Nap Problems - Northbridge,MA

I don't know how much this will help, but we switched from 2 naps to one longer nap midday. Scheduling errands can be intereseting, but we deal...

I have a 17 month old who used to be an awful napper. He has recently gotten much better, though I think it is all him and not much of anything I did. We did change his nap schedule a bit. He goes to bed at 7:30pm and gets up between 6:30 and 7:30am. Generally he will go down for a nap between 11 and 12 and sleep for 2-3 hours. I don't wake him, I let him get up when he is ready. This gives him 4-5 of non fussy time on each end. Sometimes he will get a little fussy about 1/2 hour before nap or bed and we change our activity. Might be a snack before nap or a bath before bed. He is also usually very flexible. I can push his nap back to accommodate an activity, as long as it is something he is into.

Hope it helps.
D.

A.-

I feel for you, my daughter was the same way. have you tried bumping his nap later? Maybe try putting him down an hour later. Sometimes if you try to put them down when they aren't ready they will fight you and then end up not taking a nap at all. You may just have to play with his nap time till you find the right time. It sounds like he still needs one but maybe he doesn't need to go down as early as he did before.

does he take an afternoon nap and when does he get up in the morning?
if he gets up early and needs to rest maybe you can have quiet time and read or snuggle with him
i think 2 naps is a lot for a 2 year old when my son was 2 he had a nap around 12:30 and i'ld let him sleep for 3 hours now he's 3 and he sleeps for about 2 hours in the afternoon
we struggle to get him to stay in bed too but we just keep putting him back in bed when he gets out and he's been out of the crib since he was 2
i know how it can drive you nuts when yo spend longer trying to get them to sleep than they actually sleep

A.,

I think your son might not be tired enough in the morning - otherwise he wouldn't fight you so bad. Since he is on one nap a day and fighting you on the morning one, try putting him down right after lunch (full bellies sometimes help). A few hours later could make all the difference. Also, run him ragged in the morning to help with the fatique. Enroll him in an activities class in the mornings or get outside for a walk, etc. The fresh air helps with sleepiness as well. Good luck!

Hi A.,
Check out the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child," by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. I'm a mom of 6, soon to be 7, and it has saved my sanity many a time! Your son is at the age where he really only needs one nap a day. If he gets up early, he could go down between 11 and 12:30, and should sleep for at least a couple of hours. Then an early bedtime of 7 at the latest. The book walks you through the whole process of training him to get himself to sleep and to sleep well, and it deals with every kind of sleep issue you can imagine, at every age and stage. I just used it again last week to retrain my 4-yr.-old, and my 2-yr.-old. I would highly recommend it.

I have a 2 1/2 year old who in the fall started having problems too. I read the book, healthy sleep, happy child by MarcWeisbluth which is an amazing book. It suggests looking at the total amount of sleep at night so if your child sleeps from 6pm to 6am, he would nap at noon, if he sleeps 7pm to 5:30am like my little guy, his ideal nap time would be 10:45 am. I started putting him down anywhere between 10:30 and 11 and he sleeps 1 1/2 hours and thats it for the day. It also says to gate your child in his room. My son at first would bang his head on the gate and I called my pediatrician in tears and my dr. brought up this book and said no child will give himself a concussion, let him bang his head, if you go in there he is getting the attention he wants. It took one week and he stayed in bed. The gate is now up at nap time and at bedtime and he knows, not to get out of bed. Be strong, I know it is hard. Good luck!

By the time a child is 2, he or she usually only needs one nap a day. My son who is also 2, takes one nap right after lunch, and is always very ready for it. Then sleeps for about 2 hours. Perhaps your son is getting too much sleep.

let him fall asleep latter then after and hour wake him up.

Hi A.,
My son turns 2 in July and he is down to one nap a day. He usually takes his at about 11:30 and sleeps until 2:30. (I wish I could bump out that time until just after lunch but that just seems to be what works for him at this point.) He goes to bed at about 7:00-7:30.
I would just try and give him only one nap a day like the others have said. It sounds like he's just not tired at the time you are trying to put him down.
Good luck!

