Napping - Madison Heights,MI

Hi there,

My daughter turned 2 in November and for the past 2 months she sometimes naps and sometimes she does not nap. She is now in a toddler bed because she was climbing out of her crib. If she is tired enough then she will nap but if not she plays in her room. I leave her in her room for at least an hour and half, if she is not tired enough then she at least needs some alone time and so do I !! If she doesn't nap then yeah she can be a pain in the evenings, but then I just put her to bed a little early.

I don't have any good advice, I would just continue to put her in her crib to nap and leave her like normal....that way she knows that she is going there no matter what and see what happens. I agree they are TOO YOUNG still to give up a nap...everyone needs the quiet time. Just don't give up....keep up your routine when putting her to nap and she will learn that she is going to be in her crib wether she naps or not. Maybe put a few toys in there and she can play for and little and then when tired enough go to sleep.

Hope I helped a little....you are not alone with this battle you are doing GREAT!!!

S. :):)

My twins stopped napping just before their second birthday and I didn't think it was too early - some kids just don't need as much sleep as others and if she is getting 12 hours that seems ok. Perhaps you need her to take the naps more than she does? This is a period of adjustment for everyone so expect a few cranky days and a few weeks of on again off again napping. hard to cope with I know but you will get through it. Make the ex napping time a special time - we scheduled it as reading time..

My oldest is five and still takes a nap sometimes, my youngest is almost 4 and still has to have a nap every day. With our youngest, if she isn't in the mood to nap, we say that it is relaxation time and she has to sit in a chair or on the couch and watch a little tv with dad. She's only allowed one stuffed animal and can't get up. Generally speaking, she falls asleep on her own in a matter of minutes. We let her sleep in that spot, but you may be able to move your little one to her bed. She also needs much less sleep time at night than her older sister. If the relaxation time doesn't work you might want to try putting her to bed later at night and then waking her up in the morning at the normal time, slowly reducing the number of hours she sleeps at night. Continue trying to get her to take a nap and see if that helps.

yes, these "hiccups" happen...

If you hear her jumping around and talking do you go in and lay her back down? or just go in and get her out so she can try again later? She may be forcing herself to stay awake since she knows mommy will come get her and she can play more...

For our 3 I would go in if I hear them making noises and lay them back down in their beds tell them Its nap time, go to sleep. And walk out. The eventually got the message.

Also your nap time should be a specific time.That way it trains HER body that after _____ amount of hours I will get a recharge. If those hours pass then she really feels tired.
So if you put her down at 12:30 let her stay in there for her full usual nap time. Matter of fact make her. She will be transfering to a toddler bed soon and if you don't stick to the must stay in your room at nap time she will not stay in.
Sometimes it does take them a while to give up and go to sleep. My daughter would sit in her room and play with 2 barbies until she fell asleep.

Hope something helps you out....
congrats of the new one....

I have been thinking a lot about your question and I was wondering if I should respond and then I remembered something I started doing with my two year old when she was going through a similar thing. We do it so much now it is almost a routine. I did not even think about it. So here are my thoughts... take what works for you and leave the rest.

My two year old sleeps 11-12 hours at night and also takes a 2-3 hour nap. If she gets any less sleep she is very crabby, so I think there are no hard and fast rules for how much sleep a child needs. You know your little one best. I would say if you think she still needs a nap, then enforce rest time at your house. I would also say it might be best to have a "normal" rest time. Which of course means that is when she usually naps, but can be adjusted if need be. My two year old lays down usually at two pm. But some days it may be a little earlier or later. If for some reason she is overtired when you lay her down it may be harder for her to quiet herself. Maybe you are cues on some days. If when you lay her down she is seeming to not be tired or is not wanting to nap let her choose a few books to "read" in bed. We allow our little girl to take 2-3 books to nap almost every day. I leave the room and she reads until she falls asleep. And we also allow her to read in bed for a little while if mommy just needs a break. I have a six month old as well and need that sometimes. If her bed is a haven for her with her own stuffed animals, favorite blankie, or whatever comfort item she may enjoy it. My daughter will ask to play in bed sometimes. We also only allow certain comfort items in bed. She has a favorite bear and she still takes a pacifier, only in bed. Hopefully something I said will work for you!

