Putting in too early for nap?

[Carmela's Mom]

I seem to have found what she needed for bedtime (6:30 bedtime) and now she sleeps until 6-7 in the morning consistently....MOST mornings (6:30 being average).....most nights she talks to herself for 1/2 hour before going to sleep though....so she's getting a good 11-12 hours at night.  PERFECT!!!

Well I put her in for her nap at noon which has been her nap time for 4 months now and she's staying up talking for over an hour!!!!  Then I go in and do pat/shh to get her to sleep.  If she does fall asleep before the hour, it's for 1.5 hours and she wakes up sooo tired and is cranky by 3 p.m.  Any suggestions?  Should I try later nap time, which will result in a later bedtime (even after I finally got her sleeping well at night)

I forgot to add she's 18 months old.

Thanks
Jackie

[Jaime]

with my dd i always found that if i let her play she would go to sleep on her own eventually.  i kept her wake up time standard - it's always 5pm, regardless of when she finally conks out (but we have an 8pm bedtime  :wink: )

sounds like she's working on some newfound independence.  if she's not crying, i'd leave her, IMHO.

HTH