My 16 month old son hasn't been taking his naps for the past week. It's so frustrating. I know he's tired & when I put him down all he does is scream. I've let him cry it out for up to an hour. It's torture for both of us. I work part time so I have him with me 4 days a week and he goes to day care one day & to both of his gramma's on the other 2 days and everyone has said the same thing. The only time he does sleep is when we are in the car. I've been putting him to bed around 6:00pm which is a half hour earlier than when he used to go to sleep. He does sleep through the night until 5:30 or 6:00am. Has anyone had this happen at this age? I'm hoping it's just a phase.
Hi L.,
It sounds familiar. My daughter was done with naps completely by 3yrs. My suggestion would be to still put him in his crib and refer to it as rest time for you and him. Turn on some soft music, give him a few picture books or toys and let him play in his crib, even if he doesn't sleep he is still getting some down time and so are you. Good Luck! S.
My daughter was doing that two weeks ago, and at one point I realized that she had a molar mashing its way into her mouth! Could he be getting one of those nasty back teeth?
A women in my support group was having the same trouble and the LCs suggested putting her daughter down each time she seemed tired about every 30 minutes to an hour to see if she'd fall asleep that time. Leave him 10 or 15 minutes. If he doesn't go to sleep, get him and try again a little later. You may be able to find a good time that he will go down regularly.
Good Luck :)
My oldest son starting skipping naps like this at that age. It would last a week or two, then he'd start taking them again. That happened off an on for years- until he was 3.5 years old and stopped quiet time all together. What I did was I still made him sit in his crib and cry for an hour, or play for an hour- his choice. He had crib toys, books, and stuffed animals he could play with. I would stick through it and keep giving him the quiet time (or, not so quiet time if he makes it that way and crys) as he obviously needs it because he is cranky or sleeping in the car. Maybe try to wear him out more before nap time- run around a lot right before hand or do some other activity that exerts a lot of energy. Or, I don't know what your naptime routine is, but maybe do some more quiet time activity than normal. For instance, if you read one book to him, maybe read 2 or 3 books to help him wind down and become drowsy enough that he will nap. I hope this helps.
Just fight thru it! My daughter did the same thing and some days she screamed or talked all the way thru nap time but it passed. She is now 24 months and taking a trusty 3 hours nap everyday. That phase only lasted 2 weeks or so. BE STRONG and good luck.
