ew and can't have a nap

[stagemanager2]

Hello!  Stan is just over 3yrs and started to drop his nap to the point of only needing a nap after 3pm.  And if he does nap that late at that point he would go to sleep at 9 or 10 pm so we would push him some days and others let him nap.  Now I have a baby sitting job for my next door neighbour.  She has a son (Aidan) in second grade I pick up twice a week (tues and thurs) and I have to actually get out of the house and put both kids into the car to get him from school.  Stanley also has pre school for two and a half hours tues through friday and needs to be up by 6:30am to catch the bus.

WE have been recently getting WAY too early wakings, 5am, from Stan and it is really messing with his schedule.  He refuses a nap when Aidan is here so there are two days in the week he will just refuse a nap altogether.  The other two days he goes to pre school he refuses a nap until 3 or 4pm, I won't give him a nap after 4pm because if he does nap I won't be able to get him up until 6:30pm (because he refuses to wake) and is up until 10pm.... Soooo, instead I've been keeping him awake all day and putting him to bed at 7pm.  he's really tired.  Probably over tired.... how the heck can we battle this when there are days he out right refuses naps until late late late.  I can't keep getting up at 5am.... seriously.... I don't know what to do....

I hope that makes sense.  If there are any suggestions I'd be grateful, thanks

heather

[momtonb&ab]

can you do an even earlier bedtime to get caught up?  like a 6pm bedtime for a few days?

[stagemanager2]

So, we were able to get him to sleep early and he started waking later in the morning (6am).  Then about a week of consistent naps from noon until about 2pm.  After a weekend of late naps Stan is refusing naps again.  So I've been putting him down at 7pm for bedtime. 

Is this the transition to no naps?  Or have I just effed up his schedule?

[momtonb&ab]

this is kind of what the end of napping looked liek for us with the caveat that we couldn't get them to go back to napping after they started refusing (we are kind of all or nothing like that with most things) so we just did earlier bedtime.   i found about 3-4 months of earlier bedtimes as napping disappeared was about all it took.

[stagemanager2]

did you get early mornings?  We've been going to bed at about 7pm.  Should I put him down earlier?

[sherry lynn]

Putting him down earlier was the only thing that worked here as well. If he is waking ANYWAYS at 6 or before, then you loose nothing by putting him down earlier. Except you should have a happier child who has more sleep the next day by doing an earlier bedtime.

[stagemanager2]

thanks so much, I've been in such a crabby mood, I hope I didn't seem y with my latest response.  I've been putting him down at 6pm and he has been waking at about 6am so I think that's what needed to happen thanks

[momtonb&ab]

Oh heather I am glad he is getting his 12 hours. 

[sherry lynn]

  Glad it worked for you.