Support for dropping the last nap age 2-3 yrs

[babybarr]

Her nights had dropped to 9.25 hours of sleep and she was waking up tired. It was easy to get a nap.

This is the problem we have I think....  DS has slept better the last 2 nights and I wonder if that's from no nap on Sat and 30min nap on Sunday (he did have an hour yesterday though) but maybe he just needs less day sleep

[sianie]

Urgh, it's so hard to figure out what to do for the best isn't it!

We've had a bit of regression....the last few days have been better, have kept M's nap to an hour & she's generally settled straight away at Bt (7.30pm) and WU is around 6.30am, but last night she didn't settle for a while & I could hear her stirring from around 5.30am. She was at nursery yesterday but still did an hour nap. I think I need to try to run with the not napping everyday but letting her have a decent length nap every few days as Karen suggested.

I don't think cutting her nap back any more than I have would work for M, she does usually like her sleep & is already like a bear with a sore head when I wake her after an hour...

[babybarr]

Well my mum text to ask how O slept last night... I said I think he STTN but who know with my boy!  Apparently he hasn't wanted a nap and so she probably isn't going to do one, so we'll see what the next few days brings....

[babybarr]

And so O had no nap today... I thought he'd be very grumpy and whiney when I got in but he wasn't - he acted the same as if he'd had a nap, the only difference was he was asleep within 5mins!!

Here's hoping for a good night!  I'm thinking he should probably have a nap tomorrow though.

Sian - def give it a shot!!

[sianie]

FX for you Laura!

I'm going to build up the courage to do it! At the time she'd normally nap do you just try for quiet time (not that it would be easy with DS around too!) & also I guess I would need to pull BT earlier too (currently it's 7.30pm)?

[~Karen~]

I'd def pull bedtime forward and personally would go for 630pm if you're getting 630am wake ups 

[sianie]

Hi Jenny!

Well we seem to caught in (another  ) OT loop!! Not been able to try a no nap day as M has been up at 5.30am for the past few mornings so no way she could go without a nap!!

I've still been capping her nap at 1 hr but she has been in the most awful mood so now I'm wondering whether I need to give her a longer nap to catch-up a bit & try & get out of this OT mess. Any thoughts?

[babybarr]

I think Sian you need to be brave!  Do a long nap and then the next day no nap...

Things not going so great here but will post when I have a bit more time!

[sherry lynn]

Sian - I would either try BB advice. But, if it were me I would also probably try the longer nap first. "Usually" we've been able to get away with really long naps every now and then to catch up on the OT. Problem is - it's a gamble and you never really know how it's going to pan out.

[sianie]

Thanks ladies! 

M's at nursery tomorrow & rarely sleeps for more than an hour there. If she's still OT on Sat (more than likely...) will do a longer nap to try & catch-up a bit. How long a nap should I go for? 1.5hrs?

Sorry things not too great for you either Laura!

[sherry lynn]

It's all up to you, and how much she fights bedtime, etc. If it were me I would be inclined to just let her nap. Sometimes we get away with this and he will do 9-10 hours at night and be great the next day. But. For us the next day would def. be a no nap day because he does nap refusals. How do you think she will react. Honestly, I don't know how much that extra 1/2 hour would help?
Maybe try a long nap that day and then no nap on Sunday when DH is home to help? Is he home on sundays?

[sianie]

Sherry I was thinking about the same about the extra 30 mins.....I really want to try & nip this in the bud before the OT gets out of hand (then again maybe it already has.....it's 8.30pm here & she's still awake having been put to bed nearly an hour and a half ago  )). M has so far never refused a nap...she generally loves her sleep, it seems to affect her more at BT & WU i.e. she takes ages to go to sleep &/or wakes early, usually anytime around 5.30am

So I think my plan might be....early BT tomorrow night (after her guaranteed short nap at nursery), long nap on Sat (see how long she does) then push BT later Sat night? Does that make sense? Yep, DH will be home Sunday!

[*Liz*]

I do 1.5 hrs to calm things down if I know he is getting tired - I do 2 hrs if he is unwell or losing a lot of night sleep - it backfires otherwise as the night after is too short. Depends how easy you can get them to take the nap really. I need it by 1pm to allow 2 hrs.

I find early bedtimes (just 15-30 mins or so) really helpful at stopping OT from setting in. Getting lots of calm snuggles in helps as well as he goes into the cot feeling sleepy. Sounds obvious I guess - but we all know how hard it can be to get a toddler to sit for a few  .

[sianie]

Thanks Liz  ....well I don't think M went to sleep much before 9pm last night, I had to go in to tell her to go to sleep (she was sat up talking to her doll!). She was awake just after 6am this morning  !

M is usually down by 1pm for her nap so tomorrow (depending on how today/tonight goes), I'll try for a longer nap to see if that helps. Will also try an earlier BT tonight...

Hope you're all doing better than me!?

[AshleyB]

Hi, everyone. I'm new to his thread. My DD is showing signs off dropping the nap, and I am just despondent. I really, really need that 2-hr break. Plus, now she's getting all wound  up and cranky around dinner time, and I have less patience because I didn't't get MY break. I hate it. I've tried putting her to bed later at night, but that just makes her harder to wake in the morning when it's time to go.

We've moved her nap time back from 12:30 to 1:30, but she still sings in the crib for at least 45 minutes. She's now falling asleep at the time she used to wake up! At that point I have to wake her up within an hour or she'll never go down at bedtime. At daycare, nap time is set at 12:30, so she's thrashing around and getting into trouble for two hours, then finally falls asleep 25 min. before they have to get up. Her afternoon and evening behavior is really going downhill.

any suggestions?