21 month old not napping

[patsy32]

Hi Ladies, I really need all your advice and opinions as to WTF has happened my DD1's sleep.
She used to always either fall asleep on way home creche in car around 2 or else I would just pop her into crib at same time if she didn't sleep in car and she'd nap for def 1.5/2 hrs.
However, for the last week or so she has been spending up to an hr in the crib shouting, jumping, crying etc before finally falling asleep for about a 30/45 min napand waking up a complete grump. We have now start to get Nw's aswell. Last night was around 4 hrs after BT for about 40min/1 hr of just general whinging on and off and banging around in the crib. I suspect OT is creeping in now but then this morning I had to wake her at 8.15 am for work.
Iam just wondering if you guys have any thoughts on what has gone wrong or what I can do to get us back on track. I have noticed lately she is starting to communicate a lot more but still no specific words yet and we had a few bad teething nappies a few weeks ago but teeth dont seem to be bothering her that much. Is there a sleep regression around this age or do you think I need to change routine!
Our routine before all this was

WU - 7.30 am
Nap- 2.00 - 3.30 pm
BT - 7.45 pm
Asleep within 10 min and STTN.

Now we're getting this

WU - 7.15 am
Nap - 2.45/3.00ish  - 3.30/3.45 ish (roughly anywhere from 30 min to 1 hr)
BT - 7.45 pm

The napping is the problem really or should I say the lack of napping! Just can't seem to settle down and sleep but then wakes in a shocking state cause she hadn't slept enough!
Any thoughts or advice please as to what I should do.
Thanks again Ladies x

[Buttonbobs]

Hi there, it is possible it is a couple of things. Have you tried medicating for the teeth about half an hour before you try to put her down for sleep at naps and BT? Teeth are funny things, they can present no obvious signs of discomfort and then cause considerable pressure when LOs lie down, making then uncomfortable only when we put them down for sleep. If it is teeth then it is worth medicating a bit to see if that makes a difference.

If not, it could be developmental, and the new language development could easily be disrupting sleep. There isn't really a way to rule out development other than ride it out and it will pass eventually.

If you feel that it isn't development then it may be that the nap is now a little early in the day and she's not quite tired enough. She then mucks around before the nap, goes to sleep late and ends up OT overall. Could you push the nap a little later - perhaps aim for 2.30 rather than 2pm? If you get a long nap you might also have to push BT a little later too, or cap the nap, but this does depend on the LO.

[patsy32]

Hi Naomi,  thanks so much for your reply. I'm not sure if the nap is too early as yesterday she fell asleep just after 1.30 pm in car, I transferred her to her crib and she slept for 1 hr 20 min. BT was 7.45 pm with medication for teething and we had a Nw at 11pm for about 45 min.  Not full on crying but whinging on and off every couple of mins  and alot of moving around! She then fell asleep again and I had to wake her this morning at 8.15 am.
I feel myself it's more developmental but no real words yet to back up my theory  this all started one day out of the blue so I guess Iam just a bit shocked cause I was quite happy with out little routine. Iam going to try medication for a few days before nap and bed to see if it helps.
If it is developmental how long could it last do you think?
Today's routine went like this
WU - 8.15 am (I woke her)
Nap - 3.00 - 3.45 pm ( yawning in car at 1.45 pm, in crib 2.10, jumping, crying and shouting until 3 pm)
BT - 7.30 pm ( asleep within 10 min so fingers crossed for STTN)
I did notice when she woke today she was sticking her fingers into back of mouth. She has all teeth except 2 yr molars.
Also, her creche have mentioned twice now that they feel she should be saying some words by now as in clear understandable words which she doesn't have yet. She is trying to talk more and communicate with us but it's still not words we can understand so I feel myself it's developmental but I'm really not sure!!
Should I just ride it out for the rest of this week and see if things settle down before changing nap times, do you think?
Thanks again for your reply.

[Buttonbobs]

If it is developmental you should see some improvement after a week or so. There's no harm in just riding it out and seeing if things improve.

Sounds like teeth could be the culprit - good luck, let me know how you get on xxx

[patsy32]

Thanks again Naomi,  I'll medicate before nap and bed for rest of week and stick to our usual times and see how we go. Hopefully if it is either teeth or developmental it will pass soon. I'll let you how how we get on. Week two and counting  x

[Buttonbobs]

Fingers crossed for you xx