Wacko sleeping schedules

momaleh

Thu, Jun 11 2009, 6:41 am

My Older daughter has always been a difficult sleeper. Now, at 3.5, she sleeps pretty well, but not a lot - 10.5 hours on a great night, average more like 9.5-10. Yes, she's often tired, but after all this time I know there is nothing to do about it. Plus, she wakes up really early, used to be 5:30, lately it's 5. Sometimes she will come into my bed and fall back asleep until 6:30 or so, which is great but unusual.
Anyway, my younger one at 2 has always been a great sleeper, up until a few weeks ago when she figured out how to climb out of her crib! She doesn't come out in the middle of the night, (bli ayin hara,) but it takes a long time to get her to sleep bc she keeps coming out, 1/2-1 hour. Sometimes it ends with my husband locking the door and her screaming. If older Daughter is still up, she will join in the fun and they keep coming out laughing together for a long time, basically until someone gets hurt. The by end we're all crying. Charts are not working bc little daughter does not get it. Works for older daughter, but sometimes not enough for her to miss out on the fun if little one is coming out. tried promising them shoko in the morning, same thing.
The main problem though is that little one is now also getting up at 5! I don't know why, but it's driving me crazy. I can't get her back no matter what. It's very problematic bc she is in gan, so I have to pick her up early or else she'll nap the whole afternoon, even picking her up early she falls asleep right away and I usually wake her up after 2 hours (12-2) so she can go to sleep at a normal hour (7:30-8) but then the cycle starts again, bc she is only getting 8.8-9 hours of sleep a night. Now she is tired and hungry all the time. (hunger is her way of saying she's tired and can't go to sleep right now.) I had to keep her home from gan one day this week and she napped for 3.5 hours! And I can't put her to bed earlier at night bc she needs her naps from not sleeping the night before. I would like to take away her nap but the opportunity is not presenting itself.
Now they are both napping, older daughter, who shouldn't be taking naps in the afternoon! I don't want to be up with them all night just to have them wake me up again tomorrow at 5 am Sad

ANY SUGGESTIONS?!!!