

[Bean606]

My 2 year old DS gets 9 hours a night (9:00 - 6:00 a.m.) - depite attempts, we can't do better than that, and he takes a 2 hour nap at day care in the middle of the day. But on the weekends, he takes a 1 hour nap in the morning around 10:30 and another one in the afternoon, around 3 or 4. Maybe you could try an earlier nap (before lunch?), and then if necessary, one later in the day? I also agree with a PP that when I lie next to him he settles down more quickly and sleeps better. Our DS gets bored easily, too, and will only entertain himself for about 15-20 mins at a time. Good luck!

[egoldber]

I would also suggest an earlier nap. My 21 month old generally naps from 11-1 or 12-2. If she naps at 1, thats too late for her and she's overtired.

[pinkmomagain]

Is she yawning tired? Or is she kind of zoning out?

[octmom]

Oh we do a snack at 9:30 or 10 and another around 2 or 2:30 :)

Food was my first thought too. Is she a picky eater? Is she eating foods that will give her some energy and not just an energy burst that ends quickly? Does she get enough protein?

[elephantmeg]

I would look into sleep apnea/enlarged tonsils/adnoids. And have an iron count or even a complete blood count (CBC). If your mommy gut is going off, please look into it. Having said that can I say I'd like to trade for a week? DS will NOT SIT DOWN. He couldn't even sit through 5 min of story time today, sigh. DD had fun though!

[KpbS]

I agree with the previous poster--my DC always acts this way around mealtimes--ie when he is hungry. He rarely ever says he is hungry, he just gets very droopy, low energy. Can you increase her total calorie intake? Will she eat meat? Some kids just need more than others.

On sleep I would try putting her down earlier (following an earlier bigger lunch) with the drapes/shades drawn and perhaps a sound machine.

HTH

[mommyapb]

Today DD woke up at 6:45 (so she got 11.5 hrs over night) and was noticeably tired (ie: yawning, crabby, denying being tired). At 8:50 I was able to get her down for a nap. She slept till 9:50. She had way more energy than usual after her nap....she played by herself & was in a great mood. I put her down for a second nap at 12:50. We will see how long she sleeps.

I also put foil on her windows (as one of the pp mentioned). It seams to be working....I wanted to try the black out theory before dishing out the $$$ for nice drapes. I am hoping that maybe this will help her sleep longer in the am to get her 12 hours at night. Then maybe, eventually she would nap from 12-2.

Some of the other posts have mentioned her being hungry. I am quite certain that is not the problem. DD is a fabulous eater..will eat anything and in large amounts. This is what she has eaten so far today:
1/2 slice of french toast
1.5 chicken sausage links
1/2 apple
2 tbs soy nut butter
2 oz chicken
1 string cheese
1/4 cup broccoli
1/4 cup bunny grahams
1 fruit leather

I will post again this evening with results from our afternoon nap.

Thanks again!
Amelia

[octmom]

Some of the other posts have mentioned her being hungry. I am quite certain that is not the problem. DD is a fabulous eater..will eat anything and in large amounts. This is what she has eaten so far today:
1/2 slice of french toast
1.5 chicken sausage links
1/2 apple
2 tbs soy nut butter
2 oz chicken
1 string cheese
1/4 cup broccoli
1/4 cup bunny grahams
1 fruit leather

I will post again this evening with results from our afternoon nap.

Thanks again!
Amelia

Wow! She is a great eater! Maybe she is having the post-Thanksgiving dinner food-induced sleepiness every day. :ROTFLMAO: (Just kidding there.)

[maestramommy]

I'm not sure if you saw it, but one of the pp asked if she snored, and someone else mentioned sleep apnea. that came to mind because I have a friend who's dd seemed to be getting enough sleep in terms of time, but it was rather light, she was always tired/crabby, and she snored a lot. They didn't find out until she was 5 that she had sleep apnea. I'm not sure what led them to check it out. But after she got her adenoids removed the difference was like night and day. she slept like a rock, and she was much better during the day.

[chinook]

Sounds like things are heading in the right direction!

I just wanted to pipe in that my DS is an 11 am napper (ideally). He'll sleep for over two hours if he goes down at 11, if i pust it to 12:30

[gatorsmom]

She's been gradually waking up earlier in the morning? It's because it's light earlier in the morning. I didn't read all the threads so maybe someone mentioned this, but I am guessing the earlier sunrise is waking her up earlier and she's not getting as much sleep as she needs.

My 3yo has a room-darkening blind in his room but he would still see the daylight peeking around the edges and thought this meant he had to get up! I had to explain to him that just because the sun was up didn't mean HE had to get up! That was about 3 months ago.

Another thing that woke him up early was he'd get hungry around 5am and it woke him up. I found that if I gave him some juice or milk at that time and convinced him to go back to bed, he would and sleep soundly for another hour or two.

hth!

[mommyapb]

Well after napping for 55 minutes DD woke up. I told her it was still naptime & that she had to go back to bed. So I made her laydown for another 1hr. So in total her afternoon nap was 2 hrs...she slept about an hour & layed in the dark another hour. I am thinking this approach may work & eventually she will nap for 2hrs. Any thoughts on that approach? (It is the same thing I do when she wakes early in the am...after a few days she gets back on track). DD was in a great mood the rest of the day & was ready for bed by 6:30 (yawning, rubbing eyes, crabby). I remember from the baby days reading that sleep brings on more sleep. So I am assuming the early bedtime was from the extra hour nap & additional hour of mommy-imposed napping.

Here is to hoping she gets 12 hours tonight.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will update again tomorrow.

Amelia
DD 3/06

[niccig]

Well after napping for 55 minutes DD woke up. I told her it was still naptime & that she had to go back to bed. So I made her laydown for another 1hr. So in total her afternoon nap was 2 hrs...she slept about an hour & layed in the dark another hour. I am thinking this approach may work & eventually she will nap for 2hrs. Any thoughts on that approach?

Amelia
DD 3/06

It's what I do if DS wakes too early from a nap, or won't take a nap at all. He's 3.5 yo, and most days naps 2 hours.

[Melanie]

Have you had her blood drawn to ensure everything is okay? I don't mean to scare you, but I mean more nutritionally, that she's getting enough of the vitamins that she needs? I don't know the name of the specific blood test, but I'd had it done once for myself and it was enlightening! Plus to make sure she's not anemic.