Sleep Problems for Both of My Children

As for your daughter, she may very well not need a nap at 3 years old, but may instead need to sleep 12-14 hours/night. I say why NOT put her to bed at 5:00 p.m. for a week or two, and see what happens?? What do you have to lose. She just might sleep until 6:00 a.m. or 7:00 a.m.--wouldn't that be nice??

A well-rested child sleeps better. She's now not sleeping at night because she's chronically overtired. Once she's had a few weeks of healthy sleep under her belt, then you can slowly push back her bedtime to a more agreeable time.

My son is also 1 year old, and he naps anywhere from not-at- all to 2 hours in the afternoon. So, I don't think your son only napping for 1 hour is really problematic. As my son's naps decreased, his sleeping at night increased. Why not put him to bed early, too, and see what happens? My son goes to bed at 7:00 p.m., but if he hasn't napped at all, I put him to bed at 6:00 p.m., and then he sleeps straight through until 7:00 a.m. (I hope the noise machine you've ordered helps, too.)

Lastly, I'd say take a good look at both their diets. Read the labels on what you feed them, if you can't pronounce an ingredient and have no idea what it is, DON'T feed it to them. Even foods marketed to toddlers and labeled as "healthy" can contain dyes and preservatives.

Ok, for your daughter she is doing a power thing, I would lay her down, tell her it is quiet time and leave the room. If she gets up and comes out, tell her to go back and let her know there will be consequences if doesn't stay in her room, stay strong and be consistant, if you give in once, she'll take it as a weakness and try again the next time.

For your son, and they say co-sleeping is so wonderful, this is a very good example why I'm against it. Your best bet is to put him in bed and let him cry it out. Eventually he will get it and he'll go to sleep on his own. It may take a while, and once again you must be consistant and not put him back in your bed. (my aunt allowed my cousin to sleep in their room. He was in High school before he stopped sleeping on their floor every night.)
It is not the easiest thing to listen to your child crying, but unless you plan on spending the rest of their childhood not sleeping, you need to start getting them to sleep on their own now!
D.

I would get a sleep book. It will help with how much each of them should be sleeping and ways to help you sleep train them. We use Good Night, Sleep Tight by Kim West. She is known as the "Sleep Lady". The book is amazing. And it goes all the way up to age five. And it won't take you long to read because it is broken up into sections based on age. I read what I needed to know in about a half an hour. But it helps to have a guideline and a game plan that you know will work. But you have to be patient because the older they are the harder it is to break their bad sleeping habits. Good luck.

Well, it sounds like you have your share of sleep problems. My 2 youngest have had major sleep issues too. I've tried everything with them, and the only thing I have found to work is to just let them work it out on their own. My 2 year old slept horribly until she hit the 14 month mark. We literally did cry it out every other week because something would upset her sleep patterns. Now if she wakes up in the middle of the night, we just leave her and she goes back to sleep. My son is the same, we have just let him work it out on his own. I've found if we go in there, he gets more hysterical. I know it seems to be neverending when you are living it, but it will get better.

As for your daughter, it sounds like your daughter is manipulating the situation. My 3 year old doesn't nap anymore either, but she is required to have quiet time. Sometimes that means being in her room reading, or sometimes I lay her in my bed and turn on a quiet show. Sometimes she falls asleep, sometimes she doesn't. But, if she doesn't have at least 30 minutes of quiet time, she too is a terror around dinner time.

I know you are tired and out of ideas, but stay strong and try to tackle one issue at a time. It can be overwhelming trying to do all of this at once. Good luck! I wish I had a miracle answer for you but I don't. I just want you to know I've been there!