At 2, he may not be ready to take a nap that early in the day. Try feeding him an early luch (@ 11:30)) and then putting him down for an early afternoon nap. The trick with my 2 year old is to only let him sleep a maximum of 2 hours, and then I wake him so that he will still be ready to go to bed at his usual time at night. Good luck!

He's still taking 2 naps? I think he needs one nap, just in my opinion...afternoon only - my experience has been that most kids drop the morning nap around age 1 and some drop the afternoon nap around age 3 (although i'm dreading that!).

Best of luck!

I'd say he is done with his morning nap. Most daycare programs eliminate them by 15 months and although you don't indicate if your son is just 2 or closer to 2.5 or 3 he probably is ready for just one. I would recommend givingup after an hour if he isn't responsive. His afternoon nap becomes more important and if you can get him down a little earlier for that try it (11:30-12) to blend the two as you phase out the morning nap. Also, I'd say a nap should only be 2-3 hours at the most - unless they are sick. So, I'd recommend and earlier afternoon nap, keep it short and then try bedtime a little earlier so he gets the same amount of total hours sleeping.

I have 2 boys (5 and almost 3.5). Both lost their morning naps before 2 but both usually still nap in the afternoon - at least the 3 year old!

Good luck

Is he still taking two naps a day? Or just a morning nap. If it's two, maybe he doesn't need two a day and he's just trying to give up one of his naps. All three of my children gave up 2 naps a day by 18 months. As they were giving up their am nap, I'd feed them an early lunch and try really hard to keep them awake until I put them down at noon for a few hours. A reallly good sleep book/resource is by Kim West - the sleeplady : www.sleeplady.com. Good luck!

I am going through this as well right now. I took the advice of a some other moms and tried "quiet time" on the couch. My daughter watches a movie while I get a chance to do other things. She is usually asleep within moments and I just let her nap on the couch. Occassionaly I have been able to transfer her to the crib.

When my kids were little I learned a little piece of advice that really helped during that stage. Tell him that he doesn't have to take a nap but he does have to stay in his room and have "quiet time" for a certain period of time. They could play quietly, read books or listen to music. I usually used a timer or an alarm clock and let them know that when the timer "dinged" they could come out. 90% of the time they would be asleep well before the timer went off. Sometimes in their bed, sometimes not but I didn't care as long as they slept a little bit. It saved my sanity when they were ready to give up their naps but I wasn't!!!!

A.,
My youngest turns 2 at the end of May. He has been down to 1 nap and refuses any napping before lunch for about 5 months now. Rather than trying to skip the nap have you tried just postponing it till just after lunch? It's possible he just needs to be awake longer before he's ready for a nap, but not so long that he naps through dinner. my kids all lay down for naps (ages 5, 3, and almost 2) between 12:45 and 1:15... depending on how quickly I get lunch done after my daughter gets home from PreK. That puts them awake for around 6 hours before they nap. I don't know what time your son gets up every morning, but hopefully it helps some.
:)
R. S

My son is 20 mo and he transitioned to a one nap day around 15 months. I knew he was ready for one nap when the morning nap became impossible, but the afternoon nap was much earlier. It started that he had one nap around 1130/12p and now he tends to go down around 1230/1pm. I try to never let him nap past 330/4p because then bedtime is hard. I know somewhere between 1 and 2 most kids transition to a one nap day. Maybe he is just not needing the morning nap now? I don't know....I hope this helps.

Well, along with moving his nap, if he's climbing out of his crib, then he's ready for a toddler bed. Combine that with the timer and quiet time in his room, you should be all set. I put a gate up for my little guy, who's also 2, and that keeps him from roaming. Good luck.

Have you tried pushing the morning nap later- like to mid-day or after lunch? How early does he wake in the morning and when are you trying to have him take his morning nap?

