Getting My Girls to Sleep in in the Morning

HI A.,
I wish I had a magic solution. I recetnly have had the same experience with my 18mo. i've tried everything... at least everything that everyone's already mentioned (my 2nd still has his own room since we only have 2 kids and 3 bedrooms). My 1st went through a "faze" which is the only way I can describe it. he eventually got over it, but my 2nd is taking FOREVER to get over his "faze". Please let me know what you end up doing. It would be nice to have my guys sleep until at least 0630!!!!!

My daughters now ages 8 and 5 both did the same thing. They never roomed together but it didnt really matter. It wasnt until this year actually that my 5 year old began sleeping until nearly 7! We had and still have a rule though. If they wake before we do they can play quietly in their room or the playroom. If they get up and wake us up then they have to go back and lay in their bed. They are not allowed to roam the house, they can only go into one of those two rooms. You may not be able to make them sleep in (we tried the no naps and the later bed time to no avail) they can at least learn to let you sleep in. Hope that helps!

Hello A.,

My girls who are 3 and 17 months sleep in the same room as well. It is so hard to believe, but it is true that you can actually get them to sleep later if you put them down earlier. I work full time so would prefer to put them down at 7:30, but as long as they went down at the time, they would also wake up earlier. Now, I make sure to get them down by 7:15 and they sleep until almost 7:30. Doesn't make any sense to me, but I guess it has to do with our tired they are. Also, another piece of advice is to allow them time to learn to share a room. It does take some time for them to get used to it and settle down. The best thing to do if they wake up early is not to go in, put in ear plugs and let them get used to sleeping later.

Good luck with your third! I just found out I'm expecting my third as well and although we're excited, it is a bit scary.

All the best.
K.

My experience tells me to put your girls down earlier. I also have 2 girls sharing a room and they started sleeping longer when we started our bedtime routine at 6:30, with lights out at 7:15, so that they were asleep by 7:30. Sometimes a small adjustment does the trick. Best of luck. H..

Better daytime sleep = better nighttime sleep.
Try "The No-Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley, or just check out her website for some great tips: www.pantley.com/elizabeth

You can try moving their nap as well, and see if that makes a different. Best of luck to you!

Hi A.,
I highly recommend you read the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. Because there is a 1 1/2 yr difference in age between your girls, they shouldn't be on the same sleep schedule. At a year old, most kids still need two naps while most 2 1/2 yr olds need one nap. Bedtimes are also different too. Do they need to share a room? My daughter is 2 1/2 and she wakes up between 6-6:30am but I don't get her until 6:45am. She quit napping regularly after her 2nd b-day but still "rests" 1-2 hrs every day. Her bedtime is around 6:30pm and she is asleep by 7pm. I have found she wakes up at night and really early the later she falls asleep. I am quoting Dr. Weissbluth about naps and bedtimes. I don't know how you do it with two little ones and a possible third on the way! I have vetoed my husband's desire to have another child right now as I can't imagine doing it again! Feel free to email me with questions. Again, I HIGHLY recommend reading his book. He is amazing.
Sincerely,
L.

A., Children at that age typically require about 12 hours at night and 2 hours during the day. So, knowing that you can asjust their bedtime to whenever you want them to awaken in the morning. I t is all about what works best for your family. Some families are morning people amd some are evening people. As long as your children get the 12 hours at night and the nap time your doing fine! Trust me I have 7 children of my own. We happen to be more of the night people. Good luck to you! Also, I have 3 girls in the same room. It took a couple of months for them to get used to each other but they eventually do. And they sleep pretty close to each others schedule. Remember, God gave you a wonderful thing called "mommy instinct" USE IT!!

My boys (1 1/2 & 3) share a room and are on the same sleep/wake schedule. When they wake up too early for me, I go in and tell them that it's still Sleep Time and if they are going to be awake that they have to play quietly in their room. That usually buys me another hour. You can also make a rule that they cannot come out of their room until the sun comes up. Might make things challenging in the summer, but it'll at least get them used to having to stay in their room until a decent hour right now. Good luck!

We put our girls down at eight. They usually don't get up for the day until 7 ish. I tell them that they have to wait till they see the sun. If they want to get up early, that is fine but must stay in their own room. That may be hard with a one year old. Good Luck!

Hi, I have girls the same age as yours- 2 1/2 and 1, and they sleep in the same room for bed at night but not for naps. The older one naps in our bed during the day- becasue they keep each other awake otherwise. The only thing I can think of is that your one year old is a little overtired and is waking early because of this? I know all kids are different, but mine is still taking 2 one hour naps a day, then we put her to bed at 7 or 7:30, and her older sister down at 8 or 8:30. It could just be the baby's schedulem though, my first woke at 5 AM at that age (although we put her to bed at 6 PM then). Good luck and don't forget to take your vitamins after all those quick pregnancies!

Hi!
Have you tried to shorten the nap time in the day? To one hour instead of two? Another thought is to make sure they are really full when they go to bed, so that they don't wake up from being hungry. My kids get a "night-sandwich with cheese before they go to bed, works great.
Good luck.