I see 1 thing that she is picking up on. Does she understand why mommy's body is starting to change? Our 'lil one was the one who told us we were having a baby, don't ask how. We dont 'nap' any more either. The phrase is now 'quite time'. In bed with eyes closed and no sound at all. I would tell our son that mommy needs some extra rest so the baby can grow healthy and some times it makes mommy very tired. So, you don't have to fall asleep, but you have to keep your eyes closed. Understand he does not always fall asleep, but he now will stay quite and lay there for 2 hours. With a newborn it's a time I can sneek around to get a few things done or time I have torest myself. I hope this helps and you are able to get back on top of this.
M

Try waking her 1-2 hours earlier one morning. She will probably really need/want the nap that after noon (even if it is at 3pm) and then may go to bed just a little later that night...which will be good because then she may wake later the next AM, but still only have had about 10-11 hours sleep (which will give you a better chance of naps again :).
You may have to try this two days in a row if she is really being stubborn.

Ok so this is not exactly what you want to hear....
My youngest son still naps (most days) at the age of 3 1/2 and most days I have no problem with his naps, but my eldest stopped at the age of two, one day he just didn't go to sleep at nap time and taht's how it continued. It didn't matter what I did he just refused to nap, so I adjusted bedtime because of how cranky he got in the evenings and this actually worked for him. I think someone else talked about quiet time which is what you may need to do. Just tell your daughter she needs to lay quietly for a little while, make the time period before this very calm too, and she may actually get back on track with her naps. All children are different and you know her best and know that she still needs naps so you just have to be consistent in letting her know what is expected of her. She definitely understands what you say to her at this age and understands the concept of nap time. If you put her down, don't get her back up until she has at least had quiet time, that way she won't think Mommy will come and get her if she jumps up and down and plays in her crib for an hour. Maybe she needs to go down for her nap right around 12.00 instead of closer to 3.00, she may be getting over tired before you know it???
Whatever you decide to do good luck. This probably is just a phase and will pass soon.

My oldest was a great napper and still could use a nap some days (he's now 7). But my youngest, not so much. But he was still in his bed for a rest for 2 hours. He would come out a changed little guy. And it's good for mommy to have a break too. Even my oldest would go to his bed for 2 hours, usually with some books or a cd on. My only requirement was that they stay quiet. Some days my little guy would sleep and some days he wouldn't - and most days my older guy would sleep. But it was healthy for us to have a break and quiet time every day.

Enjoy your little ones! :o)

My lo is the same age. She was doing this a couple of weeks ago, too. She was getting up earlier and sleeping less. I would leave her in her crib for an hour and if she's not sleeping at the end of a generous hour, I take her out and its a 'no nap day'. There was one week that she didn't nap for the entire week. She was exhausted and I was worn out. However, the next week she slipped back into her napping routine. I didn't do anything differently. Go figure. I also found her 2-year molars breaking through on Saturday night...maybe that played a role? Who knows?

She's also starting pooping during her 'nap' time. If she poops, she doesn't nap. I wouldn't want to sleep in a poopy diaper either. So, I've started checking her at 30 minutes to make sure that her diaper is clean. If she has a clean diaper, her nap is almost guarenteed. It sometimes takes her the entire hour to fall asleep, but she almost always does.

Good luck! Maybe next week will be better!! ;)

12 hours sleep a day does not sound like too little for a nearly 2 year old, and there are no absolute rules re: when a child gives up naps. I'd call it quiet time during the day, and adjust to the change. My oldest gave up naps at 18 months and the other 2 were done completely by 2. Never had bedtime issues with them so long as we had pre-bed quiet time. Reading, or cuddling. They all still read before bed.

