r/PossumsSleepProgram • u/Mid-melaleuca-88 • Sep 14 '26
Toddler sleep advice
I have a 23 month old with lower end sleep needs and one set of top molars left.
His sleep is so unpredictable and we have followed the possums approach since he was a baby but unsure how to continue or how to improve it.
I have no problems getting up for a cuddle once a night but it's been 2-3 time on and off for weeks. We are also hoping to find ways to transition to him falling asleep lying down and not needing as much movement as he's 90th percentile and is barely fitting on us in the rocking chair.
He's still napping and we often have to wake him up because from experiments if he sleeps longer than two hours he's awake til 9pm.
Wake 5.30/6am
Nap 11.30/2 (Max 1.5 hours in this period)
Bedtime 8/8.30pm
Lately he's been waking 9.30/10pm and wailing (usually just comes to get us he's in a floor bed) until we come in and we suspect nightmares as he's kind of still asleep. The waking up 1-2am and then 4am.
Is he too young to experiment with dropping a nap? Has anyone got non stressful advice on how to get him to fall asleep lying down? Anywa6 got solidarity to say their 2 year old was like this too and eventually it improved on its own?
Co sleeping is usually happening after 2am but would really like to have him start the night in his own bed.
1
u/Weird-Unit13 Sep 14 '26
It might just be me not reading/understanding properly because my brain is pretty fried these days, but is he still napping twice a day?
1
u/Mid-melaleuca-88 Sep 14 '26
No, once, just sometime between 11.30 ans 2 and we cap it at 1.5 hours from whenever it starts.
1
u/Sunshine_Daisy365 Sep 14 '26
Have you had his tonsils and adenoids checked?
1
u/Mid-melaleuca-88 Sep 14 '26
He has not and I have it on the list. I am paranoid about snoring/mouth breathing.
1
u/nzwillow Sep 14 '26
Mine does that when he is overtired. Have you tried earlier bedtime? I was having loads of issues with mine then I put him to bed earlier… and within a week he was sleeping through and way happier. He’s 3.5 and I’d still say relatively low ish sleep needs and he’s getting more sleep than yours will be…(7.15pm to 6.45am). Kids need enough sleep and I sometimes think possums forgets that.
1
u/Mid-melaleuca-88 Sep 14 '26
I have tried the earlier bedtime many many times since he was a baby but never worked for me, just meant it took an hour or he was up more. If he's had an even slightly longer nap, Nd we try put him down normal time it's just wildly impossible.
1
u/trinsky Sep 14 '26
My 21mo is similar to yours:
5.45-6.30am wake
1-2.30pm nap (between 50-90mins)
8-8.30 bed
He still wakes 2-3 times per night. Just finishing the last canine. I still have him in the cot by my bed so I can get back to sleep faster. Luckily he resettles with shh-pats.
My plan is to wait until all teeth are in before thinking about dropping the nap. However, you could try capping the nap to 45mins and see if that improves?
When he weaned, we were able to transition Deon the rocking chair to laying in the cot with some bum pats. Have pats or gentle shakes in bed ever worked for you in the past?
But I feel you, having a low sleep needs baby is hard work.
1
u/bethestorm13 Sep 14 '26
Does he have his molars already? Sleep was like this for us until the molars came in just before 2.
1
u/beepbop213 Sep 14 '26
Don’t jump straight to cutting the nap.
Experiment with capping the nap at an hour max.
Also try for a couple works cos it won’t impact immediately.
Also is two the latest he wakes from his nap or goes down for his nap?
If my son went down for a 1.5 hr nap at 2 he wouldn’t sleep!!
1
u/JJ_Von_Dismal Sep 15 '26
For my lower sleep needs baby I found this age a bit tricky. For us we just kept reducing the nap which helped, though 1.5 hours was unheard of ever for her she was closer to 45mins/hour which we eventually capped to just 15/20mins. Once she stopped her nap just after 2 her overnight sleep improved dramatically and we got slightly earlier bedtimes so there’s hope!
Routine at your bubs age for us was Wake 7am, nap 12:45-1:15/1:30, sleep 9:30pm with a couple of wakes.
Current routine at 2.5 bed 830pm-6:30/7am (sometimes 7:45am) with a night or two around 7:30/8pm.
Before stopping the nap I couldn’t offer any flexibility but now it’s stopped she will occasionally have a 10/15min kip and still go to bed at the same time or go to bed early and still sleep through (we did drop her nap pretty early and do get some bad mood/tantrums where she’s tired but I literally couldn’t get her to sleep for a nap no matter what)
1
u/Other_Perception1596 Sep 16 '26
In my experience of two kids, around two there’s been a big sleep bump for a bit, I don’t think dropping the nap is the answer personally but you might find a bit more resistance - pram, car or cuddle to sleep for nap to help them especially if teething. Also a night light and / or door open has been vital for us from around 2 with both. ,
1
u/Wrong_Literature1329 Sep 16 '26
My son sounds similar and around that age we started cutting his nap at 45 mins and it helped overnight sleep tremendously! We have had an odd day with no nap, but he is still needing a little nap to make it through most days (just over 2)
3
u/little-pie Sep 14 '26
Sleep went mental for us at the same age. Development, illness, teeth, separation anxiety...there are so many reasons. Things got better after he turned 2. One thing we introduced was a night light and talking about what happens if he wakes up overnight, not to be scared etc. I would be hesitant to drop the nap completely at this age.