My 17 month old has gone through phases. He wakes up between 530 and 830. It seems to go in week phases. Nothing I tried made a difference. Hang in there and hope the 830 phase is coming soon.

my kids were not napping at two so bedtime was easy... my girls arent' as young as yours, but my 8 yearold and 4 year old share a room and have for a year now. it's hard to get them both down.. one has school and has to sleep. the other wants to play all night. .and she does not nap at all.. just a night kid. :) as were all my kids. sigh... :) if you can skip the nap and get them down at 7:30... you might find they sleep more solid. but honestly, give them a couple more weeks... huge adjustment to share a room and for your little one, to not be near mommy. OR, you can also try to shorten the nap. i know that it will take some skill to wake them up.. but i know that if they dont' nap,you could want to pull all your hair out by 5. :) hope even part of my babbling helps. :)

I found that when the 51/2 and 3 year old girls who share a bedroom with bunk beds stopped taking their afternoon naps that bedtime was a lot easier. It took a lot of practice to get us here, but they usually go to bed by 6:30pm and wake up at 7am. They occasionally wake each other up to play in the morning which I am OK with as long as they don't wake me up. The constant rountine has really helped - reinforcing it every night with basically the same rountine - dinner by 5ish, bath 5:30 bed by 6:30. If one of the kids wakes up early (before the sun rises) I explain while they are still in bed that they should lay in bed quietly until the rest of the family wakes up - that it is still "night night" and we don't wake up until the sun is up. Again, practice.
Oddly, I have discovered that the earlier they go to bed the later they sleep in - go figure! I think a lot of this has to do with getting them used to sleeping and with them getting older. I've also got a 1 year old who only takes an afternoon nap and is in bed by 6pm he wakes up earliest - at 6am so I am hopeful that as he ages he will sleep longer. Needless to say my bedtime is around 7:30/8pm.

I noticed that sleep has been one of the most important things to get down. My kids are happier and not so grouchy in the afternoon. I think this comes from them knowing that they can play hard but soon they will get their dinner, bath and a good night's sleep.
Good luck with #3 - it's the magic number! I found it a bit challenging at first with the family transitioning but again it is all about the routine as they get older. And, - the good news, with a solid routine it does get easier.

Hello,
It's a a little bit early to get the kids in the same room. I have 2 kids myself the same age too. The youngest still wakes up for on feeding in the middle of the night, and that would disturb the oldest one who sleeps trough the night. If you can keep them in a separate rooms till the youngest one sleeps trough the night at lest or by your due date. Then, they wake up early because the babies wake up early anyway, it doesn't matter how late they sleep, but it's not good for the oldest.
Don't rush the process of keeping them in the same room because you have a 3th one on the way; sometimes too much planning misses up everything.
Try to relax and think about just the 2 kids, and with your previous experience, you don't have to do much about the 3th baby, you'll be just fine .
Try to put the 1year old to bed at 6:30 and the oldest at 7:30.
haven't you heard that you will be able to sleep better again after the kids get married... Ha ha ha. a little bit of humour helps you feel better.
Good luck, and you're inspiring me about the 3th child. You're great mom.
Cheers

at 1st i objected to this idea, but rejoice in it now. my 3 yr old sometimes gets up and pops in a movie and now my 1.5 yr old goes out and joins her, leaving me to rest abit more. i started this out a year ago, and would set out the video so she just had to turn on the tv and push in the tape, then i set out snacks the night bfor so she wouldnt want that. it was great last weekend when the 2 let me sleep in both days. they will like the independence and ability to do it themselves. as long as you trust them alone for a bit. the older one reports if there is any trouble. worth some thought?

I have 2 kids the same ages and I put them to bed later - between 8:30 and 9, we put a sound machine in their room to drown out the noise of my husband getting up early, and we put black paper on their windows so it is completely dark in their room. They sleep until 7:30 or 8 in the morning. Good luck!

My 13 year old son was the same way. At 1 1/2 he was waking as early as 5 am. We taught him that he could play with his toys - he room was right across from mine - and he didn't seem to mind. But, it made a big difference in his sleeping if he got enough activity during the day. On a nice day, even if it's cold, I would take him outside and "explore" with him while we walked - and we would go for long periods of time sometimes. It was hard to keep him up to his bed-time, but he did seem to sleep better.

Hi A.,
According to my calculations you are expecting your children to sleep 12.5 hours a day. It's a myth that children, even babies normally sleep that much. Even as a newborn I was lucky if my son slept 10 hours a day. Try letting them stay up later or cutting down on nap time. The one year old probably needs my sleep than the 2 1/2 year old. My son gave up naps altogether by age 3. When he started preschool they insisted he take a nap so he stayed up past my bedtime, even if he was in bed. He just sat there and played.
Hope this helps.
D. Bohr NCTMB
retired elementary and early childhood teacher
CranioSacral Therapist

Try putting a couple drops of lavender essential oil on their pillows at night. Helps them sleep better, and longer. Also, limit sensory stimulation an hour before you want them to go to sleep. This includes interactive games, as well as tv, computer. Also, turning down the lights in the house, or using candles in the evening will help prepare them for sleep as well.

L. G.