Sk; yes my son would be this way and a horrible little one he could be, when he was not, and yes it was because he was tired, but at that age, they are afraid of missing things and are social ones and want to be with their families, i worked hard to make him take a nap, especially when i knew he needed on, then i had two more kids each diffferent with different schedules and some who did not need naps, and i felt that i wasted alot of time making him miserable, trying to get him to nap, so in my experiences ive learned to brain drain them, this means take nap time and sit and do brain work, they might need a bit of stimulation, she is at the age where she is learning and wanting to take in more things, she has jumped into im not a baby anymore and i am a toddler, i want to be with people and i dont want to miss anything, just as us humans can rest for like 20 minutes and have a power nap, so can young ones, she is having down time while you rock and read to her, then when you put her down her brain is still going, you have not worked on making her think or work at things, she needs more stimulus, maybe time for some flash cards, or pre school books, do these during the nap time ritual, it may or may not make her tired but it may relaese the brain to shut down a bit, and get the needed rest it needs, she may outgrow the naps, totally we all do, i know its not what you want to hear, but she is more aware of her surroundings, and want to do things with you , make cookies, and also make her responsible for her actions later even if she is tired, she needs to learn, if you are going to act a certain way , there are time outs, or something, i think you will gain naps times back if you stimulater her brain, a bit more they are little sponges and want to soak things up, take it as a compliment her wanting to be with you , and learning, it could be you have a very bright child on your hands, they are tough to raise and quite challenging, cause you the parent need to help their little minds, to grow faster than we are ready, so hang in there, try different things, keep up the good work sounds like you got a great little daughter, D. s

Hello S.K., Try making sure she is full at nap time, and dress her warm. Both of these make us tired. Keep activities on the quiet side for an hour before nap time. Coloring, story telling, etc. When children are overly tired they get hyper, causing a vicious cycle and a lack of sleep. Good luck.

Do we have the same kid??? LOL, my daughter has been doing this too, she just turned 2 and for the last month was doing the same thing. I also would leave her in her crib for no longer than an hour hoping she would wear herself down, to no avail. Unfortunately I have no magical advice. You just have to be consistant in trying to get her to go to sleep. I think it is a phase they go through because now my daughter is back to her routine (so far at least) of napping. Sometimes she doesn't fall asleep until 2 or 230, but I never let her sleep past 4. Our daughter's doctor told me the little ones still need a nap until they are 5 (yayyy) when I asked her about our problem. Just don't give up, eventually she will get back to herself. Good luck!

My little one did the same thing around this age, she is 2.5 now, and I was at a loss, too. She was a great sleeper at night and went down for her nap super easy. It was like a light switch went off and she fought the nap. I realized a while later that it was her 2 year molars and it was just a phase. I wish I could remember how long she went without her naps. There are so many phases and they seem to change as soon as you figure out what it going on. :) Try Motrin and giving her a bath with lavender bubbles to melow her out. I honestly can't remember how we got through it. Like everything else when they are 2, we just did it. I do know that by the time she turned 2 we were back to our regular sleeping and napping schedule so just keep with her and try to make her as comfortable as you can without wrecking your routine too much. Your sunshine will be back soon.

Good luck!

WOW thats a lot of sleep at night...for her age, she is sleeping half her day when she takes a nap. Maybe cut her night time hours a little and the nap will be more welcome

I went through the same thing with my daughter at that age and now again at 3 years old! We just keep working at it and now she gets upset when you say nap time so we say "quiet time" instead. She knows she cannot play and has to lay down and can quiety look at books or sometimes watch a movie. After about 30 to 45 minutes shes out on her own! If she didn't get much sleep the night before her nap will be longer then if she slept 12 hours. You know what she needs : )
They say we will know when our children don't need a nap anymore but I agree with alot of people that even if your child is sleeping 10 - 12 hours at night they could still use a nap.

I would put her down for a nap at the same time everyday rather then varying it. For examply, my daughter is the same age, her nap is from 1-3. She stays in her bed until she falls asleep. I do not try again later on. Maybe you're not giving her enough time with the one hour to try to fall asleep. Good luck :)