Short naps

[mcbreena@bellsouth.net]

Hi - my 18 month old daughter normally wakes after about 1:15 from her afternoon nap (the only nap she has).  She wakes up very grumpy and cries alot.  She wakes up really happy in the morning.

Just recently (the last week) I tried getting her to go back to sleep to see if that would help with the crying.  Here is my problem:

I can get her to go back to sleep easily, within minutes, by sitting on my lap in her rocking chair, but then when I try to get her back into her crib, she wakes up and cries and won't stop.  She is usually awake by the way when we put her down for her nap and at bedtime so it is not as though she is not used to being put down awake.

I also tried laying her down on my bed along side me and she goes right back to sleep then also. 

Once she is soundly back to sleep, she will sleep for another hour so I know she needs this extra sleep.

Any thoughts on how I can get her to just stay asleep for 2 hours???

We did have an early wake up problem, but worked that out with Tracy's 'wake to sleep' method.  I thought it sounded crazy but it really worked!

Any help would be appreciated.

[Matthew's Mommy]

How does she fall asleep at the beginning of her nap? What time is her : morning wake up and afternoon nap,and her bedtime.

Just need some more information, I'll check back!

[mcbreena@bellsouth.net]

Thanks.

She wakes up about 7am and goes down for her nap around 1:30 or 2:00.  I read to her (with her on my lap) and then sit still for a few minutes.  Then I put her in her crib (she is still awake, but groggy) and she just goes to sleep.  Occassionaly she might cry for a minute or so.

Her bedtime is around 7:30 to 8:00.

Thanks for any help!

[chyna823]

I am having a nap problem nearly identical to mcbreena's:

My 23-month-old used to wake up 6:30-7 am, nap 12:30-2:30, then go down for the night around 7:30. However, for the past couple of months, her naps have been less than 1.5 hour each day, and then she's crabby all afternoon! Occasionally I can get her to fall back to sleep in my arms, but she wakes up as soon as I put her back in the crib.

Can you help us?

[chyna823]

Sorry to double-post, but now my two-year-old's naps have gotten even shorter! She falls asleep with no problem (most of the time), but wakes up crying less than an hour later. I've tried all my old tricks for getting her back to sleep and nothing has worked. Then she's a nightmare all afternoon, so clearly she needs more sleep. Can anyone help? I'm desperate!