1. I honestly cannot remember how I got my son to sleep on his own for naps...life was a bit of a blur then. What would people recommend for getting him to sleep on his own for naps again? I feel at a total loss about what to do.Does he go to sleep at bedtime independently (besides last night)? I would start by mimicking your bedtime routine, and using a key phrase like "sleepy time" or just "nap time" about 20 min, 10, then 5 min prior to the nap. My son needs the reminders as he sometimes just hates to stop what he's doing. I don't make a big fuss, just a quick reminder where he looks at my eyes when I say it so I know he heard me. I kneel down to him and quietly say it if he's in the middle of playing. Saying beforehand exactly the 2-3 steps before sleep helps my son. So as we're walking up the stairs, I'll say first we'll sit on the red chair, read 1 book, then you hide in your blanket and mommy will kiss you and come back when you wake. After the last book, I quickly say I"m going to get you and he runs to his bed and hides in the blanket. As best as possible, keep calm and expect the best and use humor if he responds well to it. If he fusses, smile and but firmly say what's going to happen. And keep at it for at least 4-5 days.
2. Perhaps he's ready for one nap but I haven't had any luck with this. Should I continue to push the first nap a little each day until he sleeps his usual two hours again? What should I do if he rejects the second nap? Honestly he's been having car naps the last week often in the afternoon because he rejects his second nap and we go out and he falls asleep. So to me this means he still needs it. I may be trying to early for the second nap so will try and extend this as well.His first awake time is short for his age (generally speaking). He is probably UT. I would love this out to 10 at first for 2-3 days, then move it out by 15 mins every 2 days until you get to around 11:30/12. Meanwhile, offer his pm nap as a catnap around 3 or 3:30 for 30 mins, and bedtime closer to 6:30.
Here are other strategies for this transition...
https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=163278.0I will say that this transition can be messy and that's normal. We went back and forth from 2 to 1 nap, with catnaps reversing from pm to am, until we finally got to a good, single mid afternoon nap.
3. If refusing to go to bed continues, or worse yet night wake ups return, how should I deal with this? Everything about regressions says don't fall into bad habits like rocking but I have done this in the past because I don't know what else to do. It seemed last night like I either let him scream himself to sleep which obviously I don't want or rock him to sleep. I tried patting his back in bed but he just kept crying and grabbing at me. So what are some recommendations for getting through regressions or nights where suddenly he won't go down on his own? *generally* speaking, 12mo have awake times of up to 4-4.5 hrs. With a solid 12 hr night, he probably needs a little more activity and time before sleep. I think his bedtime resistance could have been bc he was UT, but led to OT due to messing around. I really think a tweak in his routine could help, so you can try that first. It is a little early for the regression, so we can try the routine before addressing the behavior.
Again, I would move his morning nap straight away to 10, and see how he does. Then move 15-20 min every 2 days, and see. If you want to preserve a 6:15/6:30 bedtime, his pm nap will have to be shortened or he won't be tired enough for sleep. You can start with 30 mins, and bedtime 4 hours later.
What do you think?
