Hi again Nicole! Let me just say that's hard. It's a real judgement call and sometimes you try lots of things before you find what works. You know your own child best and whether she's going to run out of steam or get agitated by laying her down.
Maybe, if it seems like she's pushing the time further each day, try getting the jump on her. Next time, put her to bed earlier than you would have before. Then you'll get her napping before the window closes and she's too over-tired to calm down and sleep.
On a bad day, Luka will cry a bit before going to sleep, but it's so obvious that it's tired crying. She poops out right afterward. If Meg goes to sleep after crying, I'd say you did the right thing because she needed the rest.
In Luka's case, if I stand there (usually with my eyes closed because it's less distracting to her) it's only about 15 minutes or less. Sometimes I flop down on the floor (there are pillows there) to be less distracting and I only get up if it's clear that she's getting up. These days I have "enforced" nap and bedtime enough that I haven't had to do it at all.
I do think they're probably getting too old for the pure conditioning method of pick-up put-down. At this age they have wills of their own, and so discipline enters into it. Conditioning and good scheduling helps somewhat, but I think also that at this age, testing the boundaries begins. Meg might not be quite as far into that as Luka is yet, but keep that in mind. She may start trying to see how far she can go. That makes it so hard when she's had trouble with napping anyway. I have had to be firm with Luka in putting her down and not laughing because she will become quite mischievous and try to play.
Of course part of my problem is that Luka is climbing out of her crib. Meg isn't doing that yet (is she?)--I've had to order all kinds of weird equipment to try to keep Luka safely in the crib. If she weren't doing that, I'd probably leave her in the crib until she decided to sleep on her own, because she's happy there. I wouldn't go in at all unless she cried.
I don't know how much longer my luck with Luka's naps will last, but in the end, it may work so well simply because she needs the rest and she gets tired. I know some kids don't do that (I was one of those kids).
Nice to hear from you again, how are you guys otherwise?
Leslie
