16 Mos Old DD Suddenly Sleeping Less

With my little one, it was the daylight savings combined with springtime that messed with her sleep every year. Whatever is pushing the crocuses up out of the ground was getting my little one up at the crack of dawn too! The morning light is so bright this time of year. The teething might make her sleep less soundly too. Hang a big quilt over her window(s) and see if that helps, if it does then invest in room-darkening shades.

Good luck, hope you get some rest soon!

It could be the time change and the longer days - it's not getting dark very early so she is not getting that signal that the day is over. The birds are chirping early in the morning and so there is more noise/activity as well as more light.

Have you considered room-darkening shades? I don't know what you have on her window(s) but there are relatively inexpensive, easy-to-install Venetian blinds available. You could also go for a dark color. There is light-block drapery liner available at fabric stores too. Her existing curtains, if there are any, could be lined with this. If you sew, great. If not, it wouldn't be too expensive to do this. Maybe you have a friend who sews who would even do this in exchange for another service, like babysitting or a skill that you have.

If you aren't sure about the cause, you could buy a remnant at any fabric store. I used a piece of fake leather - sort of like the old naugahyde that used to be on chairs. You could also use the plastic or vinyl used for tablecloths - just pin it up with curtain hooks or huge safety pins. It won't be pretty, but at least that way you will know if it works before you invest in anything more than a few dollars.

I used to darken my son's room and also provide some "white noise" - there are machines especially for this purpose but you can also use an air purifier with a dust/allergen filter. These come in all price ranges as well.

That said, kids go thru phases too. I would judge the extent of the problem by how she acts during the day with less sleep.

Good luck!

My son did this too, but then he is back to normal. Maybe she needs more food during the day? When my son eats well he sleeps better. Just a thought. But this should pass. Perhaps she is teething?? If she doesn't fall asleep until 8:30 I would try putting her to bed even earlier so that she puts her self to sleep at 8:00. At 6:30 see if you can ignore her and see if she will go back to sleep. Sometimes my son calls out at 6:30 but if he doesn't hear me, he goes back to sleep. Good luck.

All told, she's still getting 12 hours of sleep, which I think is a good amount for her. If she's not crabby during the day or acting like she needs more sleep, I wouldn't worry about it.

At this age they only need about 12 hrs of sleep if you want her to sleep more at night you need to shorten her nap. My little guy sleeps 7-7 but if he gets a nap in its a different story and I would rather him sleep at night than during the day plus we had the time change too so really 6:30 now is like 7:30 before the change.

About a week ago we changed clocks ahead an hour. She could be really sensitive to that type of thing. If that's not it, it could also be just a normal part of her getting older and not sleeping as much as she used to. Another thought, any changes in home life or routines at all will sometimes upset children enough to off-set their normal sleeping habits (pregnancy, dad not being home as much, getting ready to move to a new home, etc) Those are really about the only 3 things I can think of. Though, I will be the first to admit that it's usually the nap that gets shorter first rather than their night time sleeping habits.

My 2 year old, with the change of every season, changes his nap schedule and the amount he sleeps at night. His schedule gets totally thrown off for a couple weeks. It might be the same thing with yours.

My best guess is daylight savings time.

A year ago, our 18-month old took a couple of weeks to adjust.

It seems like the younger they are, the longer it takes to adjust.

I know a lot of people have suggested the time change, which could definitely be true, but it could also just be that your baby is changing too as she gets into full-blown toddlerhood. With my girls, there were definite shifts in the nap length when they were between 16 months and 2 years. That's not to say that my 21 month old doesn't sometimes nap longer now, but she is usually only good for a 1.5 hr. nap or so. The good news is, she will sleep for 11 hours a night! So in the end, it's the total amount of sleep that matters. I bet it will shift and change again before you know it!