@wingsofeagles2012 My 3 year old son was something like this right at around that age.
One day he decided he would wake up 3 hrs after going to bed and would wake up every hour all night. It was like the newborn phase all over again. My husband made the mistake of bringing him to our bed because husband grew up having co-slept so he wanted to do the same with our son. It backfired horribly and it took a while to get back somewhat to normal. It took being firm and consistent. Both of us. If one of us let things slide, he would cry until that parent came to him.
He also at around that age, developed a fear of the dark. He also began to rely on knowing his routine, so when potty training began his sleep suffered too.
Maybe your daughter staying with her grandparents was a really big change in her routine and something has since then felt different. Maybe the room she slept in there felt unfamiliar and therefore scary and triggered a fear of the dark. Maybe it's worth asking the grandparents more? Like if there was a particular event or something your daughter said? It sometimes helps to know the cause and talk to your daughter at her level and help her come to terms with what she's feeling, which is simply that she's growing up.
As far as sleep length, I think 11.5 hrs is a decent amount of sleep but if she seems cranky and yawns well before bedtime then she isn't ready to drop her nap and is simply being defiant which is common at her age. Still offer the naps even if she doesn't take it. Mimic the calm sleepy environment of bedtime. It's most important to stay consistent and not give in. It's so hard but you even have to appear nonchalant about it like it's so obvious and plain as day. As though to say to your daughter this is just how things work you might as well accept it already. Easier said than done, but it's the only way we regained our nights of sleep.
One day he decided he would wake up 3 hrs after going to bed and would wake up every hour all night. It was like the newborn phase all over again. My husband made the mistake of bringing him to our bed because husband grew up having co-slept so he wanted to do the same with our son. It backfired horribly and it took a while to get back somewhat to normal. It took being firm and consistent. Both of us. If one of us let things slide, he would cry until that parent came to him.
He also at around that age, developed a fear of the dark. He also began to rely on knowing his routine, so when potty training began his sleep suffered too.
Maybe your daughter staying with her grandparents was a really big change in her routine and something has since then felt different. Maybe the room she slept in there felt unfamiliar and therefore scary and triggered a fear of the dark. Maybe it's worth asking the grandparents more? Like if there was a particular event or something your daughter said? It sometimes helps to know the cause and talk to your daughter at her level and help her come to terms with what she's feeling, which is simply that she's growing up.
As far as sleep length, I think 11.5 hrs is a decent amount of sleep but if she seems cranky and yawns well before bedtime then she isn't ready to drop her nap and is simply being defiant which is common at her age. Still offer the naps even if she doesn't take it. Mimic the calm sleepy environment of bedtime. It's most important to stay consistent and not give in. It's so hard but you even have to appear nonchalant about it like it's so obvious and plain as day. As though to say to your daughter this is just how things work you might as well accept it already. Easier said than done, but it's the only way we regained our nights of sleep.