Don't waste hours trying to put your baby to sleep

A 19-month-old is a toddler, not a baby right? But who cares. I still care for him as much as I did when he was born. Some habits die hard for a stay-at-home non-working mother - call it the luxury of not having to catch a bus at 8:00 a.m. to work or dying to sleep by 11:00 p.m. I've come to understand that a newborn's sleep needs vary from that of a baby's and drastically reduce when they grow bigger to a toddler. Sticking to the clock doesn't help; if anything it adds to the frustration.

Many a times, I drag him to bed in the afternoons because I am too tired to play anymore or prevent him from rioting the kitchen. When I try to take a quick nap, it is usually a futile attempt for he is all over me either pulling my hair or jumping on top of my tummy. Growing tired after 2 hours of this non-stop activity, he will put himself to sleep and it's too late for me to catch a nap as the chores take over. It's been a struggle to establish a nap routine ever since he turned 17 months old. It's the daytime nap which is the problem. Night sleep goes by the clock and happens quite naturally around 9:00 p.m.

Days when he gets up by 6:30 a.m., it's been relatively easy for he takes two naps - one at 9:30 a.m. and another around 2:30 p.m. One nap days are usually the toughest for he gets cranky by early evening. But, I've also come to understand that it's not helping either LG or me trying to get him to sleep if he is not. I go by the signs these days - rubbing his eyes or carrying a pillow and then put him in bed. He usually falls asleep within 10 minutes or less under such circumstances. Otherwise, it takes two hours which is rather frustrating for him and me. The sleep time environment - dimmed lights, curtains drawn, clean bed and pillows in place - works wonders only until a certain age.