afternoon nap strike-NEED ADVICE PLEASE

[mommy2two]

Hi All,
My 1 year old has always been a great sleeper and for the most part still is. She wakes about 6:30 or 7am and goes down for her morning nap between 9 and 9:30. She sleeps for 1.5 or 2 hours.(I wake her at 11am if she is not up yet).  The problem recently is she is not going to sleep for her afternoon nap. I usually put her down at about 1:30 or 2pm but lately she just plays in the crib and does not sleep. She will stay in there for an hour or even longer but does not sleep. I don't mind her just getting the quiet time,  but this is causing her to be really really cranky from about 4-6pm. As a result, I am putting her to bed at 6:15 or 6:30pm and she immediately falls asleep because she is so tired. Has this afternoon nap strike happened to anyone else? She NEEDS that morning nap, so pushing it off to later does not seem like an option to me at this time. I hate to think she is going to only take 1 nap a day so young. Please help!
Thanks!

[sacmommy]

I would try to make the time between nap 1 and nap 2 really active, and then extend the awake time. So try putting her down around 2:30 and see if that helps. My dd at this age needed a lot more time awake between naps, and then finally it was just too late in the day and I moved to 1 nap (around 13-14 months)! But most babies need 2 naps for up to 18 months.

[Lilah'sMommy]

We just went through this.  The puzzling thing is that all of the sudden, they stop taking the pm nap, though they are exhausted.  Lilah started to do this around 11 months, and it was not fun.  about 2 weeks ago, we permanently moved to 1 nap.  But in the interim, here's what worked for us:

Put her down at her usual time for a morning nap, but don't let her nap longer that an hour.  I finally figured out that what was happening was that Lilah suddenly only needed about 2.5 to 3 hours of naps per day.  She still was so ready for that nap in the morning, but if I let her sleep her usual 1.5 to 2 hours in the morning, she would not be tired enough for the pm nap.  Even if I pushed it back all the way to 3:00!  But if I woke her after no longer than an hour, she would almost always nap for me in the afternoon.  Finally, she decided to skip the am nap.  No problem!  That one you can always make up for later.  You want to keep the pm nap because eventually it will be the only nap left.

I hated to wake her after only an hour, but it really did work for us.

[mommy2two]

thanks for the reply. Why is it that she is ready to go down for the morning nap only 2-2.5 hours after waking up from a 12 hour night sleep, but is not ready to take her afternoon nap after being awake and active for over 3 hours?

I have noticed that after a really super good am nap is usually when she does not fall asleep for the afternoon nap, even though she seems really tired.

I guess my biggest fear is if I wake her up aftr 1 hour nap in the morning, she may still refuse the afternoon nap and then I will have an even bigger grouch on my hands. Did that ever happen to you?
Thanks!

[webfoot]

When they give up a nap it means it'll be a couple weeks of grouchiness until they adjust to not having that nap.

I would plan active mornings, skip the morning nap, have an early lunch at 11 and put her down by noon for an afternoon nap. I bet you get longer nap time out of her. Some days she may need a morning nap still, but don't let her sleep longer than an hour and only let her nap if she either conks out on her own or just can't stand herself anymore.

Instead when she gets really tired try reading some books and having quiet time.

Be extra wary of her falling asleep in the car on the way home from an activity b/c that will sabatoge enough to take the edge off her need for that later nap. I used to sing songs and play game to try to keep them awake. If she does fall sleep in the car my best advice is to try to move her into her bed and keep her asleep.

About 15-18 months my kids both gave up their am naps, it's a bummer when that happens!  Not that I don't love my kids but I just liked that late morning break!

Good luck!

[mergem]

EASY mom,

I'm having the same problem!  My DS is 13mo old barely.  I thought the one nap transition wouldn't come until later.  He has started taking 2 hr morning naps and then won't go down in the pm. 

I can't decide to try the waking after an hour or try to go ahead and ease him into a one nap a day. 

Have you had any progress?
Meredith

[mommy2two]

I have been too afraid to "wake her up" after only 1 hour, for fear she still wont take a nap in the afternoon, so I let her sleep until 11am and then I will wake her no matter how long she has slept. (Can be between less then 1 hour all the way up to 2 hours, but usually closer to 1.5 hrs)We usually have plans to get to and this way there is a better chance she will still take a pm nap if I don't let her sleep past 11. 

When she by herself takes a crummy morning nap, she will go down easily for the afternoon nap, and if I wait till closer to 2 or 2:30 to put her down for the afternoon nap, we have more sucess.

I just need to get brave and wake her up every time after only an hour. It is hard also b/c I love that time in the am to shower and get ready for our day.