BabyWhispererForums.com
SLEEP => Sleeping For Toddlers => Topic started by: alyssa1 on March 30, 2006, 01:20:20 am
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I am having the experience that my lo (14months) will go to bed no problem and sleep anywhere from 7pm-5/6am, but he hates to nap. He will fight the nap forever and once I get him down he will only sleep for 30-40 min. He is only having one nap a day around noon or so and I find he wakes up so tired. Any suggestions?
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What's his daily schedule? Do you have a nap routine?
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Sounds like he's overtired if he's fighting the nap and only sleeps for 30-40 mins. My dd (20) months will occasionally wake at that time when she's really overtired. I find if I go in and put my hand on her she will go to sleep again (warning: this usually takes 20-30 minutes) but she will sleep for another 30+ minutes. Have you tried this or some other form of pd or wake to sleep for the early waking and napping? I f this doesn't work you may need to go back to 2 naps for a while until your lo gets better rested.
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Has he always been like this or is it a lately fashion?
We'd need to check his daily routine but a first shot would tell me he's going too late to bed for nap according to his awake time. At his age even 6 hours awake time is too much to handle for them, but then again, every lo is different.
When my ds fights the nap and sleeps short periods is almost always due to overtiredness. Even 15 mins can make a difference when going down. A little too late and it's a fight and crying.
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Thanks for the advice. Here's what his dailyi routine is - or was up until the birds came out!
wake - 6-7 am
breakfast - 7-8
early lunch - 11-12
nap - 11:30/12 - hopefully 1:30/2 - but this will only ever happen after he wakes after 30min and is settled back to sleep. The problem when he wakes up is that he is so upset. He is usually standing in his crib crying and will not settle until I take him out of his room. Once I take him downstairs and give him a drink sometimes he will go back to sleep in my arms and sometimes not???? Once he does go to sleep we have been letting him sleep on the sofa or in the guest bed on the main floor becuase I find when I walk up the stairs with him he will wake up and not go back to sleep in his crib. I know this is a problem but it feels like all we want is for him to get back to sleep.
3 - snack
5 dinner
6-6:30 - bath then snack
7-7:30 - bottle then bed. He will always go to bed without a problem. If he does cry it's for 1 min. and then to sleep.
Now that the birds are out though, he wakes up at 4:30 am and he is so tired. He will not go back to sleep unless I take him out of his room, calm him down, give him a drink and then I try to put him back to bed in his crib.
It feels like the past two weeks I have a completly different child. He will get so angry when he wakes up and he is still so tired but trying to get him to go back to sleep is the hardest thing in the world. I know I have posted something like this in another area but any advice would be great!
Thanks
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It sounds to me like he doesn't know how to get himself back to sleep when he wakes at the end of a sleep cycle. Henry stirs at 45 minutes during his nap but almost never wakes completely at that time (unless he poops, but that's another story) And he's got you figured out - cry long enough and he gets taken out of the room, given milk, and doesn't have to go back to bed. I am not criticizing you - we all do what we think is right to get our lo's to sleep. I've been there, done that for a VERY long time.
What I would suggest is after he wakes from his 30-40 minute nap, do either toddler pu/pd or walk out/walk in, whichever you think is more suitable for your ds. Do it until you feel nap time should be over - and then take him out. Do the same for the early am wakings until you feel its the appropriate time for him to get up.
He needs to learn to get past that sleep cycle wake on his own - once he does, he should start sleeping better/longer at night and for naps, which will make a happier lo and a happier Mama.
HTH.
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I really appreciate the reply. We were doing the walk in/walk out for a long time and he just continued to get more and more upset each time. PIcking him up is such a fiasco in itself as well. I will continue to try the walk in and out I think??
Do you think this is what I should do to put him down for a nap as well as that is a huge struggle?? And also, how long should I do this when he does wake from his nap - another hour?? I swear sometimes it takes that long.
Thanks for all your advice.
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How were you doing walk out/walk in? Were you absolutely consistent about it or did you give in sometimes? Both of those things can be a factor in it not working.
How do you put him down for his nap currently?
I would do walk out/walk in until nap time should be over. If you decide nap time goes until 2pm, when he wakes before that do walk out/walk in until 2pm - or until he is quiet or falls back to sleep.