Routine advise- 2.5-3 yrs old

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Ramadan is over :happydance:

I want to start introducing a reasonable routine. We never had a fix routine due to the ongoing changes at home, but Omar's sleep is all over the place those days.

I'm looking for a 10-11 pm bedtime as it's still too hot here & we can't do much before 4-5 pm. Traffic is killing here so we can't go back home before 9-9.30 pm

I want to introduce a nap again for 1 hour. When is the best time for a nap? Omar is not so active when he wakes up, so I want to start to take him swimming downstairs after breakfast to help him nap at a reasonable time. Does 3 pm sounds like a good time for a nap if he wakes up at 10 am?

We will start going back to classes in September, we will go to evening classes at 5 pm, then we will go to a play area or we will visit my aunt.

Any suggestions? Wish us good luck, I'm exhausted from the lack of sleep :sleep:
 
Bet you're looking forward to more normal life again now :thumbup:

Nap wise, Tom wakes around 6.30am and the absolute earliest he will nap is 12.30pm but normally it's more like 1.30 to 2pm. So at least 6 hrs after waking but usually 7 to 8 hrs. That might be too late for you though if you're out at 5pm.

You could try chill out time in a dark room instead of a nap if it's too early or him to sleep? I know it wouldn't work for Tom because he will just go and go until he collapses but I know you've said Omer likes to chill out before.
 
Bet you're looking forward to more normal life again now :thumbup:

Nap wise, Tom wakes around 6.30am and the absolute earliest he will nap is 12.30pm but normally it's more like 1.30 to 2pm. So at least 6 hrs after waking but usually 7 to 8 hrs. That might be too late for you though if you're out at 5pm.

You could try chill out time in a dark room instead of a nap if it's too early or him to sleep? I know it wouldn't work for Tom because he will just go and go until he collapses but I know you've said Omer likes to chill out before.

Thanks Hun. 6-8 hrs is too late for us & it always affect his bedtime when he naps late. He needs a nap, as I noticed that he's been a grump all day since he started to drop his nap. He doesn't fight naps, but if he's not tired enough he spends 1-1.5 hrs relaxing then he starts crying if I don't let him fall asleep. So I want to cut down the long relax times. This is why I want to take him swimming early to burn some energy. There is also a small play area in the building, so I might take him there in the morning.
 
Sounds like lots of exercise in the morning would be a good plan and swimming is great or getting them tired. Tom totally flaked out after the last time he went swimming - he was o tired he couldn't walk in a straight line on tha way back to the car!

Do you think Omer will be ok going to bed when he's having a consistent nap? I'm finding Tom is better at going to bed on the days he doesn't have one now but his behaviour is much worse later in the day. Difficult to know what's the best to do...
 
Hi hon, I'm being dim so hopefully you can figure out your timings by bumping mine to later in the day...

D wakes around 7.30, we try to do activities in the morning as that definitely helps him nap later. I also find he gets cranky when his blood sugar is getting low, so around 10.30 we have a snack and that perks him up again until lunchtime. I really struggle to get him to nap at home now, so I always aim for a car outing after lunch and he sleeps then. Failing that I stick a dvd on or something and he lies on the sofa and has a rest for 20 mins.

In the afternoon, if he hasn't slept I tend to stay home and play in the garden if possible, or indoors if the weather is poor. He has a snack mid-afternoon to perk him up again (around 3.30) and then he has dinner at around 5.30. Bath at 7pm then straight into bed, although if he has napped he'll often lie awake for a bit playing with his teddies before he falls asleep.
 
My DD wakes at 6/6:30 am and naps at around 12:30/1 pm, generally about 6/7 hours after waking although sometimes later. I think this is a pretty typical schedule for this age. I think 3pm is fine, but I agree about trying to tire him out, as he may not be quite sleepy enough yet after only 5 hr awake time.
 
Sounds like lots of exercise in the morning would be a good plan and swimming is great or getting them tired. Tom totally flaked out after the last time he went swimming - he was o tired he couldn't walk in a straight line on tha way back to the car!

Do you think Omer will be ok going to bed when he's having a consistent nap? I'm finding Tom is better at going to bed on the days he doesn't have one now but his behaviour is much worse later in the day. Difficult to know what's the best to do...
Omar also sleeps easier at night without a nap, but if he doesn't nap we can't go out as he gets tired in the evening & he starts to whine, if we go out we can't avoid a catnap in the car. 20 mins in the car moves his bedtime two hours later. he's always cheerful when he takes a nap & his mood is much better, this is why I want him to have a fixed timing for a nap.
 
I think as much as you might want him to be consistently napping, at this age where he isn't used to doing it daily it might be quite hard to get him to have one every day :(
 
I think as much as you might want him to be consistently napping, at this age where he isn't used to doing it daily it might be quite hard to get him to have one every day :(

Omar likes to nap, he doesn't fight naps at all, I'm the one who stops him from napping when it gets late :blush:

This is why I want to engage him in some physical activities in the morning.
 
Good luck with it! I hope it all works out :)
 
if ur guna be swimming on a morning, maybe have a late dinner at 1ish and see if he wud nap then ?


i cant let morgan nap anymre otherwise hes up till 10pm at night ( i like to go to bed myself at 9 :haha: ) at times he gets really moody but after a hr of moaning he gives up and gets on with it , morgan then goes 7-7 x
 
Thomas gets up at about 7.30 or 8 a.m. and is ready to nap by 12.30 or 1, so about five hours later, which would map on to a 3 p.m. nap time for Omar if he's getting up at 10. I actually find that if Thomas goes down for a nap any later than about 12.45, he takes much longer to settle, it's like he misses his window. So for example if he doesn't go down for a nap until 1.30, he could easily still be awake an hour later, although he just chats to himself in bed and does eventually fall asleep. It would actually suit me better for him to nap at 1.30 because it's always time pressure getting home from morning activities in time for lunch and nap, but with Thomas I find he needs to get down for his nap early or he just won't settle.

