Skipping nap or taking forever to fall asleep - almost 2 yr. old

[LeesMom]

Hi,

Just wondering if others have experienced any nap changes out of the blue right around the 2 yr. mark. DD will be 2 this weekend and for the past couple weeks she has been taking forever to fall asleep for her nap and today didn't sleep at all (but chatted to herself pleasantly the whole time and had fun kicking the bars of her crib  ). She hasn't done this everyday, but today was the first time she has completely skipped her nap. I went in once (after an hour) to tell her that it was sleepy time--- sometimes this works, but not today! Her routine is :

7:00 - 7:15 Wake

12:30-12:45 - Down for nap (but often doesn't fall asleep until after 1:00 or later). I wake her by 2:30 if she doesn't wake on her own. Nap usually lasts about 1.5  hrs. but sometimes 1 hr. 15 min.

7:30-7:45 Bedtime (Usually falls asleep pretty quickly)


She didn't go to bed until 7:20 tonight... I wanted it to be earlier but it just didn't happen! 

We are working on potty training which is going pretty slowly but before the nap today she finally peed in the potty and we made a really big deal of it. Maybe she was still excited about that. She's also been eating a TON for lunch lately (which is right before her nap) so maybe there's a growth spurt going on too.

Thanks for reading 

[Layla]

Hi Jenny

I noticed a massive change in sleep with Bella at around age 2. I had to increase her A time in the morning to 6hrs... with us it wasn't because she wasn't falling asleep at nap time but that she was waking up at 5.30am. So I would say if she is consistently taking longer time to fall asleep at nap time then maybe she needs more A time. I would put her down around 12:45-1pm & let her nap for 1.5hrs. Our nights also went down from 11+hrs to 10.5hrs.

There were (& still are) some days when she just wouldn't nap (unfortunately more frequently now than back then ). I didn't particularly put it down to anything (excitement or food or not enough activity, etc..) but just that she didn't want to sleep. She was miss grumpy pants in the late afternoon but all you can do is on those days offer her an earlier dinner & bedtime (with us it was 6pm & she would fall asleep straight away... she wakes at 6am).

This is what I noticed with my child. It could be that she's not relaxing enough by naptime.... if she watches tv before naptime that can stimulate them for hours to come, which makes it harder for them to fall asleep. You could try a longer windown but if she is still taking a longer time to fall asleep, she might just need more A time'

hth a little
Layla

[Diegos Mama]

Hi, I noticed changes around then too.  I pushed the nap a little later and shortened it slightly.  I worked hard to keep it though, because most two year old still need some afternoon sleep.

On the days when my son wouldn't sleep, he still laid down for quiet time so as to not break the routine.



Good luck!

[LeesMom]

Thanks Layla and Laura!  Glad to know it's not just us  . I agree, maybe a longer A time in the mornings would help. Also, our mornings tend to be a little calmer than afternoons (we play outside almost every afternoon) so maybe more physical activity in the mornings would help as well. I tried that today, so we'll see what happens. She's been in her crib for about 20 min., still talking away     I agree that the quiet time is a must (for both of us!!!) regardless of whether she falls asleep or not. Luckily she likes being in her crib and will happily play in there for a while. Thanks again 

[HeatherC]

I just wanted to go ahead and agree with what has already been said.  I know I, along with several friends with same aged children, went through spells of no naps after they turned 2 yrs.  It would kind of come in waves-a few days here and there, but usually resolved itself.  Of course, a little tweaking never hurts-what's there to loose, right?  Now, at 2 1/2, my dd needs enough physical/mental stimulation and a good winddown to fall asleep.  She's a bit spirited, so she can talk herself awake if she's not settled enough to fall asleep.  Plus, there is such a fine line when it comes to A time.  We, as the parent, can't always be on the money, nor do the kids bother to clue us in  , but we do the best we can.

[LeesMom]

Thanks Heather. I understand what you mean about "talking herself awake" --- I think that's what happened here too. DD has napped the last 2 days... Saturday I laid her down at 12:50 or so and she fell asleep around 1:15 for 1 hr. 20 min. Today she was in her crib a little before 1:00 and fell asleep around 1:25 for 45 min. (she had pooped  ) and woke up happy and chatting. I'm hoping that increasing her A time in the mornings will help some. Thanks again