Naptime Struggles

Put her on the potty before nap. Begin reading potty books to her. She will feel empowered to show you that she can do this. Then put her down for a nap. Perhaps it is time to switch gears. Naptime may be over for her. If she is not tired enough to settle in for a rest you could be frustrating her. This is her show of control. My kids dropped naps by 18 months. Potty trained by two. I would begin a quiet time routine in lieu of the childs nap. I would explain it is quiet time here is what you can do quietly....look at books, play blocks ect. I would set a timer. When it went off he/she could come out of their room. Every mom needs downtime. Good luck.

Hi Abby,
My son does this too (he's the same age as your daughter). I assumed that he poops at naptime because he is alone in his room and that it is the privacy he needs to 'go'... (a readiness sign for potty training). I just clean him up and put him straight back down. At 36 weeks pregnant we're not potty training him any time soon - so I'm just putting up with it for now. I figure that it's best not to make an issue out of it and just let him poop when he needs to (despite it being an annoying disruption to my nap time too!). I now put him down for nap 30mins earlier to allow time for diaper change. Good luck - just wanted to let you know that although frustrating it must be normal toddler stuff!

I do not think she is doing it on purpose! You really should not be getting angry with her about it either. I know what you mean about being tired since you have a 5 month old. I have a 23 month old and a 4 week old myself so I can sympathize & I am exhausted since my 1 month old seems to be having severe gas issues at night only!
So I know it is easy to get upset with the older child but that is really not fair to her. Just leave her in her dirty diaper, leave her in bed until she finally falls asleep for 1-2 hrs then get her out of bed & change her. She will be fine in a dirty diaper for just an hour or 2.

My 14 month old daughter poops at the beginning of naptime, too. I don't believe it is on purpose, though. It would be very difficult for a toddler to do this purposefully. Children's digestive systems are often activated when their bodies are relaxed and they are able to get into more of a flexed position. I usually put my daughter down and then if she is acting "silly" (a sure sign of pooping) then I will change her and put her back down, then she will go to sleep. I disagree with one of the other posts which said they can remain in a dirty diaper for a couple hours. Maybe some can, but my daughter has sensitive skin and if she is in a dirty diaper for the duration of her nap, she will wake up with a BAD diaper rash. Also I don't think they will sleep as long because that has got to be very uncomfortable! Good luck and I bet her timing will change soon...

I noticed you said you interact with her while changing her diaper, prolonging the nap. I think you should make it as quick as possible with no talking or interacting with her. Tell her it's not time to play or talk or whatever form of interaction you're using, because I agree with you when you say she might be doing it on purpose- if she's getting extra attention from you for it, either negative or positive, kids are really smart and will create one of those learned behaviors. Don't even turn on the light, no eye contact, etc, just get the business done as quickly as possible. Maybe try 'bribing' her to try and wait- she'll get some sort of surprise if she stays clean during nappy. I'm not sure if she could understand at this age, but it's just a suggestion.
Please don't feel bad about getting upset about your break time being interruted, I know exactly how you feel. I have a 3 1/2 week old daughter and a 5 year old daughter who still naps. I get a little upset myself when my mid day break isn't being used how I want it to, whether it's my daugter asking for stuff or phone calls, etc. We all need our breaks for our sanity to be the best moms we can be. Just try and not let your daughter know you are upset about it, it'll just reinforce her with that negative interaction I mentioned.
Good luck, I hope I helped

Rice & bananas for lunch, prune juice for dinner. :)

I'm not sure there is much you can do. My 18 month was doing this and has just finally started napping again after 2 months of pooping after I put him down. I just go in change him and lay him back down and even if he is quietly playing in his crib I leave him up there for an hour.At of nowhere he is napping again although most toddlers I have come across have out grown nap time between 2-3 yrs of age so maybe she's ready to let it go.

although she is young, maybe she could start potty training. Try putting her on the potty before nap and give her a prize if she goes, make it a really big deal and not a really big deal if you have to change her during nap, maybe she will change her schedule on her own. My daughter was 2 1/2 when her little brother came along and did a similar thing with pooping just after i sat down to feed the baby. I put a potty right next to me and let her sit on it while i was feeding the baby and she caught on.
good luck
K.

Hi Abby,
I just went through the same thing with my 22 month old son. It lasted for about 3 weeks then his "schedule" changed and it hasn't been an issue since. Once or twice he even yelled "diaper" from his crib when he wasn't dirty, so he was obviously doing it for attention, but nothing that I did made it stop. I can sympathize because I was pregnant and trying to nap too! Now proud mom of 7 week old! I'm not sure I'd try to start potty training if you have or are about to have a newborn in the house. Like so many things, give it time to pass without giving it too much attention.

My little ones are 16 months apart so I can relate to where you're coming from (all of you NEEDING nap time) and my daughter wanted to start potty training just before she was 2. So while I don't think your daughter is too young to be potty trained, you sound a little exhausted so it might not be worth the extra frustration for you to go all out at this point. However, you might want to try transitioning her into it. There are a couple of things you could try.

You could see if she'd like to go potty on her own before nap (you know the whole routine). If that doesn't work, you could try initially laying her down but then go back in her room after a few minutes (once she's gotten comfortable) and take her to the potty then. If neither of those work (or sound appealing) and you think it's really a play for attention- if she's not complaining, just leave her. Of course this depends on how sensitive your daughter's skin is. Another thought is you could try a group nap. It may sound daunting but if she's looking for attention (she may think she's missing out on something) it may work and it will give all of you the rest you need. It may take some getting used to but this still works for me. Once everyone's been fed, all three of us got into my bed for story time followed by nap time. The first couple of times I did need to remind my daughter that it was nap time and if she couldn't behave in my bed, she'd have to go to hers but it's such a treat for the them that they comply fairly quickly. Plus they love knowing that they get snuggle time with me and they know they're not missing out on any action. I love the uninterrupted snuggle time and that I get the rest that I need to recharge! (And because we get to do this together at nap time I don't feel so guilty enforcing the rule that they can't join me at night.)

No matter what you find works (or doesn't) for you the good news is - life with two little ones gets a little better and easier every day!!