Our routine is -
7.30/8 - wake up, get dressed, play for a bit
8.30/9 - breakfast
10-11.30 - go out somewhere e.g. toddler group, swimming, playground, etc.
10.30 - snack (doesn't always want one)
12 - lunch
12.30/1 - in bed for nap
2.30/3 - wake him up from nap (I always have to wake him or he would sleep on all afternoon - I let him have about an hour to an hour and a half sleep)
3 - snack
3.30-5.30 - usually play in the house and garden, sometimes go visiting or out for a walk
5.30 - dinner
7 - bath
7.30 - bedtime stories in bedroom, in bed by 7.45/8 p.m. and usually falls asleep by 8.30 or 9 p.m.
 
Megan on a "normal" day ( if there is such thing for her , lol) wakes between 7-8. Has breakfast at 8. Lunch at 11 and straight after lunch we read books for nap routine. So she has a nap around 12:00. If I let her run around after lunch before books she won't nap as she gets overstimulated. If I wait too long for nap - even 12:30-1:00 I usually have missed her window and she won't nap that day. She does best if awake by 1:45-2pm ( she doesn't fall right to sleep). She has snack at 2:30 or 3. Dinner at 5-5:30. After dinner is always quieter time. She doesn't have an exact set bedtime but in bed between 7-8. She doesn't fall right to sleep.

Megan does best on routine. If we are off routine she is a mess. Hopefully getting omar into a routine will help him a bit!

Oh and if Megan has too much activity in the morning she gets too overstimulated and can't fall asleep for nap, so for us it's a fine line. Stimulate her so she's not bored, learning and having fun, but not too much or i pay for it later. If she wakes very early ( happening a lot lately as the baby wakes her in the middle of the night and then Megan cant go back go sleep - so will wake for the day between 3-5 sometimes) I bump up her breakfast, lunch, and nap. She will nap around 11 those days and then I give her a bigger snack after she wakes from nap since lunch is so early those days.
 
Just to add, I see a big difference in Thomas's behaviour when we are in a regular routine compared to days that we are off routine for whatever reason, he really isn't able to cope well when his routine is off. So hopefully you will see a positive improvement in Omar's behaviour too once you can figure out a routine that suits him. :hugs:
 
Lizzie, like Thomas, is creature of routine...as is Ally. We are, however, noticing now that there are some days L is not bothered about napping (I still think she needs it, she sometimes has other ideas ;))

7:30 Lizzie wake-up and has a drinking yoghurt, followed by a bit of Disney channel, reading, playing
8:30 Breakfast
9:30 We tend to leave the house for either a class, group or morning activities
10:30 Snack of some sort
12:00 Lunch followed by a more quiet activity (if we are in) tends to be playing (Mostly tea party games!)
14:00 Nap
15:30 up from nap followed by a walk, play, time in garden, crafts, baking etc
17:30 dinner post dinner we have reading, colouring and some Mickey mouse etc
19:15 last opportunity for any supper, bath, teeth, bed and story
 
Yayaya normality returns!!!

The boys wake at 6am
Nap is 11-12pm
Lunch 12
Tea 4pm
Wind down from 6
Bed 7

Sam really doesnt like napping in the morning but if they sleep after lunch now thu don't go to bed till too late. Fynns schedule is spot on ATM for him Sam is just about ready to lose the nap completely but struggles with the last hour before bed.

I try and do something physical with them in the afternoons so they are tired xxxx
 
Tom's typical day goes,

6.30 - 7am wakeup
8.30 breakfast
11.30 big snack
1-2pm nap
2.30pm big snack
6pm dinner with us
7.30pm bedtime

but often he won't nap now and the last couple of days he didn't fall asleep till 9pm due the heat. This morning he slept in till 8am for the 1st time in his life!

I hope you find a routine that works for Omer. Tom's works for him quite well now but it helps that I know now that he doesn't need more than 11 hrs sleep in 24hrs generally. He can get by fine on 9 to 10 hours for a day or two but then tends to crash and need extra sleep on day 3.
 
Hope you all enjoyed Eid :)

Ihsan gets up at 9am. We do something active most mornings like swimming, walking in the park or play group. If I need him to nap we do something else after our morning activity like visit the toy shop, feed the ducks, visit someone. He has lunch around 1.30pm & nap is at 2pm for 1.5hours. If we didn't do a few things in the morning, he wouldn't be tired and won't nap. If he has no nap he should be in bed sleeping by 9pm so that's 12 hours awake, 12 hours asleep. When he naps he can stay awake until 10.30pm easily but I wouldn't keep him up later than that as everything gets messed up then. The main thing is 12 hours sleep in the 24hour period whether that 10.5 at night and 1.5nap or 12hours at night. 11hours is the minimum sleep he needs or he turns into trouble! We have off days, but things always bounce back to this.

I think you will notice a huge difference if you keep Omar busy in the mornings and then let him nap at roughly the same time each day. You will soon be able to judge how many hours Omar can go before needing his bed after he wakes from his nap & you can plan your evening from there. Good luck! xxxx
 

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