What is happening to my life???

Question

My 3 year old has all of a sudden started waking up at 6 am, stopped napping/playing quietly in her room, and fighting bedtime. She cries and says she "doesn't want to be alone." This is a huge change for her because she used to wake up at 8 am, play independently/happily in her room from 1-4p and go to bed very easily at 7. 
First, any tips on how to get her to sleep more? She's definitely not getting her daily recommended sleep. 
Second, as long as I'm living in this situation of SAHM with a 3 year old who is awake and needing constant interaction from 6am-7pm (then my husband takes over ...) how can I fill this very long day where I suddenly have 5 more hours that she needs me "on"? I also have a one year old. 
Caring and compassion needed... I thought they were supposed to get more self-sufficient, not less. This might be worse than having a newborn, because one expects to be constantly woken up, exhausted and on an unpredictable schedule then. How can I keep my sanity? How can I get anything done? And how will I ever get to rest or do anything I want to do? With me and my husband tag teaming this, I've only spent like 10 child free minutes with him in the last week.  😭😭😭

Answer

Have a strict schedule, so that she knows what to expect. My 3 year old goes to bed at 18:50. At 18:40, her Hatch plays a song for 10 minutes. When that song starts, she knows it's time to start bedtime routine. We get Jammie's on, tell daddy Goodnight, brush teeth, go potty, pick a stuffed animal for bed, and read a story. She has a bedtime checklist she marks off as well. She usually stays awake for 10 mins or so once I leave, reading in her bed. Then she goes to sleep. 
She used to wake around 06:45-7. Now she wakes around 06:00. I reminded her she has to stay in her room until her light on the Hatch is green. It turns green at 06:30. Since we talked about it, she will wake up, play until the light is green, then come out. I am just sure to praise her when she does this. At first she was coming out and screaming. Ha. 
She doesn't nap and hasn't since about 2.5 years old. She does two hours of quiet time downstairs while I eat lunch and clean. She does a really good job. If she's having a super rough day, I will sometimes let her watch some TV for half of the time. Usually I just play music for her though. She likes to color, play with magnatiles, do puzzles, play with ponies, etc during this time. If she gets fussy or starts needing me, I remind her she has to do her job so mommy can do hers. We had a long talk about jobs and how everyone has a job. She also has a reward chart, so if I have to, I will tell her she can have a sticker on her chart if she has a good quiet time, or I remind her of a fun activity we have planned for after. 
Independent play for 3 hours straight is a lot. I kind of push it with 2, honestly. Maybe give her certain activities she can only do during that time. Make it special. This age I notice we go through so many phases and behaviors we have to combat. Haha. It's usually short lived. 
I have a 17 month old as well that I care for all day, so it's hard to give either of them one on one time consistently. Things we do to pass time: play. Mostly indoors because I'm pregnant and it's hot. We play with the nugget a lot lately. We do crafts. Build with blocks and such. Color together. Read books. We go outside and do sidewalk chalk, bubbles, etc. But the biggest way to pass time is play dates. We usually do play dates in the morning with friends. 9-11 or 11:30. That way we come home, eat lunch, and BOOM it's naptime and quiet time. It's nice to be around other moms and the kids stay entertained without constant interaction from us. Getting out of the house to even just run errands helps too.

Answer

We had to cut naps entirely shortly after he turned three. He wasn’t a reliable napper anyway but even with just an hour he would be up until after 9 and then awake at 5. And then would need a nap during the day. It was a vicious cycle. The night sleep will likely even out, they’re always going through phases, but I wouldn’t expect 13 hours at night and a nap on top of it. On a good day, my son gets 11 hours at night (usually a little less than that) and is fine without a nap. Sleep has never been his strong suit and he doesn’t seem to need as much sleep as other kids. 
If she’s not sleeping in the afternoon, three hours is a really long time to play by herself. Maybe you can talk her into an hour of quiet play while the 1 year old is napping. Maybe rotating in some new toys would help. Or if the afternoon nap is important to you, cut back on the night sleep. I assume she just doesn’t need as much sleep/rest time as she was getting.

Answer

Just know that sleeping from 7pm-8am and sometimes even napping during the day- is not the norm and shouldn’t be expected at this age. They still have sleep regressions, my son has dropped naps completely and went from sleeping 7:15-6am to sleeping horribly, sometimes not falling asleep until 8 and up at 5. It sucks but it happens. Eventually it will get better, it’s usually a phase. My son had a horrible month after an illness he had but is slowly coming out of it. Just know that when he dropped naps entirely, he never actually “made up” for it at bedtime like we expected. I think sleeping 10-12 hours a night is the norm, with or without naps.

Answer

Following, my daughter is going through this as well!! Up for the day hours earlier than usual, plus she’s waking up at 2am every night screaming that she doesn’t want to be alone😴

What is happening to my life???

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