Help! Sudden Nap Strike

[PatsFan]

Starting this past Saturday my normally charming and regularly napping 16-month-old son has gone CRAZY at nap time. He is biting, hitting and going nuts to refuse to sleep. This is very out of character for him. I have tried staying in there and letting him cry it out (which worked once). I used to rock him for a moment or two and put him down asleep at nap time and he would sleep for about 2 hrs. at bedtime we read stories and I put him down mostly awake - until recently this all worked like a charm. Until Saturday when he lost his little mind and for the first time in 10 months really refused to nap. PLEASE HELP!!! He eats very well, drinks whole milk from a sippy cup and is teething - but the teething was never a problem before. He is very strong willed and getting him to go to bed at night on his own and to sleep through on his own took some sleep training at 7 months of age but since then he has been doing great. Nap time has always been a bit more of a challenge but since we switched to 1 pm nap it has been great. What is going on!!

We wake him at 7:30am now since he used to sleep until 8:30/9am!
Breakfast
play
Snack at 10am
play
Lunch at 12pm
play
wind down
** he used to nap from 1pm - 2:45p/3p
snack after nap
play
dinner at 5pm
wind down at 6pm
6:30 bath and bed time routine
7pm lights out

Thank you for your help!!
Michelle

[NiknLily]

Only thing I can think is that his night sleep is quite long 12.5hrs, I know all LO's are different but I think 11 - 11.5hrs is more average. Perhaps you should wake him at 7am and see what happens, maybe he is just not tired enough by 1pm for a nap.

[PatsFan]

New Mum, Thanks for the suggestion and we have been trying to wake him a bit earlier the past two days but the only thing that hs been working has been "crying it out" - which I hate to do. However, today he cried for about ten minutes and slept for more than two hours and still went down at seven pm. I just wish I knew why there was such a sudden switch??? Babies/toddlers are mystery! 

[Layla]

Hi there. Since your lo is a toddler, I just wanted to add some things.

I do agree that he has quiet a long night so I would definitely wake him up at 7-7.30am the latest. Try to wear him out a little before nap time (in the morning ) and then as you come closer to 1pm, try a longer windown to get him nice and relaxed and calm. I would strongly advise you not to let him CIO again. Tracy was not an advocate for it and believed it can have an effect on the relationship between the baby and the parent. If he is still refusing to nap or is crying for you, I would suggest one of the following sleep training methods (for toddlers): https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=63896.0

I would also limit the nap to 2hrs as well to ensure he goes to sleep at night at the right time. If his nap is too long then he might be fighting you cause he is not tired enough.

Please don't let him cio again. You said it yourself... you hate doing it and I am sure he is not happy being left to cry either. 10mins is still quiet a long time. There are much gentler ways to re-teach him how to fall asleep. Please look at the link I posted and post back

Layla

[PatsFan]

Layla,
Thank you so much. I really think I was over-thinking things and your advice was exactly what I needed to hear! He just needed a bit more quiet time before his nap. We have been doing a lot more in the mornings since the weather is getting so hot here (Florida) so he just needed to calm a bit before being put down. I have been doing this for the past two days and it has worked like a charm. I can't thank you enough! Whenever I need help I come to babywhisperer.com and it helps every time!!! Thank you!

[Layla]

Great to hear! Next time if you have any probs, you can post it on the Toddler sleep forum..