Refusing to nap at 22 mos.

[alison]

M is dead tired. We offered her a nap at 1pm yesterday -- no dice.
Today, 11:30am, and again nothing. She's been doing this for the past week or so. Some days she'll fall asleep immediately, other days, she'll start taking her clothes and diaper off.
She's still in a crib. We don't have blackout shades/curtains, because she's never needed them.

She sleeps from about 8pm to 8am.


Any suggestions?

[alison]

If she's done with naps, then ok. But this is so frustrating, because I can tell that she's tired! Yesterday afternoon by 4, she was just lying on our concrete patio with her head on the ground. And shortly after that, she lay herself down on a gravel path. I offered her naps every 30 minutes from about 1-4:30pm!

I thought she may have been overtired, so today I started at 11:30. Dh took her outside again, and when he gets back he'll try to put her down.

She was a CIO sleeper from the get-go, so if she doesn't fall asleep immediately, then I go in and get her. Should I let her cry out her naps??

[Pollyanna]

If she is a CIO sleeper then let her cry at naps too. I would stop offering a nap. It makes it sound like a choice. Tell her, " we will be taking a nap in 30 min, in 15 min.." keep the same nap routine. Black outs shouldn't be necessary. DD will sometimes play in her crib for 45 min before she falls asleep. If she calls I go in, see what she needs, then tell her it's time to nap and I leave. She is a smart cookie, if she thinks she doesn't have to nap then she won't. Good luck! Sleeping issues are exhausting.

[alison]

Does yours take her diaper off?

[Pollyanna]

She has before but I try to keep leggings on her for a nap. Of course if she wants it off she will work until it happens, lol. When she has done that I just redress her, rock for about 5 minutes and then put her back in the crib. Kind of makes for an exhausting nap though .

[alison]

Yes. We do leggings. She gets the diaper off, first thing, so it always means I have to go in. We go through 3-4 diapers, because For whatever reason she decides to pee like mad at nap time.

[MrsK]

BabyK falls apart at regular intervals, 9am, 3pm, and 8pm. We don't give him an option. We just give him a drink of water and tell him it's nap time.

[houseelf]

Yeah, ITA with the cry it out for nap time. (Ironically, I don't use this for bed time). Really, until preschool age, the nap hour is sacrosanct. I can't control if you sleep, but your butt will be in the crib for one hour while mommy nips at some bourbon in the closet.

[alison]

We don't give her an option. And coming from a place of frustration: I'm sure BabyK will start throwing you for a loop when he hits a developmental stage where he wants to be with you and/or test out new physical tricks. I thought I had a fantastic sleeper, and all you mamas with sleep troubles were just giving your kids too many opportunities to not have to go to bed. It ain't that easy!

What I mean by "offering," is that we put her in her crib and say "sleep well," leave, and don't go back in there until she wakes up. The problem has been that she takes her diaper off and jumps around her crib. She tries to climb out, too.

[alison]

She's asleep now, btw. So I can commence with working on my thesis. Sigh.

[Pollyanna]

Oh, I see Alison! Then we offer a nap too. I completely understand the frustration. All babies at one time or another bring their mothers to tears during nap time. I think it is even harder when you have a good sleeper who decides not to sleep. I say keep on keeping on. Sending lots of hugs and baby napping vibes your way

[alison]

I've been lucky all along, and this gives me new respect and sympathy for moms like Laurie. I would have long thrown in the towel!

As long as she sleeps, I can do the no-eating thing. But you take away the only thing that keeps me sane, and I get maaaaaad!

[PrincessFiona]

I thought I had a fantastic sleeper, and all you mamas with sleep troubles were just giving your kids too many opportunities to not have to go to bed. It ain't that easy!

Lol. Karma sucks! The last time I did CIO was when my 16 year old was about ... 16 months old. I needed him to nap. He shook his crib so violently that he broke it and it toppled over him.

I can't tell you his many times I have thought "maybe your child x, y or z ... But that will never happen to me because I'm a good mom ". Then my child does the dreaded thing or worse and I'm gobsmacked. it turns out that there are a log of good moms doing their best ... and we all need to be kinder to ourselves and each other!

Kris




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[migirl]

Re: the removing diaper thing, can she get it off if she's wearing a onesie over it? I have to do that with DS3yo bc he thinks his penis is a plaything and ends up wetting his bed at night.

[alison]

Re: the removing diaper thing, can she get it off if she's wearing a onesie over it? I have to do that with DS3yo bc he thinks his penis is a plaything and ends up wetting his bed at night.

I will try a onesie! She's outgrown most of the ones we have, because she's so long, but I imagine the snaps will give her some trouble. Although, I will say that she's mastered the ability to remove diapers WHILE leaving the leggings covering them intact!