15 Month Old Stopped Napping

Hi A., I just went threw this with my 2yr old. He would nap at 10:00 and then again at 3:00 usually for about 1 !/2 to 2 hrs untill about 3 months ago. He may just be ready for 1 nap now (I know that sucks for us). My son now goes down at 1:30 and usually sleeps untill 3:30 or 4:00. It was rough at first but he finally goes down no problem. He was 21 months when this started and eveyone said I was so lucky that he took two naps at that age. Good luck and let me know how everything goes. B.

Sounds like he still needs the nap - We had to do a little sleep training with our daughter which involved letting her cry it out...it was torture for me, but it really worked. We use Dr. Weissbluth's book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. We found that after a couple of days she "got it" especially when she was older. We just had to whip out the book last week b/c she was refusing both nap and bedtime (she's almost 2 1/2) and within 2 days she was going to bed fine...nap took a little longer but today there was almost no objection!! Good luck!!

we had a little difficulty switching from two naps to one, but daycare did that for us back in september (she was 13months). now it's great. be persistent. this is the routine and we're following it is the key. our daughter has started giving us a bit of a hard time going to bed because she now realizes she is 'missing out' on stuff. we are keeping the exact same routine every night and so far so good--11hours every night.

it sounds like he is not getting enough sleep (naps) and that is why he is grouchy and edgy. my kids do the same thing. you can't force him to take a nap, but i would let him cry a little longer before you pull him out of the "nap". he is learning that if i cry for 15 minutes (or how ever long) that mommy will come and get me and we will play. check out the book by Dr. Farber and i would try the Progressively waiting technique. keep him in the crib longer and longer at nap time. i also sometimes give my kids toys to play with in the crib, a book, whatever. sometimes they just need to settle down before they sleep. he may be ready to drop to just 1 nap a day too. i have 3 children under 3 all sharing the same bedroom and let me tell you, nap times are a challenge. you may try adjusting the actual time of the nap too. i know if i put my oldest son (2.5) down after 2 pm, he has a harder time falling asleep then if i put him down at 1pm. with all 3 in a bedroom, it sometimes takes up to 1.5 hours for everyone to fall asleep! they are not crying all this time, but signing, talking etc. you son needs that sleep and you need a break too, so be firm! good luck. A.
p.s only stay and rub his back for a few minutes-you become a distraction and he won't want to sleep!

He may be not needing or growing out of these naps. As long as you can put him somewhere quiet, dark and comfy when he gets cranky, IF he really needs to fall asleep he will. I have 2 daughters, one who faithfully took two 3-hour naps a day and the other, NONE, her entire babylife (although she needed it, she just didn't want to go to sleep). If they got really bad, I'd take them for a car ride, that always knocked them out!!

A.,

My son got like that and he needed a schedule badly. He now goes down every day at noon, right after lunch and cleaning up his toys.

He has quiet time, whether he sleeps or not for 2:30 -3 hours a day. I time it and give him many good books. He loves the books and talks and sings to himself. Usually he falls asleep, but only sleeps an hour to two hours.

He knows it is quiet time. I have found with him if I get him up before enough quiet time/ sleep, he is crabby and whiny all afternoon and it is very stressful.

Now he gets excited as lunch is over and begins saying "night-night." Doesn't mean he always loves to go to bed - lol:), but he is in a much better mood afterward each time.

Good luck!

Watch him closely, when you sense he's at the start of getting tired after a long morning, that's when to put him in his crib. Don't wait until he's cranky. It may take a few days to transition to 1 nap/day, but well worth the effort. Just like they need a routine bed time, he may need a routine nap time. My favorite book was "The Baby Whisperer, For Toddlers" by Tracey Hogg.

A.,

Is your little one doing something new, such as walking? Sometimes they can have a hard time sleeping when trying to perfect a new skill. I would still try to lie him down twice a day if he still seems tired. He may be trying to transition to 1 nap a day and it may take a while for his body to get used to it. Could be either of those, good luck!

C.
Mommy to Jessie, Katie and Julia
www.TimetoChangetheDiapers.com
Adorable, affordable cloth diapers and reusable items for babies, kids and Moms!