Calling All Parents...

[VivisMom]

I need some advice...well, more like guidance.

My darling Vivi has decided that a nap in the morning is for chumps. She'll sit in her crib and play, but she will not nap. This is a problem mostly because she is still getting up early (sometimes as early as 5:30, but usually around 6:30) and the stretch of time between when she wakes up and her afternoon nap is WAAAAAY too long to not nap.

I've tried to give her an earlier nap, but what ends up happening is she 1) sleeps for less time (sometimes as little as an hour) and 2) gets cranky around 5pm, which is 2 hours before bedtime. And no matter what I've tried, I cannot get her to sleep later than 6:30 in the morning-even if her bedtime is an hour or more later than usual. If she'd sleep later in the morning I don't think I'd be having this issue.

So, can some kind soul offer me some advice on either how to get her to wake up later in the morning, or to keep her up later? I mean, this is seriously making me crazy.

[Flame]

It's always an adjustment when they stop one of their regular naps.   As for getting her to sleep later, you may not be able to, but try putting her to be EARLIER than usual.  It seems backward, but more sleep makes them sleep longer.

I'm thinking you might have to do an earlier afternoon nap and just push bedtime up an hour or so until she adjusts to the change, then you can tweak it a bit from there.


I know when mine stopped napping, bedtime just became earlier than usual, because I didn't want to deal with a cranky tired toddler, so I just put them to bed.  Eventually everything evened out to where they weren't go to bed TOOO early.

[DixieBelle]

Unfortunately it sounds like she is growing out of the morning nap. Two naps doesn't last long and the remaining nap will go away around age 4-5.

There are two schools of thought: letting the child's normal patterns dictate the sleep routine or rigid scheduling that makes sleep time non-negotiable.

You have to find which way works best for you. I tend to believe in a happy medium. Forcing a child (especially an active and curious one) to sleep when they aren't tired during the day can be an excercise in frustration for both of you. By the same token, a cranky child who missed a nap isn't fun either.

My son responded to quiet time in his bed. In fact, I didn't know he wasn't sleeping until I heard him babbling. Eventually he would creep down the hallway and want to play. That's when naps went bye-bye.

When he got cranky, I would just make him lay down and tell him that it wasn't a nap. It was rest time and that he could play with a stuffed animal or look at a picture book. Sometimes giving him a warm bath before nap time helped.

And I used the same routine with waking up in the morning and falling asleep at night. He was a pretty good sleeper but he had his moments. Have you tried just letting her lay quietly in her bed? Does she put up a fight?

[Lord Undies]

My Little Angel, who will be 5 in 3 weeks, thinks if the sun is up she should be too.  Her napping habits have changed with each stage of her development.  She is now in a pattern where she falls asleep on the couch at about 4 in the afternoon.  She will sleep until 6 or so if I let her (I won't). 

I remember my own kids, who are now in a stage of wanting to nap (in their own homes, thank goodness), were not regular nappers when toddlers.  It was always a fight.  We use to put them down and tell them they did not have to go to sleep, but it was quiet time nonetheless.  They always went to sleep - eventually.

[Tantal]

Try whiskey. Makes 'em sleep long and hard.

[Chris_]

I was gonna say that Dimetapp is the parent's friend.

 

[Lord Undies]

I was gonna say that Dimetapp is the parent's friend.

 

Don't forget the Vick's Vap-O-Rub.  It helps them keep their sweet little eyes closed.

[Zeus]

My kids when they were younger liked music to go to sleep. My daughter liked Shania twain type stuff and my son liked rock. Son's usual favs were "Thunder'(Thunderstruck-AC/DC) or Balls"(Balls to the Wall- Accept).

[Lauri]

It's always an adjustment when they stop one of their regular naps.   As for getting her to sleep later, you may not be able to, but try putting her to be EARLIER than usual.  It seems backward, but more sleep makes them sleep longer.

I'm thinking you might have to do an earlier afternoon nap and just push bedtime up an hour or so until she adjusts to the change, then you can tweak it a bit from there.


I know when mine stopped napping, bedtime just became earlier than usual, because I didn't want to deal with a cranky tired toddler, so I just put them to bed.  Eventually everything evened out to where they weren't go to bed TOOO early.

we did the same thing with both the girls... when they stopped taking naps, bedtime got reset to about 7 pm every night and they got a good 12 hours a night, which those busy little bodies need.  getting ready for bed started right after dinner.. bath, books, winding down time.

we kept that schedule til they hit about 9 years old and it gave me and the husband alone time, which we desperately needed.

[Chris_]

My son - who is now 4 (and still takes a nap every day) - used to fight his naps on occasion.

It is not abuse or neglect to lay them down in their crib when they want to fight it, close the bedroom door and let them cry it out.  Watch and be amazed, for it won't take long for all that crying to knock 'em right out.

[Lauri]

I was gonna say that Dimetapp is the parent's friend.

 

Don't forget the Vick's Vap-O-Rub.  It helps them keep their sweet little eyes closed.

Benadryl also work wonders on those especially tantrum filled evenings

[Lord Undies]

I was gonna say that Dimetapp is the parent's friend.

 

Don't forget the Vick's Vap-O-Rub.  It helps them keep their sweet little eyes closed.

Benadryl also work wonders on those especially tantrum filled evenings

A ping-pong ball and a cuptowel comes in handy too.

[Chris_]

I was gonna say that Dimetapp is the parent's friend.

 

Don't forget the Vick's Vap-O-Rub.  It helps them keep their sweet little eyes closed.

Benadryl also work wonders on those especially tantrum filled evenings

A ping-pong ball and a cuptowel comes in handy too.

I tend to shy away from giving a child Ny-Quil, but on those nights when they're croupy or teething, and nothing else works, it sure is tempting...