neep help please!!

[mommy2two]

My dd is 9.5 months old and has been on EASY since I discovered the BW book when she was 11 weeks old. She is a great sleeper and we follow the BW routine for naptime and eating routine. My dd goes down easily for her morning nap. She puts herself to sleep w/o my help. She also goes to bed great and sleeps 12 hours!! My problem is with her afternoon nap. Lately, she resists the nap and won't go to sleep(cries). I resorted a few times to taking her for a drive because I could tell she was exausted and I was so desperate for her to go to sleep. This knocks her out in about 5-10 minutes and I was able to move her to her crib, but lately that has not worked out and she has woken up and the nap was lost. I can't believe I even did this as I know it is just a prop. I think since we often go out between naps and she would fall asleep in the car on the way home and she got used to this as a method to fall asleep for this nap.
Any suggestions as to
1. why do you think she goes to sleep so easily for the first nap and bedtime and has such difficulty with the afternoon nap.
2. What should I do to help this situation? pu/pd is impossible since she is standing up.
Thanks so much!!

[tereshay]

hi.

maybe you could try timing your errands so you can get home before she is so tired? and i have a 10.5month old who is also standing. pu/pd is impossible, but i do just pd. i hold out my arms to her hold her like a cuddle i put my other arm behind her knees, scoop her and lay her down straight away. it works

what temperament is your dd? im asking because maybe she is ready for just one nap? i know its early, but i'v started having the same problem with my dd.

she goes down easily for the first nap, but i can spend a couple of hours trying to get her down for the second. she is quite happy spending the whole time just standing up as soon as i put her down.

 i do this for 2 sleep cycles and if it hasn't worked by then i get her up and see how she is. she will play quite happily until bed time. which is 7 and by then she is exhausted and goes to bed a lot easier. so i am going to try and transition her to one afternoon nap.

if you don't think she is ready because she is so tired. then i would get her home before she gets to the stage where she falls asleep in the car.
do your wind down routine, do the p.d method for 40mins. if she is still awake, take her out of the room for about 10mins (i rock my dd in the chair and talk quietly with her about going for a sleep) then i start again. i know it can be frustrating because you just want them to sleep. but my dd is the most stubborn baby iv ever met and i can get her to sleep when she needs to you just have to be more stubborn, if she sees you are not going to give in then she eventually will.

i have found that in the past before i discovered bw, if i had introduced a prop to my dd... some time down the track even that would stop working and things would just get worse. it is usually hard work getting rid of that prop, but a lot easier in the long run!!

i don't know if this has helped. but good luck!