Weaning off the last nap

[Shdef]

It's a little difficult and I don't quite know what to do about it just now.

Scotty's day either looks like this:

8.30 am awake
9 am breakfast
12.30 pm lunch
3.30 pm snack
6 pm dinner
bath
7.00 pm bed

This is the schedule without nap. Problem is, after around 4 he gets cranky, nothing wants to work out and he falls over all the time. I can't get him to nap before 2 or  2.30, he will just happily sit there and play.

Or it looks like this:

7 am awake (I wake him)
2 or 2.30 pm nap (need to wake him at 3.30 or 4, he would just sleep 3 hours or so if I left him)
9 pm bed (won't sleep before that if he takes a nap)

When I wake him from the nap he will also be cranky, if I don't wake him from the nap, bedtime is like 10 pm 

And the next morning he will sleep until 9 or 10 and if I wake him, he will cranky and moody and fall over all the time, he never responded well to being woken.

Will I just wean off the nap, leave him to sleep for 13.5-14 hours night (that's what he does) or cut night sleep and force a nap?

Cause... he is cranky either way, just at different times

[binxyboo]

tagging along here if you don't mind, Steffi.....

[Shdef]

tagging along here if you don't mind, Steffi.....

Course I don't  What is Riley's day like?

[Layla]

When Isabella 1st started resisting naps she was 2.5yo & before that she has never ever missed a nap (unless it was forced by me due to special occasion). When she did drop her nap the 1st time, she was a total mess & I got her sleeping with me for another 3 months (naps only) to keep things going. She actually woke herself up on her own around 45mins-1hr later or at the most her nap was 1hr15mins. She was never cranky from waking up but it might have been because as soon as she woke I would take her out of the house for a walk or to run some errands. She's now not napped at all for a month & i have to say that although she can still show cranky behaviour here & there she's far better at handling it now than she was 4 months ago (which was when she 1st dropped it). She is a mess the next day only when she's had less than 11.5hrs of sleep.... 12hrs is about the av for her now.

It all depends on you really.... I think with dropping the nap distraction is the BEST thing so if you keep the nap & you KNOW that he'll be cranky just after you wake him from it, then take him out of the house or engage him in an activity you know he will enjoy. If he doesn't nap & you KNOW he's going to be cranky from 4pm onwards then try to arrange for something around that time to ride it out the best way you can.

Isabella loves water so what I have done is extend her bath time to 30mins & sometimes more to help her with the cranky 4pm period. We actually do dinner around 4-4.30pm then shes in the bath until supper (about 5ish pm) & bed 6pm.

If it were me I would hold onto the nap a little longer by waking him up earlier. I also think that a longer windown is needed for toddlers & in the past where I could put her down & just close the door, she would need alot more books & songs sang to her to be able to relax enough for a nap.

hth
Layla

Michelle - is Riley not napping? Maybe he's going through a phase cause there's a new baby in the house?

[linfran]

I'm interested in this too.

Jason is 23mo and for the last week has skipped the nap most days.  He would have been up at 7.30, and slept from about 1pm to 2.30pm after his lunch.  Bath was 7.30 and bed by 8pm though he could lie there and talk or call out until 9pm.

The days he has skipped he has been ok mood-wise, a bit drowsy at about 2pm but other than that nothing major.  The days he as done this we have done the bath at 6.45 and he is in bed shortly after 7 without a peep, getting up around 7.30/8 the next day.

Do you think we should encourage him to keep dropping the nap?

[Layla]

Honestly I think its just a phase... but again, this assumption is purely based on what my DD could & couldn't do at that age. Before she was 30months she has never missed a nap.. she might have napped a little earlier or a little later but she had never missed a nap & she wouldn't have done without it. Even at 30months when she started skipping naps (and she didn't nap for 2.5weeks) she wasn't too good w/o them mood wise. I think an odd day here & there doesn't really indicate if they are able to manage w/o naps period. Even if this is the end to naps, you really need to try & encourage down time/quiet time... so I would still put him in the cot around nap time to give him a chance to rest.

Again, its up to you... if he seems ok to do w/o the nap & as he gets all of his sleep requirements at night, then maybe he's ready to drop the nap but if you see in a week or so that his mood is changing & its clear he needs to sleep during the day, then consider waking him up a little earlier for the day to fit a nap in or give him a nap & accept 9pm bedtime... which is not too bad cause he is still getting 10.5hrs at night & 1.5hrs during the day (which is exactly what my dd was doing B4 she dropped her nap)

hth
Layla

[swiper]

Aimee is going through the stage where somedays she will have anything from 1 hr - 2hrs in the afternoon but then some afternoons she wont nap IYKWIM but will be in bed early.

[Shdef]

At the moment we are alternating. Every second day no nap and very early night, then because he wakes earlier a nap and later bedtime... then no nap...

is that okay?

[mum101]

I noticed that some mums in mothers group found their LOs resisting day naps and several weeks later found their LOs moods to be terrible most of the time.  Needless to say they went back to day naps (even if it meant every second day and only after driving to get them to sleep!!). My LO became difficult to put to sleep in the day time  a bit after turning one and now still takes a longer time to settle in, but at that same time she would fall asleep almost instantly in the car, so I knew she still actually needed that sleep. 

They said that a 'catch-up' nap every few days was a big help.

Might be a time to hold on to that nap, but every other day would be interesting to see how it goes. Perhaps you could purposefully wear him out in the morning with lots of physical activity to help him get that day nap...

[Layla]

Good point Charmaine!!! Before Isabella stopped napping altogether she had put herself into a pattern where she would nap every other day & then it was every 3rd day (that was on for a while as any more than 3 days w/o naps & her mood would be terrible on the 3rd day) & then it was about once a week for a few weeks & then it was nothing.

So it is definitely more than OK to have him nap every other day. It never has to be all or nothing imo & I treated this transition exactly the same as the 2-1, where we alternated b/n 2 & 1 naps... so here we alternated b/n no naps to 1 nap.

[Mom to M&M]

I agree Steffi, I totally think alternating is OK. And/or if you prefer the no nap/longer night (and if Scotty prefers it too) you could try a short catnap (like 30 minutes) in the car or stroller?

[Shdef]

Yes, that's what we do if he is tired and there is no chance of him sleeping in the cot, even with the alternating... Snow suit and footmuff and a long walk and that sends him to sleep.

[linfran]

Jason went back to daycare after CHristmas and he has just been moved up to the toddler room with the bigger kids and more activities so I think we'll be holding on to the nap a while longer.  I'm just going to follow his lead, if he seems to be flagging I'll put him down for the nap and if he's OK I'll see how he goes.  I think he will be like some of your los, napping one day and not the next.

[binxyboo]

We are just here, there and everywhere right now.

Awake between 7-8, nap from 12:30 or 1pm to around 2 or 2:30 pm, bedtime around 8:30. Sometimes he is not asleep until 9pm. It's hard to be consistent now with Kate in the house...I think we all have some adjusting to do.

Bleuch

[Shdef]

Oh good luck Michelle 

And as soon as you have it sussed all changes again (did I say that out loud?)