There is good news and bad news about the 2 year sleep regression...
The bad news: It's another sleep regression The good news: It's the last sleep regression You've made it through the 4 month regression, the 8-10 month regression, and the 18 month regression. I know you can make it through one more! But you're probably thinking you don't know how you will, so I've written up a few things for you to watch out for that will help reduce the effects of the 2 year regression.
#1 Longer Awake Times Needed Around the 2 year mark, your little one will need longer awake times. This doesn't mean cutting out the nap all together, all though it can happen at this age, it just means reassessing the schedule. You can push bedtime a little later, but still keep it no later then 8:30. You can cut back the nap if they are taking a 2-3 hour nap. You can wake them earlier in the morning. There's many ways to keep that nap around for a little longer. So unless you've tried adjusting awake times, don't let go of it yet.
#2 Big Changes Happening
Often at the 2 year mark, parents start potty training or move their little one to a toddler bed. And sometimes they are being promoted to Big Brother or Big Sister. These changes can have huge impacts on your little one's sleep, so don't do them all at once. Don't rush your little one to grow up before they are ready, even if a new sibling is on the way. Take baby steps and introduce things one at a time, with months in between. If you want more info on when to transition to a toddler bed check out my blog post here. #3. Separation Anxiety Yes, this fun stage reappears! And I've already written up a blog post all about Separation Anxiety so you can check it out here! #4. Growing Sense of Independence "Mommy, no nap now." "Mommy, no night-night." At 2, your little one may not be so sweet anymore and wants to make big decisions. But we all know they are not old enough to know what's best for them, so we still need to treat nap time as nap time and bedtime as bedtime. Try to make nap time a little more fun for them so that they look forward to it. Create a fun routine to help them settle and be relaxed for bedtime or nap time. #5. Nightmares
Your toddler may begin to have nightmares around this age. All this can be caused by their growing imagination.
Some things you can do to help are offer extra comfort, talk about their night mares during the day, create a monster spray, and reassess some of the things they are watching. (what they see as scary will not be what we see as scary.)
And that leaves you with 5 reasons why your 2 year old's sleep may have fallen apart. If you can narrow it down to what is causing your toddler's 2 year regression, it can help you out so much! If you have no idea what to do and are feeling beyond exhausted and defeated, don't forget you can book a FREE 20 minute consultation to help you narrow down what may be causing your toddler's sleep regression.
