Toddler Naps

[the_questess]

We have been cosleeping with our daughter since birth. For naptime, I used to nurse her down and leave her once she was asleep

Comments

[loveinsuburbia]

Would she go to sleep if you put her in a stroller and took her for a walk? Or sling if that's preferred?

[the_questess]

Nope, at least not until you've been walking for quite some time. It's also a huge fight to put her into a stroller or sling if she's tired, it's pretty much a huge fight to do anything when she's that sleepy though.
This is the same problem with the car.
Also, my husband has fibromyalgia (no long walks in the cold), and doesn't drive.

[loveinsuburbia]

OK, well the next thing I do in that situation if I can't go out (the walking thing usually works for us eventually) and my son really won't sleep is to put him on the sofa with a pillow, blanket and put a DVD on. It's not ideal, but he seems to relax and it's a good time-out for both of us if things have got fraught. He'll normally get quite sleepy like that and if he doesn't, at least he's relaxed and resting and I try the nap again later.

Good luck. I hope you find something that works for you.

[the_questess]

That's what my husband's normal routine is, I think.

Thanks :-)

[ionracas]

My son rarely naps, sometimes in the car, but that's it. He's fine! When he first gave up naps, he could be a little grumpy, still can, but if he doesn't feel the need, we don't force it.

[the_questess]

I would say she's not fine, since she's super grumpy and sleepy-eyed until she finally falls asleep.

When she's not sleepy, I don't enforce napping, but on days like yesterday, she definitely was. She fell asleep nursing as soon as I got home. I wasn't even expecting her to fall asleep, so we were sitting on the stairs because she had been going back and forth between playing and occasionally nibbling, and then she just passed out during one of the nibbles.

[ionracas]

I mean that he made it through the transition fine, the grumpy tired toddler phase wore off. Now, when he skips his nap, we look forward to a sleepy baby who won't fight bedtime. Your mileage may vary!

[goldoyster]

It's an annoying inbetween stage. My daughter has been going through it for a few months now. In our experience she got less cranky on days she wasn't tired enough to skip naps, which made things easier. When they get tired but not tired enough to sleep it does indeed suck but what can you do -- being a parent is hard! I wouldn't advocate leaving her in a crib. . .just get her involved in some activity or let her zone out with some books or tv when she reaches the tired but not tired enough stage.

[newreflections]

My son doesnt nap anymore unless hes sick or got up realllly early for whatever reason- so when he needs a nap but refuses I have him lay on the couch and I tell him he doesnt have to sleep, he just has to rest. And he always falls asleep lol. Maybe if you make it her decision she wont fight you so much?

[krasota]

Maybe she's losing a nap and doesn't need more than one?

Also, I have fibro and find that it's much easier painwise to take a long walk in the cold than to deal with a cranky baby at home. ;) I can always take a hot bath with epsom salts later that night.

My son was down to one nap by that age and sometimes skipped it. The transition during nap consolidation/loss is really rough. They don't suddenly stay happy all day, they have a cranky time of hell. Off and on. For weeks. And months. But it does eventually end.

[the_questess]

She normally only takes one nap. Yesterday it was that she had zero naps.

I'll pass the suggestion along to my husband to try the walking thing out anyways, despite the cold.

[krasota]

Picking up some really good long johns and socks and wearing sturdy shoes/boots (comfy to walk in) may make a difference. I wear cushioned socks and silk long johns on our below-freezing walks.

[alaria_lyon]

I guess my question would be, is there a reason she needs to nap when you are having her nap? We have always let my kids fall asleep on their own terms in their own time for nap. We don't have a set "naptime" at all - we just settle in on the couch, nurse, and if he falls asleep great, if not, he goes to play for a while and we maybe try again later, or if it's too late then he doesn't nap that day. Or they nap in the car on the way to or from activities.

My 21 month old usually naps around 1-2pm. He's just not tired earlier. Sometimes he skips it. Sometimes we have to then fight to keep him awake from 5-7. But it's certainly easier to keep them awake then to get them to nap when they aren't willing or tired.

[the_questess]

We don't have a set time, we just put her to nap when she's sleepy. The trouble here is that she's tired but has become a pro at fighting sleep (really she's always been good at it, it's just that now she's gotten to be really good and can hold out much longer). If anything happens to distract her (like the phone ringing) then it wakes her back up nearly to the point of when she first laid down.

[sprgtime]

Ohhh! I used to not have a set nap time for my son. I'd put him down when he seemed sleepy. Then he started fighting it, and would seem to get a second wind... and go down later. And later, and later.
One of the tips I took from the NCSS book is to have a SET time when they go down for nap every single day. It actually made getting his nap in easier. His body is so used to that on-the-dot nap time now that no matter where we are or what we're doing, he gets sleepy and starts signing "sleep" to me.

[the_questess]

She generally gets tired at around the same time (it's based off of when she woke up in the morning rather than the clock's specific time), but we can give that a try.