Lose the AM nap. Unlikely that he needs 2 naps a day at this age.
Put him to bed earlier.
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child
Over simplified the advice of this ped MD is always put him to bed earlier.
You'll have a happier, more rested, better eating child in no time.
good luck.

My Lucas is going to be three next month! He moved to one nap at two, generally after lunch. It would last about 2 hours, which was great. He still naps now, but it is becoming a struggle. Try to keep the nap time consistent, and if he fights it, ask him to have some "quiet time" playing with books in his room. He will probably knock out. Good luck!

I also agree with some of the other posts. 2 is or sometimes even much sooner they give up the AM nap and if it's that much of a struggle for you both, he is probably trying to let you know that he doesn't need it and doesn't want it anymore. As tough as it may be on you, listen and see his signals. I also agree that he should be in a toddler bed now, the last thing you want is an injury because he is climbing out of his bed. Prepare for gates if need be and yes, he'll test the waters and get out but just be consistent but I think it's time to give up the AM nap and just start having one nap a day mid afternoon and see how that goes.

Is it possible to move his afternoon nap to an earlier time and skip the morning nap (like after lunch - not at 3)? At 2 - I think they only need one nap a day.

I agree with the other posters who suggested moving to only one nap a little later in the day - this is pretty normal for 2-year-olds. Try to get him down sometime between 11 and 2pm.
Kids (and adults actually) tend to feel sleepy right after lunch, so this is ideal nap time. If he is still asleep after 2.5 hours, see if you can wake him up (by making noise in the room, etc) so that he will still go to bed for the night, but don't force it or you'll have a very grumpy toddler.

Hi!

Is he also taking an afternoon nap? I've never heard of a two-year-old that takes two naps a day. Most kids give up the morning nap by their first birthday, and then take one long nap in the afternoon. He's probably waaaay too old for a morning nap. I wouldn't punish him for not sleeping...imagine if you were having trouble sleeping, and someone tried to punish you for it?!!!

All of my kids took one afternoon nap at two years old, and went down around 12:30pm-2:30pm. Then they slept well at night, from about 7pm-7am. If he's used to a morning nap, you could try pushing it back a bit later each day, until he's taking his nap in the early afternoon. If he refuses to sleep, make sure he knows that he has to stay in his room for "quiet time", and read books, during that time period. He may just fall asleep, but at least he'll have some down time.

Good luck!!

I'm not sure I'm following your issue. Is your sone still taking 2 naps a day? If he is, at 2 they really don't need that morning nap, which is what he's trying to tell you. My youngest, who will be 3 in almost a week, goes down for a nap between 1 and 1:30 and will sleep until about 3 or 4. But we're always doing things in the morning. Maybe your son needs more stimulation in the morning to get him tired enough for a nap.

Try to find a playgroup that meets regularly, go to open gym at MyGym or the YMCA. Go for a walk around the block, but let him walk and explore. Anything you can do to get him out and running, will help tire him out.

If you can put your son in his room and close the door, then do it. If he's climbing out of his crib and you're not ready to put him in a bed, get one of those "tents" that goes over the crib. You can't let him win the battle, or you will surely lose the war.

On the flip side, I have friends whose kids stopped napping around the age of 2. I wish you the best of luck.

Hi A.,

My suggestion is to give him an afternoon nap (no morning nap). Typically children at this age only need 1 nap a day. I would say after lunch around 12 or 12:30. I hope this helps. : )

My 2 year old stopped napping completely just before she turned 2 1/2. I'm not surprised that your son doesn't want a morning nap! I'd try for a nap around 12:30 or 1. That seems to be more of a typical nap time for a toddler. Also, if he's climbing out of the crib it's probably time for a "big boy bed" to avoid any injuries climbing.

Hi A., So the ?? i have is does he take 1 nap per day? Depending on what time he gets up, i would skip the a.m. nap & put him down after lunch. If that dont work, try keeping him up later at night. Also the climbing out of the crib, have you thought of introducing a toddler bed? He may feel a bit more of a "big boy". My kids stayed in there new beds, it was cool for them. Good luck