What to Do with Short Sleepers!

I have a 13 month old who does not believe in napping :). He sleeps maybe 7:30ish to about6:30: with one to three wake ups most nights. Ao you aren't alone.

I'm with you! It doesn't get any better (some kids just don't need a lot of sleep) but it does get easier. My 10 year old can go to bed at 10pm, get up at 6am, and GO GO GO all day long. It's truly unbelievable. My 8 year old needs a bit more (she'll go to bed at little after 9pm and sleep until 7am). What makes it easier now than when I had a 2 year old and a newborn is now I can actually go to bed BEFORE the kids if I want to. It doesn't usually happen, but sometimes my oldest will be reading in bed, and I'm tired, and it's 10pm. So I say goodnight to her and that's that. She doesn't tell me what time she actually ends up turning out the light, but with all the energy she has all day, I'm not too worried about it. Hang in there girl friend :)

Oh, and I just read your last line. Maybe there is something to that, since my 10 year old has been "labeled" gifted. Jury is still out on the 8 year old. Who knows.

The way I got my daughter to sleep longer was to give her a nap a little earlier in the day. Also, I would play with her and run around close to bedtime to help tire her out. If that doesn't work, try putting her to bed a little later. Instead of 830.. try 9.

If you want, try playing music to help soothe. My daughter likes for me to put her "my little pony" dvd in cuz she likes the song on the menu page. It helps her sleep better as well.

I agree with your doctor. She's not trying to make you feel good. It's true that curious and intelligent children are more active.

It's also not true that the majority of children sleep 12 hours each night. These children are in the minority. And a 90 minute nap is common.

The way you get more sleep is to sleep when your children sleep. 8:30 to 5:30 or 6:30 is a good amount of sleep.

I sympathize. I wish that we taught that parenting the first few years means making do with less sleep. It also means the housework takes a back seat to parenting.

you give the 4 year old candy to ration out to the one year old and then the remote=) I;m kidding, but it does get easier as they get older. My daughter was not a napper and also never slept through the night. Shes 5 now and knows to get up and play or read for a little before tortuing M.. If not I give her non chokable food like yogurt and plop her on the couch with a movie and then tell her to wake M. when its over. Obviousl your kids are too little for this and this is only my go to when its insanely early or I'm sick. We're also on one floor which makes it easy

Maybe try keeping them up a little bit later? Then they would sleep a little longer into the morning, then you can get a bit more sleep yourself, especially if you put them to bed closer to the time you go to bed. And they would be more tired by the time they go to bed so they would fall asleep faster, if that is a problem? And try doing more in a day to tucker out their curiosity more?? Give them more complicated games or tasks that use their minds even more vigorously? I hope this helps.

If you find the magic cure let me know! My daughter gets up between 5 and 5:30 in the morning. Nothing we've done changes that-it's just when she gets up. I too hear about these kids that sleep from 7 to 7 and wonder what that would be like!? Just wanted to tell you that I feel your pain :)

Mine, too! I have a 5 and 2 year old. They have NEVER been long sleepers. I have heard of babies sleeping through the night...are you kidding me? My 5 year old STILL gets up at least once. Lol! I'm exhausted. I try to go to bed early, but I often just need some "me" time so I stay up when the house is quiet. We recently started putting our kids to bed around 7, but they are awake and ready to run that much earlier in the morning. So much for that idea! My 2 year old takes a short nap *most* days, because I plan a walk around nap time and -if the planets align- he'll conk out in the stroller, or at least get prolonged rest. My kids are happy, full of energy and ask millions of questions all day long (hence the need for some "quiet" time at night). I would worry about it if they seemed tired or grumpy, but if it ain't broke...

I wish we lived closer. Your kids sound like a lot of fun and we could trade off taking them to the park. :D

As for getting anything done? It's rare. When I can engage the kids in something, I get a few minutes, but it never seems like enough time to get things done. (I'm typing this as fast as I can and have already had to take several breaks!) We just moved closer to family and I have set up "dates" where one child gets to spend a few hours being doted on by grandparents. It feels like a break when I run errands with only one - and it's fun to have one on one time with each child.

ps- Our pediatrician mentioned something similar when I was concerned about their lack of sleep. She suggested a few gifted kids websites and one of the characteristics seems to be needing less sleep (among the more obvious ones) - you may want to check some out.

I have no idea. My oldest has always gotten up at 5:30am no matter what time I put that child to bed. Even the weekends when we could sleep in. At least now she is old enough to get up by herself. She was also a great napper and slept at least 2 hours every day until kindergarten.

My youngest will go down about 8pm and will sleep until 6am, but will not take a nap. I do make her go in her crib for at least 90 min and she may sleep for 30 of those minutes, but she is not a napper. No matter how much I wear her out in the morning she won't nap.

My daughters are exact opposites of each other so it only figures they would be like this. Good luck if you find the answer let me know.

My 14 month old has never been much of an endurance napper or sleeper. He naps twice at most with each one being at most 45 minutes. My husband doesn't really get anything "done" during the day. He does sit on the couch to enjoy his 45 minutes of quiet nap time. Typically he calls me and we chat briefly. Otherwise, he goofs off on his phone and recharges his batteries. At night our little guy sleeps from about 7:45 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. which is a good stretch except he wakes up two times normally. It only lasts 15 minutes but he does get you up almost every night. The one night he slept all the way through we woke up in anticipation of his waking up. We are well trained I suppose. We get things done when I get home. We also clean as a couple on the weekends, tag teaming the baby watching and cleaning. It adds an extra hour to the chores but it gets done. I tell my husband he is not expected to do anything during the day except watch and play with our son. In my book that is doing something and getting enough done. My husband gets a break when I get home. He hands off the baby and gets a chance to talk to me while I cook dinner and entertain our son. Admittedly some days my husband is very frazzled from baby duty. I don't really have any words of wisdom other than you are not alone. I have one other friend in the same boat. Either we are all terrible parents with awful children or that's just the way the cards are playing right now. It won't last forever and as we joke you'll get all the sleep you need when you die. Best wishes and good luck.

It may just be how they are and nothing will work but I always hear about lots of fresh air and exercise... worth a try.

I hope the intelligent and curious thing is true...seems to be, but that may also be early ADD too LOL :) Mine are up at 0500 ish, not always both, but at least one to get the day started! They are both in bed by 1900-1930, Earlier isn't possible or realistic, and later does not make the morning easier...in fact they went to bed 2000 last night and my 5 y/o was up at 0455!! today. Sigh. I go to bed early. My husband works nights, and I work FT too. We work opposite weekends and shifts to make things work best for our kids, but it is not conducive to breaks or a spotless house :) I figure that they will be in school in another few years, so there will be that down time on my days off to catch up? Maybe. I'm sure something else will pop up. My other plan is to teach them how to cook breakfast for everyone in the morning. They will either succeed or decide to sleep in. Victory either way :)

I think everyone's bio-rhythms (sp?) are different
As a child, I slept way less than my sister. She needed 10-12 hours a teen....I did not.
My son slept for 3 hrs max until he was 2yrs old.
Now he sleeps 10-12 hrs at night.
It all depends on each child, their household etc.
My son is different, than say, my friend's daughter etc.
My son is very active! All day long.
I try and tire him out.
We play outside, go places, go to the park. His new thing is to chase me. Yikes.
It's all relative.
You do what works for your child and your family helps to dictate that.
Relax, don't worry. Take cues from your child.
Taking it one "stage" at a time. They will chane. Go with it. :)