Good napper, but protests, and wind routine problems in a 17.5 mos old!

[G and G]

Hi there. My DD takes a good nap each day (albeit any illnesses!) of 1.5-2.5 hours. The problem is she fights the nap. She goes to bed at night no issues - but does not want to take her nap! She is plenty tired, and falls asleep in 5 minutes once I leave the room, but the tantrum getting her there is the issue.
I have tried a hundred different wind down routines, and once we get one to work, it stops working after a few days. I cannot get her to sit still. I have tried holding her, rocking her, TV, books, being in her room with just the night light on - nope. She wants out of my grip and wants to play. She even says - play, play.... At night time she says nighty, night. She says nooooo at nap time.
Today I lost it, yelled at her and threw her book on the floor - which only made matters worse, and now I feel like a monster. I do not want to go through this everyday - or maybe I just have to? Somehow without losing it! And I have family coming into town for 5 days, so I've got to deal with that each day for her nap. HELP!
This has been going on for a few months, and like I said she naps well, it is just getting her there. Anyone have any ideas?

[jennandsophie]

Wish I could help, but we're in the exact same situation now.  Our DD is also 17.5 months and hates napping most days.  Otherwise she's a terrific sleeper.  At nap time she tries to "negotiate" with us to keep playing.  Then she'll try to ask for bread or milk or this toy or that book just to stay up longer.  Most days she protests for 5 mins or so then promptly falls asleep for 2 hrs or so when we leave the room.

I think they're just having so much fun, they don't want to sleep anymore.  She especially gets mad when she thinks we're doing stuff around the house and she's missing out.  I don't know what we can do to help this situation because we've also tried all kinds of nap routines and nothings really made a difference.  Some weeks she will nap without protest and then the tantrums come back the next week.  There appears to be no logic to it that I can see.

Hang in there.  Hope it gets better for both of us.

[G and G]

Thanks! So good to know I am not alone. I guess it is a phase. I don't know what to try next - especially with company coming, an I do not want to turn into a monster to my own DD! Thanks again, and good luck with your LO.

[brenda2]

what would happen if you skipped the wind down in her room altogether?  do some quieter type activities outside of the room leading up to naptime and then just put her in the crib and leave.  do wi/wo and PD if she cries but no coming back out of the crib once you've put her in there.  just stay really consistent with it and don't cave in for more cuddles/books/playtime.

my LO has been fighting naps the last bit - similar situation (only with me, not at daycare) so i've just been super consistent and she's now back on track with naps.

[rinajack]

Or changed the nap location all together? I went through this with DS when DD dropped her nap, so now we all do "quiet time" in the lounge room watching a movie together.  And We ALL sit quietly for that - including me.  Sometimes he sits alone and falls asleep, sometimes he sits on me.  As soon as he is asleep, DD is allowed to do whatever she wants and I go and either do stuff with DD or do chores around the house.  We dont' limit noise completely, but we dont' make HEAPS of noise either iykwim.

This routine is working BRILLIANTLY, he has NEVER been as cooperative about napping as he is now!

[jennandsophie]

Rina - that's interesting.  How long does he nap for when he falls asleep this way?

When DD falls asleep in the car or stroller, it's usually not very long - not as much as her usual 2 hrs in her own crib.

[G and G]

It seems as if some days are better than others. Yesterday DD was great - today not so great. She is fussing up a storm in her crib right now and I am so aggravated. I just don't get it! The littlest thing distracts her and she is relentless. I feel like I need to hide everything from her sight before her nap. I am trying to just be consistent and persistent. What else can I do?

[rinajack]

Hugh's naps this way are averaging at about 1.5 hrs. At first they were shorter than that, but it was still preferable to refusing to nap at all in his room, and I just did early bedtime to compensate.  It didn't take long for them to lengthen.

As different to car/stroller naps, they are not relying on movement to keep asleep, AND they are in their home environment, nowhere near as interesting as being out and about and expected to nap.

[jennandsophie]

Thanks Rina.  I can never seem to get DD to slow down for more than 2 mins.  Even when I start falling asleep, she's still crazed running around.  Maybe we'll try your method.

G and G - I hear you.  Today has been awful for us.  DH is not home and she always resists napping when I'm home.  She just had a 20 min tantrum and then cried for another 5 after I left her room.  Hope you're doing better than me...