Posted by
MayC
19 yrs ago
My daughter is going to be 3 soon and she still needs at least one nap during the day.
She usually gets up at 9.30am, goes to school from 1-4pm, then naps from 5pm-7.30pm. She retires for the night between 11pm-midnight.
She seems really happy and contented with such an arrangement but as parents, we are EXHAUSTED. I've been trying to apply for the morning class but have been unsuccessful.
I'm just wondering what other parents have done in such situation?
My inlaws think that there is no problem because Chinese dinners (outside) usually start at 9pm anyway and my husband also gets home late - around 8.30pm but for me, I'm finding it really tough. I work and with such arrangement, I find that I don't have time to myself. I'm constantly finding activities for her to do at nights instead of enjoying an evening of rest.
Any suggestion? I'm beginning to think that I should send her to my inlaws so that I can have my rest.
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i guess 1st of all, the school hours make things quite tricky but since you don't have a choice currently, we won't go there.
family dinners - how often do you eat with your in-laws? if it's just the weekends, is it possible to have an earlier bedtime for your daughter on weekdays and then a later one for weekends? say school nights, can you cut her afternoon nap to just one hour to 1.5 hours and then try to pack her to bed by 9pm? and then weekends, you dine with your in-laws and then pack her off to your in-laws for the night so that you can have some rest?
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JoTs
19 yrs ago
Do you think that if she went to bed earlier, she wouldn't need the afternoon nap? Sounds like she isn't getting enough sleep so still needs that nap?
If you got her into bed at 7.30pm, she could sleep for 12 hours and then might not need a nap...
Just a thought...
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sbm
19 yrs ago
What about dropping the early evening nap and replacing it with a mid morning nap - so your day would go something like, 7.00am start, nap at 9.30ish for an hour or so (or later, basically whatever works to get a nap and meal in ahead of leaving for school) then bed at 7.00pm/7.30pm. I'd have thought the school might have some suggestions too - they must have been asked by lots of parents trying to weigh up whether to take the afternoon slot.
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Afternoon school can make it tricky.
But I think the key for you will be an early start to your daughter's day - start earlier, get the nap in before school, send her to school, get her back home (exhausted) and then packed away into bed latest 8:00PM. My daughter, now 3 and 1 month - I have gotten rid of the nap on days she doesn't attend school. (her school is a full day and they ALWAYS give a 2 hour nap - wish they woudln't.) On the days she has no nap, she sleeps at 7:45-8:00 ish. She wakes up at 7 or 7:30ish every day - and then starts her day. She would love to get a bit drowsy at 11:30 or 12 - so I think if your daughter got up earlier, she'd sleep earlier too. And push that nap earlier.
But it doesn't happen over night - you may have to adjust by 15 minutes over a few days each day. So start waking her up 15 mintues earlier each day, and let the naps fall where they will until she is waking up at 7:15 - and get her to sleep earlier.
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I had the same problem. My son started afternoon school 2 months ago aged 2.5 - on weekends he still has a midday nap. On school days he goes to bed around 8.30-9pm (I work so earlier bedtime doesn't really work for us) and wakes up roughly 12 hours later. I found that when he had a 2 hour midday sleep he would sleep for 10 hours at night. When he skips the midday sleep he sleeps 12 hours. He's still getting the same number of hours each day, just a different composition!
Obviously he's better having a midday nap but like you, I am still waitlisted for the morning class so have to make the best of our current situation.
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MayC
19 yrs ago
Thank you all for the advices, they've been really helpful.
I have a question though. If I put baby to bed early in the evening and she gets up at 6-7am (like she used to), what if she does not want to nap in the morning? That would mean she would have gone from 6-7am till the time she gets home which is around 5.30pm. Would this affect her productivity at work and what happens if she's too tired for dinner when she gets home?
I know that I do not have trouble putting her to bed as soon as school finishes at 5pm. She's asleep by 5.10pm... but if it's mid-morning after 10 hours of sleep through the night, would she still sleep?
And at what age do toddlers give up on their naps? So far, mine hasn't been willing. I could take her out for a full day and she'll fall asleep on my shoulders at 4-5pm.
Afternoon school isn't appropriate for toddlers. Most still require their naps. I'll probably call the school again to see how we are on the waiting list. I doubt it. We're like 5th on the list.
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