Toddler insomnia

We have our theories. Not enough activity during the day. Too long/many naps. But what makes it an especially bad problem is that our toddler is normally a great sleeper. He wasn't always this way. Until he was almost a year old, he'd get up several times a night--usually requiring a bottle, being held, etc..

Lately, Cole has fallen into an amazingly predictable 7pm bedtime coupled with being awake at 6am. He sleeps through the night...usually without a peep. Sometimes you'll hear him roll over, talk to himself, or whine for a few seconds before drifting back asleep. 

Maybe once a month though, it's a whole different story. He'll wake up at around 1:30am and just be awake. Not just unable to sleep. Wanting to play, get up and watch tv, laugh and joke around. This usually ends with him in our bed or one of us falling asleep on the couch or in the chair with him when he finally nods off. 

It throws a serious wrench in your plans for the next day though. And is very unusual for a kid who maybe will occasionally ask to not be put in his crib quite yet for one more round of cuddling in the chair before going down. 

Then there's Leda...every night the same pretty much. Asleep with us at 9pm or 10pm. She sleeps until about 2am then has a bottle. Then back to bed until 4am or 5am. Predictable and we really consider the kids sleeping until 5am to be "morning" because at that point we choose to just get up and start the day. Or, in Kelly's case, it's time for work. 

You'd think Cole's would be worse on nights where he goes down at 5:30pm because of no afternoon nap, but not really. He often sleeps straight through and just is up at 5am sharp. Could it be diet? Growth spurt? I don't think it's nightmares because that's usually a much more frantic upset.

Whatever the case, it happened Friday night and kind of threw our whole weekend off. Then again, last night Leda went to sleep at 5pm and slept 12 hours without a diaper change or bottle. So who knows.